A Spiritual Reflection on Christmas Celebration and Beyond

          

        

        One of life’s best moments is when it is celebrated. It can be a celebration of birthdays, anniversaries, foundations and feasts. It can also be a celebration of friendship and belongingness, of success or of something that has been achieved. It can be with a sumptuous meal during pay day or it can be very simple as having a cold bear after a day’s work. It can just be a whisper of personal encouragement or a participation in community event. In whatever way, the celebratory aspect of life uplifts the spirit. It can make us exclaim, “It’s good to be alive!” It also raises our consciousness on the value of a purpose driven life without which life is just like chasing after the wind.

 

Christmas is one of those best moments because it is the time when the essential things in life are more valued, treasured and celebrated. We are, as some people say, “in-to-life” and not after the wind. We not only sing and dance, exchange gifts and went for a party or so but we open our hearts and hands so that we can share not only things but the gift of self to others. This makes the experience always new. It transforms the meaning of material things into gifts and charity. It transforms us to be life-givers and love-givers. It opens us to the horizon that there is something more to life than our own. Time and time again, this season reminds us that our value is not only in what we own but in what we give in return. This was the meaning of the words, the more we give, the more we receive.

 But it’s good to ask again and again, “What have we receive that compels us to give?” Perhaps a little meditation can help. Listen to these words as you read them, “I am near you.” Now close your eyes and say those words again from the heart. How does it feel? Is it you speaking or an inner voice speaking in you? I had hoped you had had that inner joy that no one can take away from you.

The experience of the manger was the Lord’s most tender way of saying, “this is how I am close to you.”  Mary and Joseph experienced this. Since that moment and until today the experience is being relived, in a very special way during Christmas. No wonder some scholars associate this event with the Eucharist because it is where Christ perpetuated his presence in each one of us. The God who was once transcendent and incomprehensible, powerful and almighty has given himself as a gift. He has been seen and touched. Not only that, he has given himself as well as food to sustain us. Such act on the part of God did not diminish His immense attributes but brought them near to His creature. What was once a hindrance to eternity became a means to achieve it; this is the reason why a philosopher named Maurice Merleau-Ponty once said, “The incarnation changes everything.” It changed everything for the simple reason that Christ assumed everything that is in us. Humanity contained divinity. And this is why, humanity is meant to be celebrated. It is not something to be explained but more to be exclaimed with joy and gratitude.

But this realization cannot remain there. A contemplation of some grains of truth usher us for action. The event then must now become our event, to be like the manger. To be emptied so that Christ can find a space to occupy. This applies to a work environment where much is expected of us in terms of competency, effectiveness, efficiency as well productivity. This is where independence is valued in so far as those conditions are present. That left on our own we knew what we are doing. Some also call this common sense. But there is also the other side and this is what they call interdependence. This is our capacity to see our work in relation to others – our superiors, management and co-employees. This is our willingness to set aside the self in order to serve the rest, to be “under” so that we can learn, to be hallowed so that we can contain the mission that we are here to accomplish. The event where we owe the celebration of Christmas can always be our light.  Christ did not choose a palace (though he can probably do that) but a manger because that sufficed. It literally contained all his being, dignity and worth as God. Christ so the teachings would say is in the Church, in the Eucharist, in the word, in the ministers and in one’s neighbor. But certainly Christ must also dwell within so that what we see in others can also be seen in us and this meeting of hearts can bring about the gift of his presence.  This is our dignity which when carried along in our day to day encounters can change the way we look at things.

There is a natural orientation to attach Christmas with service and charity. This is positive and emulating. But perhaps the gift of presence sufficed (especially for those who think they have none). It is free but its impact can be life changing not only to the other but to our very self.  An author named Joyce Rupp succinctly described how this power of presence worked referring to the experience of Mary and Elizabeth, the dance within their wombs can change a hurting heart, transform a languished life. That was Jesus and John referred to. Like them, we can also be life-giving to others by our mere presence. In Friendship as Sacrament Caltagirone has this to say: “Words, ideas and actions can be exhausted, but a presence cannot be. In the presence of another there is a wealth of energy flowing from God.”  To experience this, Rupp suggested the following “being with” activities:

Be with someone who needs you.

Be with a person who gives you hope.

Be with those who live in terror and fear.

Be with an older person.

Be with someone who has helped you to grow. 

Be with one who is in pain.

Be with a war-torn country.

Be with yourself.

Be with someone who has written to you.

Be with a child.

Be with a refugee who is fleeing from harm.

Be with an enemy or someone you dislike.

Be with a farmer losing his or her land.

Be with someone who has terminal illness.

Be with the homeless.

Be with those who suffer from substance abuse.

Be with hungry children.

Be with a co-worker.

Be with those whose hope is faint.

Be with world leaders.

Be with someone in your family.

Be with men and women in prison.

Be with someone working for justice.

Be with those who are abused and neglected.

Be with your loved ones.

We might be tempted to think that this “being with” activities can never change anything.  But if these are done graciously and gently, the gift that we received is broken and shared. It can help us realize what these lines from a song tell us, “Christmas is not a point in time but a state of mind and heart. And everyday must be like Christmas time when you’re a Santa Claus with gifts and open arms... When he lives within your heart, you glimmer like Christmas light.”