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.
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