What really brings us to this temple today? Why is it that every year at this time the streets of our cities are empty, that there are fewer cars on the roads, that so many temples, which seem too spacious on most Sundays, are now overcrowded. What means that even those who are not used to bothering God on a daily basis, today feel free to sing “Lulajże Jezuniu” or … at the top of their voices. Is it just a matter of tradition, childhood memories, the unique mood of this “silent and holy night”? Although the tiredness of the pre-Christmas rush and the experiences of Christmas Eve are not conducive to reflection, let us consider for a moment what Christmas is really about. Not the commercial one, which has been going on in advertising and supermarkets for weeks, but the real one, which we are starting today.
It is not easy to discover the true meaning of Christmas at a time when it has become one of the most attractive goods for sale, from which you can make great money. It is also not easy to extract the content of Christmas from beyond the screen of folklore and easy sentimentality, idyll and lights. At the center of Christmas is an event that changed the history of the world. Christmas, however, is not only about remembering something that happened a long time ago. It is, above all, “Good News” addressed to all of us. It must include the wonder of faith that comes from the realization that “the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” is “the Savior and our God”, the One who became man for us and for our salvation. The true meaning of what happened in Bethlehem is revealed to us by St. Paul in the second reading of the Mass: “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.”
Every Christmas tells us about the extraordinary and incomprehensible closeness of God. He reminds us that the Child “wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” is truly Emmanuel – “God with us.” How is it possible for the One who has existed for centuries to be born? How is it possible that the Creator and Lord of the universe comes to earth in poverty and abandonment? – Saint Paul tells us: “For your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” The “Lord of great majesty” became man out of love for us.
There is no Christmas without faith. To recognize the presence of “God with us” and allow Him to act in our lives requires something of the attitude of shepherds. First of all, an attitude based on simplicity and faith. They were the first to believe that the Baby in the manger was the awaited Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. What they heard was so important to them that they set out without the slightest delay. Certainly, they were also driven by curiosity, but above all by being moved by a great matter that had been announced to them, small and insignificant people. Shepherds teach us to put God first. They teach us inner freedom, capable of putting other activities into the background – no matter how important they are – in order to go to God and let Him enter our lives. Today, for so many people, the things of God are no longer important. On the list of the most important things, God is often at the bottom. Today, many Christians have problems with the truth about God being close to them. It is difficult for them to come to terms with the closeness of God that goes beyond imagination. Often we also prefer to deal with a distant God, standing at a safe distance, with a God who does not interfere too much in our affairs. We also sometimes dream of a powerful Savior, some kind of magician who will finally solve all our difficulties in one stroke. God, who comes to us once again in the mystery of Christmas, will not impose His presence on anyone, just as He did not impose himself on the inhabitants of the houses in Bethlehem, who did not open the doors on the night of His coming into the world. He only expresses a burning desire to come to each of us. And He will come if you let Him. In a moment, while reciting our “Confession of Faith”, we will genuflect to the well-known words: “He descended from heaven for us, men, and for our salvation, and became man.” When saying these words, let each of us do it with a sense of great gratitude and think only of ourselves: It was for me, truly, that God became man.