Brothers and sisters, let us imagine an ancient royal court where a great crowd awaits the arrival of a noble ruler. Let us observe the people who look at the ruler, discuss him, and are in great expectation. Everyone falls silent when the main gate opens, and the ruler appears there after a while.
In biblical times, people knelt before their ruler and greeted him. In the ancient world, the rulers considered themselves gods and let their surroundings feel it accordingly. Today, on Christmas Day, we commemorate the coming of Jesus Christ. He is the Ruler of all rulers and the King of all kings. And if we thought that he would enter in glory, in great splendor, we would probably be very disappointed. So, who is coming to us today? Any influential person? Yes, he is the Ruler, the Lord, and the King, but he comes into this world as a baby. He does not appear in luxurious robes or a general’s uniform. He’s wearing diapers! It is the diapers that are His identifying mark! After all, the evangelist Luke writes, “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger” (Luke 2:12).
God appears as a child of poor parents on a tucked-away farm and a marginal province of the then-Roman Empire. If we perceive the Roman Empire as the known world at that time, then the Son of God is born on the edge, on the periphery of the world. At His birth, He is not celebrated by the royal court or the political, social, or religious elite. Vice versa! Only a few simple, poor, in their way insignificant shepherds come, whose names we don’t even know. This is how the true ruler of this world appears in modesty, simplicity, and inconspicuousness.
Today, we may be justified in asking Why God chose this way. He does this primarily to show us that he came for all. Even for those who do not know how to celebrate it or are sad, beaten, or disappointed by life. His coming concerns even those who do not believe in him and do not recognize him. In the first letter to Titus, St. Paul addresses these words to Titus: “For the grace of God has appeared, which brings salvation to all people…, (Tit 2, 11). Christmas is for everyone. Christ came for all. This baby wants to accept everyone. He brings salvation to all people.
He came to bring the wealth of love to poor and cold human hearts. All evil in families, the Church, or society grows out of the coldness and poverty of the heart. Jesus Christ knows that a change in society for the better can only occur through the transformation, enrichment, and rebirth of every heart. Changing political structures may bring some help, but when taken over by people with cold, empty, and evil-filled hearts, it brings catastrophic destruction and unimaginable suffering because a selfish heart is poor and empty. Because the actual content of the heart should be love, compassion, and mercy. Jesus Christ came among us to fill our empty, selfish hearts with accurate human content. He felt for the suffering and helped them. The Gospels provide a rich list of active manifestations of his love and mercy. We have his parables and sayings in the Gospels, which should become our life program. Christmas expressions of love, compassion, and mercy should become our behavior model, even on weekdays. Changing the world through changing people’s hearts can seem like an endless journey. Well, we have to say: There is no other way.
Jesus Christ humbled himself and became poor to come down to us and tell us who we are. We know this because science has accumulated a lot of knowledge about man. Is it enough to know who we are? It seems so, but in reality, it is not enough. Because man is not just a physical organism with psychological functions, as science presents him. A person also has a heart that needs to be filled with true love – God’s love.
Brothers and sisters, a selfish heart is a poor and empty heart. Let us thank God today for sending us his Son. Let’s ask him to teach us to live in love, give us the strength and courage to be good, and for love to become a model of our behavior every day.
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