IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME! For people around the world, irrespective of their religious beliefs, Christmas is a time of joy, peace and celebration. For many it’s a time of holidays, tours, gifts, cakes and elaborate decorations. But for Christians, it also marks the origins of their identity.
We have taught our children the stories about the old man in red who would bring them gifts during Christmas. Our children today know so much about Santa Claus, Christmas trees and the gifts, but so little about Joseph and Mary and their little baby, Jesus. Are we misinformed by what is now known as fake news or paid news?
Today business giants heavily pay the mass media to share their version of the Christmas story. A “story” repeated over time by many makes the listeners believe it as the truth. No media would dare to share the real Christmas stories of today—about parents with children like the Holy Family, forced out of their homeland; about children separated from the parents at the borders of nations.
The concept of sharing gifts during Christmas is an example of fake news. It is common practice among people across religions and beliefs, thanks to the glorified image of Santa Claus who brings the Christmas gifts. Most pious Catholics today believe that sending gifts to the most needy in the orphanages or home for the aged or people on the streets, is a meaningful way of sharing the Christmas joy. Indeed, it is a well-intended gesture, but the ultimate joy rests with the manufacturers of those products! If the gift we buy is not a real need of the one who receives it, it becomes a waste.
To communicate the Christmas story without exaggeration is the key challenge for the Church today. Everyone wishes to listen to or read stories. Today, the media is the biggest and most powerful storyteller. Mass media as well as social media vie for our attention to present to us the most appealing stories. They tell us stories in way that we are kept glued to them. A story touches our heart when it touches lives. Same is the case with the Christmas story. The more the exaggerations added, the further we move from the reality.
Pope Francis in his apostolic letter issued on December 1, Admirabile Signum—on the meaning and importance of the nativity scene, challenges the faithful around the world when he delineates the mission of the Church: “In a particular way, from the time of its Franciscan origins, the nativity scene has invited us to “feel” and “touch” the poverty that God’s Son took upon himself in the Incarnation. Implicitly, it summons us to follow him along the path of humility, poverty and self-denial that leads from the manger of Bethlehem to the cross. It asks us to meet him and serve him by showing mercy to those of our brothers and sisters in greatest need.”
In his apostolic letter, the pope reminds us that Christmas is not a once-a-year event. We celebrate Christmas with great concern and care for the less privileged, the homeless and the sick, but when Christmas is gone, we forget them.
Hence, every Christmas is an invitation to renew our commitment to care for our family, our loved ones and at least one more person who is in need of help. Can I make a difference in the life of one person in this Christmas? Jose
