Theme For The Year 2004: FELLOWSHIP
Key Verse For the Year : "But if we walk in the light ... we
have fellowship with one another" (I John1:7)
Christmas: The Celebration of Limitations
“And they (shepherds) came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in the
manger.” Luke: 2:16
Christmas is celebrated worldwide as the festival of joy and peace. Often this celebration is wrapped up in lighting the surroundings, exchanging gifts, grabbing special items and eating too much. Originally, it was the celebration of limitations, finding joy in letting go whatever possessed. Jesus, the son of God, by his birth into the human limitations was letting go all of his authority, power, majesty and privileges. St. Paul says that “Christ Jesus being in the form of God … made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men.” (Phil 2:6,7) Yes, Christmas is the celebration of embracing limitations and letting go something that we are holding on in our life, which is not pleasing to God.
What are the things that we are holding on to in our life that Jesus cannot enter into our life situations? The disciples had to let go of their fishing skills and nets in order to allow Jesus to be born in their lives. St. Paul had to let go of his leading role in the Pharisee community to let Jesus in. St. Augustine had to let go of his notorious life style to let Jesus in and to serve the church. Sadhu Sunder Singh had to let go his turban and Sikh religion in order to embrace Christ and Christianity. All the faithful servants of Jesus had gone through this process to follow Jesus.
During this Christmas what are we going to let go in order to experience and celebrate the presence of Christ in our life? May be we have to let go our passion for power, our inclination towards anger and hate, our rejection of opportunities to serve the Lord, our addiction towards something unpleasant, our pretensions of spirituality, our masks of well being and our inclination towards projecting others’ faults rather than looking at our own. Let us celebrate Christmas by acknowledging our limitations, weaknesses, failures and frailties, and bringing them as an offering to the Babe who was born in the manger to embrace the human limitations in order to save the humanity. In spite of all our possessions and positions, are we willing to be born again in the manger with Jesus? The good news of Christmas is that the homeless Jesus has enough space to provide home for hopeless and hope for helpless human beings.
Christmas is the celebration of letting in Jesus and letting go our false possessions.
Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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