Christmas 2002
Christmas is a religious holiday celebrating the Incarnation of God in the human flesh of Jesus. The giving of gifts at Christmas is meant to express our gratitude to God for the gift of Jesus. “What you do to the least of my brethren you do to me” (Matt 25:40).
However, consumerism has largely overtaken this religious act of gift-giving. We need to break this cycle of consumerism and restore Christmas gift-giving to its original purpose of gratitude to God. One way we can do this is by giving gifts to the poor and needy. Another way is to cut back the time we spend in Christmas shopping and use that time to reflect on the gift of Jesus.
I suggest you read the first two chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. They give us the Christmas story and also reveal to us the three-fold nature of God which we call the Blessed Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Transcendence, Transparency, and Immanence
We can think of the three persons of God as representing three aspects of divinity: transcendence, transparency, and immanence. The first Person expresses the infinite greatness of God. The third Person expresses the intimacy and closeness of God to us. The second Person makes the invisible God transparent to us. When we reflect upon Jesus revealed in the Gospels we are seeing God in human flesh. Jesus shows us what God looks like.
Life, Light, and Love
Another way to express and remember the three Persons of God is by means of the 3 Ls: Life, Light, and Love. The first Person expresses the fullness of God’s Life in which we participate by our human life. The second Person expresses the Light of God’s knowledge and wisdom. The third Person expresses the fullness of God’s loving care in which we share by grace.
Jesus makes God transparent
This ties in with the symbol of light. Jesus is like a bright spotlight which enables us to see right into the very essence of God and to know God’s true nature. The early Church chose December 25 to celebrate Christ’s birth because it marks the rebirth of the light of the sun at the winter solstice.
Jesus shows us many different aspects of God. We need to read not only the Gospel story of Christ’s birth. We can make good use of the long winter nights to read the whole four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Meditate on all the words and actions of Jesus in the Gospels.
This is how we will come to know God. Reflect especially on the unlimited compassion Jesus shows to the poor and suffering. This is the model we should follow in our Christmas giving and in our living throughout the New Year.
God’s blessing on you and your loved ones this Christmas and New Year.