The Nativity of the Lord, Luke 2,15-20

And so we can truly forgive ourselves and not just put on a show during those days that everything is perfectly fine between us. If we want love, we must first give it away and spread it entirely selflessly, without any expectations. It will not fall from the sky on its own. And if we want tolerance and consideration, we must also first and foremost commit ourselves to it. That is, to behave tolerantly and considerately.

And when we count on the whole family getting together, it’s nice because not all families are together today. But Christmas is also experienced by lonely people today, abandoned by their families and forgotten by society. How do they experience a time of joy and cheerfulness? If we count only on the fact that we have enough of everything – both to eat and to drink – let’s thank God for that, too, that we are not in need! That we have a roof over our heads. We have those who care about us, and we care about them. These are not things that are self-evident or automatic. But let’s also think of those who are not allowed this! Let’s think of the seriously ill, for whom this Christmas may be the last in their lives! Let’s think of people who are going through difficult trials. Let’s remember children in hospitals or children’s homes! Let’s think of the unemployed and the needy, who must be modest. How will all of them experience the “Silent and Holy Night”?

Dear believers, why should we ask ourselves such serious questions at the beginning of the holidays? Because we are no longer children, we look at this time differently than we did x years ago. We have to ask ourselves these unpleasant questions because it is reality. Today, the spirit of the times leads us to a material view of these holidays. We are bombarded with challenges about what else we need for a peaceful and wonderful Christmas, or rather, without which we will not survive it happily. We will still be missing some excellent products for a peaceful Christmas…

But let’s not forget that the magic of these days lies in other content. If we do not fill Christmas with spiritual content, if we remain only on a material level, we will enjoy some gifts for a while, but even the best surprise will become commonplace. What I mean is that unless the holidays of the birth of Jesus Christ change us internally and in the long term, unless this time leads us to reflect on life and the values ​​for which we live, unless this time brings us closer to God, to the originator and source of love, peace, tranquility, forgiveness, tolerance, willingness or consideration – then it will not be a time well and entirely spent. As I have already indicated, even during this Christmas, quite a few people are fighting. I am not thinking so much of military conflicts. I am thinking more of the internal struggles of specific people. Seriously ill, abandoned, etc.

Of course, even that first Christmas was anything but ideal. It must have been tough to walk in labor pains crisscrossing Bethlehem and not be accepted with everything taken. It must have been an inner struggle to bring a child into the world among the animals in a stable – in the stench, the dirt, and the harsh conditions of a stone cave. And yet. Neither Mary nor Joseph gave up then. Mary did not protest when she learned she would become Jesus’s mother. Joseph did not protest taking his pregnant fiancée as his wife. They did not protest even against Emperor Augustus’s decree; in the end, in humility, they accepted the manger for animals as a cradle for the newborn baby. All this is in the joy of being at God’s intervention in history, which they could be a part of and participate in, and that they had the grace to bring into the world and continue to raise the future Savior of the whole world.

You are correct that Christmas is still a struggle for many today. For a sick person, this struggle may lie in a decision – will I accept my fate in silence, humility, and at the same time in hope? Jesus also came to carry me through death and give me eternal life in his kingdom… For a person without a job, this struggle may lie in a decision – will I accept into my life that even though I do not work, my life has meaning and value? Even so great that the little boy who was born later laid down his life for me? For a well-off person, the Christmas struggle may lie in a decision – will I think more about and support those who found themselves in need through no fault of their own? God has blessed me incredibly… For our children, this struggle may lie in a decision – will I accept into my young life, in the born Jesus, a model of how to be obedient to parents and authorities, or will I continue to pretend that everything always and every time must revolve only around me? And for parents, the Christmas struggle lies in the decision – will I tell my children about this Jesus more than once a year at Christmas? Will I come to church with them so that from a young age, they will recognize that they, as baptized people, are part of a large family – the church, and will I fulfill the promise I made to God at the baptism of my child? Well, and we could continue like this.

Brothers and sisters, this time is a time of inner struggle for one common cause: whether I will accept the newborn Jesus and the message he brings into my life. Let us, therefore, all open our lives to the One who came so that we may have life in abundance. To the One who came with love, peace, tranquility, reconciliation, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice, He wants to fill this Christmas and the following year with us and our families.