CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS WITHOUT THE SAVIOUR

20151225 CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS WITHOUT THE SAVIOUR

First reading

Isaiah 9:1-7 ©

The people that walked in darkness

has seen a great light;

on those who live in a land of deep shadow

a light has shone.

You have made their gladness greater,

you have made their joy increase;

they rejoice in your presence

as men rejoice at harvest time,

as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.

For the yoke that was weighing on him,

the barb across his shoulders,

the rod of his oppressor,

these you break as on the day of Midian.

For all the footgear of battle,

every cloak rolled in blood,

is burnt,

and consumed by fire.

For there is a child born for us,

a son given to us

and dominion is laid on his shoulders;

and this is the name they give him:

Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,

Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.

Wide is his dominion

in a peace that has no end,

for the throne of David

and for his royal power,

which he establishes and makes secure

in justice and integrity.

From this time onwards and for ever,

the jealous love of the Lord of Hosts will do this.

Psalm

Psalm 95:1-3,11-13 ©

Today a saviour has been born to us: he is Christ the Lord.

O sing a new song to the Lord,

  sing to the Lord all the earth.

  O sing to the Lord, bless his name.

Today a saviour has been born to us: he is Christ the Lord.

Proclaim his help day by day,

  tell among the nations his glory

  and his wonders among all the peoples.

Today a saviour has been born to us: he is Christ the Lord.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,

  let the sea and all within it thunder praise,

let the land and all it bears rejoice,

  all the trees of the wood shout for joy

at the presence of the Lord for he comes,

  he comes to rule the earth.

Today a saviour has been born to us: he is Christ the Lord.

With justice he will rule the world,

  he will judge the peoples with his truth.

Today a saviour has been born to us: he is Christ the Lord.

Second reading

Titus 2:11-14 ©

God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good.

Gospel Acclamation

Lk2:10-11

Alleluia, alleluia!

I bring you news of great joy:

today a saviour has been born to us, Christ the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 2:1-14 ©

Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken. This census – the first – took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to his own town to be registered. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and travelled up to Judaea, to the town of David called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn.

  In the countryside close by there were shepherds who lived in the fields and took it in turns to watch their flocks during the night. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing:

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and peace to men who enjoy his favour.’

CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS WITHOUT THE SAVIOUR

SCRIPTURE READINGS: ISAIAH 9:1-7; PSALM 95:1-3,11-13; TITUS 2:11-14; LUKE 2:1-14

One of the changing trends of our times is the way we celebrate Christmas.   In modern times, Christmas is reduced merely to a social festivity.  Whilst we are happy that the whole world is celebrating this event, sometimes it is celebrated for the wrong reasons.  It has been robbed of its religious meaning.  Indeed, until the 1970’s, Christmas was always celebrated as a religious event.  The carols were religious in meaning, very biblical and theological, besides being inspirational and sentimental.  But today, secular songs with secular themes have replaced the carols.   Again, Christmas lights were hung always in commemoration of Christ who is the Light of the world that enters into the darkness of man’s lives, but today it is merely decorative. In the past, cribs were more important than Christmas trees because it reminded us that we were celebrating the birth of Christ.   Even then Christmas trees reminded us of Christ’s incarnation in anticipation of His death on the cross because both are two acts of self-emptying in love.  Most of all, the climax of the celebration was always the Midnight Mass, as it was our way to express our intense desire to welcome Christ into our lives.  Only then, was it followed by a family celebration, rather than a social event.

Indeed, influenced by secularism and a materialistic and consumeristic culture, Christmas has become a social merry-making event.  Christmas greeting then was always “Merry Christmas” or “A holy and blessed Christmas.”  Now the world has removed Christ completely and it is now considered offensive to have the words “Merry Christmas” displayed in public. Instead, now Christmas greeting cards just have the words, “Best Wishes and Happy Holidays” or simply “Season’s Greetings”.  What actually do we mean when we say “Season’s Greetings”?  And why “Best Wishes” only at this time of the year?   Why do we hold parties?   Why do we give gifts?  Why do we decorate our homes and shopping centers and restaurants with lights?

This attempt to dissociate culture from faith is a futile effort in the Western world.  By so doing, they have emptied their culture of all meaning.  They seek to retain the signs and symbols and the external celebration, but without recognizing their Christian history and foundation, such celebrations are meaningless.   Without recognizing their history, the West has come to a stage where they have lost their identity, their culture, and with it, the values that have seen them through the last 2000 years.

The sad truth is that a Christmas celebration without Christ is like celebrating a birthday party without the birthday boy.   It becomes mere socializing with lots of merry making, carousing, reveling and partying, ending up possibly in sexual promiscuity, drunkenness, drink driving, drug taking and even murder.  Then we wake up the next day with a hangover, nausea and feeling like a zombie.  Most of all, we regret that we have misbehaved and ashamed of the things we did.

This is just contrary to the Christmas spirit which is meant to bring everlasting peace, joy and love for humanity.  Christmas is meant to give not momentary joy nor simply pleasure, but a joy that the world cannot give, a joy that comes from authentic love, giving, sacrificing, and being one with our brothers and sisters.  It is meant to give hope and life.  When Christ is removed from the celebration of Christmas, then Christmas is just a one day event, a break and distraction or reprieve from the hard work during the year.  Nothing is changed after Christmas and life carries on as usual, as if Christ’s coming was in vain.   We cannot say that the light has shone or that hope has been revived.  The world has gone back to sleep after Christmas.

Hence, it is critical in this age of secularization that we put Christ back into Christmas.  The basis for celebration is Christ’s birth.  His entry into the world and His assumption of human flesh is the beginning of Christian Hope and New Life.  With Christ’s birth, God is forever one with humanity for He is truly the Emmanuel, God with us.   But God is not contented simply to be with us in our hearts, He wants to share in our flesh and humanity.  He wants to feel with us, rejoice with us, suffer with us and die with us.  In this way, our God is not far but so near that He is in our midst and in our hearts.  So no one can say today that we do not know whether God understands or that He cares or if He is with us.  This God who became man, lived as a man in all ways except sin, did good and served humanity by healing and delivering us from evil spirits and the bondage of sin without reservation, then suffered unjustly and died for us, rose again on the third day to give us new life and to pour forth His Spirit in us, is the cause of our celebration.

With Christ’s coming, it means that from now on, we no longer walk in darkness like the rest of the world, not knowing their origin or destiny, not knowing who they are or why they are on earth.  Like the Israelites who walked in darkness, we have “seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.”   For those without faith, life is a puzzle, without meaning or purpose.  They just happened to be here, to enjoy and then die and disappear into thin air.  Life is aimless, without any real goal.  Even with all the good things in life, luxuries, food, pleasures, the heart remains empty because man has forgotten that he has a soul that yearns to be one with God. Until we recover our identity and purpose in life, we cannot live fully.

Christmas means that we recognize Jesus as King and Savior.   Indeed, through Christ, we are freed from our bondage and yoke because God showed His power in Christ, as the prophet says, “For the yoke that was weighing on him, the barb across his shoulders, the rod of his oppressor, these you break as on the day of Midian. For all the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood, is burnt, and consumed by fire.”  Indeed, Christ is the fulfillment of the anticipated Messiah, our King and Saviour.  He is our wonderful counselor who reveals to us the mystery of God’s plan for humanity.  He is the One who, as the light of the world, enlightens us in the truth and enables us to walk in the commandments of the Lord.  As the Son of the Eternal Father, He shows us His love and mercy through His miracles and works of mercy and compassion.  As Prince of peace, He frees us from fear and anxiety; by forgiving us our sins and reconciling us with His Father and with each other through forgiveness and compassion.  As the mighty God He takes away our pains and illnesses, delivers us from Satan and his angels, and conquers hatred and death by His passion and resurrection.  

Christmas is an invitation to live our lives fully by giving ourselves to others.  Indeed, He was rich but became poor for our sake.  This is the reason why He came as King but born in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.  He manifested Himself not to the rich and powerful but to poor shepherds in the field, uneducated and uncouth.   He came without any fanfare or pomp, no pageantry, no display, no spectacle, but unknown, hidden and not even welcomed because there was no room in the inn. This was but the anticipation of the rejection of His own people later in His life as well.

Christ as truly God and truly man comes to show us what it means to be a true man and how we can live authentic lives by living a life of service and love.  The letter of St Paul to Titus, says, “God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good.”  (Titus 2:11-14)

We must therefore celebrate Christmas with Christ by allowing Him to be born in our hearts so that He can take flesh in us; and through us, we become the channels of God’s grace and love.  Hence, St John remarks, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:12-14)  This is the reason why we give gifts at Christmas because of the gift of God which we have received graciously from God in Christ.  Christ is THE Christmas gift that makes all giving meaningful, especially when we give to the poor, the needy, the lowly and the marginalized.   So let us rejoice in the right way, for the right reason and for all time, not just today or tomorrow but always for today.  With the psalmist we say, “Today a saviour has been born to us: he is Christ the Lord.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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