WE ARE IN a race against time to observe the great feast of Christmas, making ready to celebrate with our families, friends and colleagues. We find ourselves busy with decorations, shopping for gifts, sending out cards, preparing food and attending Christmas gatherings.
Finally, when Christmas arrives, we are already tired and distracted, and already fatigued with the lights, songs and celebrations. And so Christmas itself, generally finds us more in a pressured and tired space than in a leisured and rested one.
Advent is meant to be a time that enables Christ be born more deeply in our lives. In our preparations for Christmas, we must make better space for spiritual renewal than merely decorating our houses; make space for prayer rather than attending Christmas parties; make space for the poor, the sick and the lonely rather than merely reaching out to friends and families with cakes and carols.
Today, Advent has become more about already celebrating Christmas than it is about preparing for it. And we end up like the biblical innkeepers who had no room for Mary and Joseph at the first Christmas, we generally arrive at Christmas with “no room at the inn”, no space in our lives for a spiritual rebirth.
It does not mean that the infant in the manger is no longer approachable. On the contrary, at every Christmas we genuinely desire that the Holy Child bring us a new birth and new life. Yet, our busy lives betray and hinder us from experiencing the serenity of the Prince of Peace. Although the baby in the manger is real even in these present times and confronts us every day on the streets, at our doorsteps, in our surroundings and waits for our care and touch, but such encounters are conveniently neglected.
The Season of Advent challenges us to take a look at ourselves and at the lives of those around us. Advent must lead us to celebrate the virtues of humility, simplicity and poverty. Advent is not about decorating the most expensive Christmas cribs and trees, nor about organising Christmas socials, which ultimately make us tired and fatigued. Instead, Advent is a reminder to keep our eyes and ears attentive to the tears of the needy.
The struggle to identify Jesus in our surroundings—among the homeless, among the refugees, among the poor is not something special to us alone. Everyone struggles with this in some fashion. Although we do know that to serve Christ is to serve these people, we often rationalise our lethargy. We console ourselves by saying: “No one is perfect; no one gives a full place in his or her life to Christ, even at Christmas time.” But this leaves us with a pressing challenge: There is too little room for Christ in our busy, distracted lives!
Let us set aside our reasoning and follow the promptings of the heart to welcome Christ! Share what we have with at least one needy person. It could be a friend or a stranger, so that this is Christmas for them too. But, more importantly, Christmas is a celebration of Christ, his life and family. It is Jesus who takes the centre stage. Pay attention to receive him in the Word and in the sacraments. Pay attention that we find ourselves at table with our family on Christmas Day, and do not forget to greet our neighbours and colleagues with a little more warmth. jose
