EXPERIENCE JOY THIS CHRISTMAS

Joy is the message of Christmas; joy for the hope and salvation the baby boy in the manger brought to us; joy for the God made present among us in His Word, in the Eucharist, among us, in us. Through the incarnation of Jesus, we are granted the privilege to be in the presence of God once again.  

How can we find joy today when a lot of not so joyful things happen today; war, hatred, high prices of goods, difficult life.

J – Jesus as the true source of Joy. Joy is not found in the material affluence the world offers but to Christ born in a manger to a simple family. Jesus came to the world when the world experienced a lot of not so joyful things. And so, it is today. Christ comes to us in the midst of not so joyful and tragic things happening in our life. Find Jesus, welcome Jesus in your life and true joy will come into your life. Let our heart be the manger welcoming Jesus despite life’s difficulties. This joy is communicated not through expensive gifts but more effectively through having Jesus in us and sharing Him to others through simple gestures of smile, forgiveness, giving, loving etc. For the joy we ought to experience and give this Christmas are the joys that money can not but: Time, happiness, friendship, hope, love, good health, and JESUS. The former are only additions in our celebrations and in our life, that are depleted in time, the latter is the Essence of CHRISTmas; the source of true Joy.

Avoid commercializing Christmas. It is a religious event. It does not concern worldliness. More than the gifts and beautiful dresses, Christmas is about the hope Christ brought to us 2,000 years ago; a hope that will never frustrate us, unlike the worldly gift we have been busying ourselves with. These gifts will frustrate us. Sooner than you know, they will lose their luster, but not Christ. His light shines forever. The standard and definition of joy by this world will not never much that of Christ’s.  

O – Obedience unites us to Jesus. Celebrate Christmas with faith, the way a Christian would do, less we celebrate it in a pagan way, devoid of Jesus whose birthday we celebrate (e.g. Others greet one another on the 25th of December by saying Happy Holidays, Happy Year End.) Desire not to please the world but only Jesus. Desire not the presents the world requires you to buy and give, but the presence of God in us; our presence in God. This we can achieve without spending a single centavo but by obeying Jesus, His commandments and teachings. Obedience to God makes God present in us and us in Him. That is true Joy. Sin, on the contrary, separates us from God. We sin when we disobey God; when we realize our OWN PLAN; live life in our OWN WAY. We are saddest when we sin, away from God; different from His plan.  

Y – Your true value is revealed through Jesus, and by our obedience to God’s will. Your worth as a person does not lie on the clothed you wear, on the material things you have on Christmas day; on the worldly honors, you have achieved at the end of the year. Signature brands and titles of various kinds, should not be the longing of our hearts this Christmas. It is God; God first. For when we realize how much God loves us that he sent His only Son to redeem us, we shall realize our worth. God save us through the best way possible by sending His only begotten Son. God gave you only the best (more than you deserve). Mahal ang pinangtubos sa iyo. Do not make yourself cheap by busying yourself with cheap things. You are worth than the diamonds and golds of this world. You are worth more than the sparrows of this world (Mt 10:31). Focus on the boy on the manger. Focus on Jesus. Your worth lies in Him alone.

In the midst of a broken world, disoriented desire, inordinate happiness, and misguided priorities, joy is a possible reality. Two thousand years ago Jesus was born in the same reality, and the world and man are never the same again. In the midst of pain and suffering, joy is made possible. The hope and salvation He brought to man caused joy. For in Jesus, the God made man, God is made present in our midst, and us in Him. That is enough cause for joy. The world dictates for additions but for a true Christian, Jesus is more than enough; whom he encounters by obeying God’s will and commandments; whose worth lies in Jesus alone.

JOHN: GOD IS GRACIOUS

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah and announced the good news that his wife will bear a son, Zechariah doubted God’s plan, and he was made mute. Should uncertainties and skepticism ensued in our faith in God, we are better off mute. Muteness silences us. And silence is the language of God. In silence, God communicates his will and desire for us. The silence of the baby in the womb of Elizabeth made Zechariah contemplate upon the fulfillment of God’s promise to him. The silence of those nine months prepared Zechariah to the hope that his son would usher in not just to him but to all humanity. After nine months of silence, surely Zechariah had so much to say, yet foremost of these is the great thing the Lord has done to him: the fulfillment of a promised Savior.

As no word or speech can contain it, the joy of being a new father; of a promise fulfilled, found its way through a song. Through his canticle (Benedictus), Zechariah blesses the Lord; He sang for the good things he had received from the Lord. Through the birth of his son, John the Baptist, the doubts in the heart of Zechariah were dispelled. God’s fulfilled promise drove out the fears and uncertainties from Zechariah doubting heart. Not only Israel, but also, Zechariah was set free from the slavery of unbelief, and was cast out of the darkness of sin. With faith in God, he was able to say good things about the Lord (for a faithful heart is a grateful heart). What else can we say (or sing) about God if not His goodness and kindness towards us.

Zechariah named the grace he had received from the Lord, John(יוֹחָנָן: Yochanan), meaning the Lord is gracious. Naming his grace was not even of Zechariah’s doing. He was able to sing his grateful heart out because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Indeed, in the end, all is God’s grace for truly God is gracious.

Should we have nothing but doubts and disbelief, be mute, be silent. In silence, contemplate the goodness of God unfolding before our eyes. In the end, like Zechariah, may we sing for the good the Lord has done to us. Like the psalmist may we forever sing the goodness of the Lord.

ON DECISION MAKING: HUWAG LUTONG MACAU

We make decisions every day; on what shall we do, on what shall we eat; where and how shall we go to places we wanted to go, etc. And occasionally we make those life-changing decisions that would be the general direction of our life. We consider these decisions as good as far as we understand their consequences (with our limited knowledge, though). In our life plan, have we considered the plan of God for us? 

As an upright man, St. Joseph planned to divorce Mary quietly after knowing she was with a child even before they lived together. His plan is good in respect to the laws of their society that does not tolerate unfaithfulness to one’s spouse. As Joseph made up his mind, he rested; he slept. In his slumber, an angel of the Lord revealed the divine plan behind the obscure things happening in his would be wife. As he woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He changed his good plan, in accord with God’s better plan.

Life decisions are made not just in a flick of a finger. They are thought over a thousand time. St. Joseph teaches us that it is not enough we think them over. We have to pray over our decisions. After deciding, and before resting, (I would like to believe) St. Joseph prayed (being a righteous man). He prayed that God may guide him in his decision to divorce Mary. Joseph prayed and rested confronted by a life-changing decision. This was his way of giving God the ample space in which He can communicate His plan for us. In our fast-phased world, that demands decisions to be immediately made, can God still find a space and time through which He can convey His desire for us?

Haste makes waste. Food prepared instantly is lutong Macau. A beef boiled for days brings out the flavor that few hours of cooking would not much. Ample time dedicating in decision making allows as to see different angles that have to be considered in the next steps we are to make. Praying and resting permit our decisions to mature by taking into account all possibilities, especially God’s take in the decisions we make.

In the decision we make, do not haste.

Pray and rest.

Consider God’s plan

less our decision would be lutong Macau.