Around the world our attention is drawn to what is happening in our immediate neighbourhood. Whether it is particular natural disasters like bush fires or floods, local protests or even just the difficulties of daily life it all seems like bad news. It is easy to see how people can become beset by events which seem to be out of control and why our focus becomes on solving our immediate needs. We want to discover why these things are happening and what we can do to solve our current troubles. This immediacy can start to influence how we live our lives which can become more food to mouth. We look at what we help us to survive one more day rather than looking at what will feed us for a lifetime.
Yet at Christmas we are called to see our world differently. This is not that Jesus was born outside of the daily problems of life. After all the reason why Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem was to meet the requirements of a Census. They knew the difficulties of travel often through hostile territories and what it was to leave everything familiar behind to travel to a new land. Yet in spite of all these difficulties they discovered that they were called to see things differently. To discover how God is with us and does not just abandon us to our own devices. God actually encounters us in our fears and wants us to discover that our lives have eternal value.
This does not remove us from the world but is does allow us to see our world differently. It does not ignore the difficulties of life but it does help us to seek a God who seeks us. The sense where our lives have a deeper meaning which calls us to work with each other for the good of all. The sign of Jesus entering into life out of poverty, in a world beset by a loss of hope and doubting everything calls us to be renewed by a spirit of charity which recognizes that our lives are not of just striving for the immediate wants of today but rather a seeking of what we truly desire. The person of Jesus comes to our lives when we least expect it and transform them for good. May the peace of Christ disturb us!
Yet at Christmas we are called to see our world differently. This is not that Jesus was born outside of the daily problems of life. After all the reason why Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem was to meet the requirements of a Census. They knew the difficulties of travel often through hostile territories and what it was to leave everything familiar behind to travel to a new land. Yet in spite of all these difficulties they discovered that they were called to see things differently. To discover how God is with us and does not just abandon us to our own devices. God actually encounters us in our fears and wants us to discover that our lives have eternal value.
This does not remove us from the world but is does allow us to see our world differently. It does not ignore the difficulties of life but it does help us to seek a God who seeks us. The sense where our lives have a deeper meaning which calls us to work with each other for the good of all. The sign of Jesus entering into life out of poverty, in a world beset by a loss of hope and doubting everything calls us to be renewed by a spirit of charity which recognizes that our lives are not of just striving for the immediate wants of today but rather a seeking of what we truly desire. The person of Jesus comes to our lives when we least expect it and transform them for good. May the peace of Christ disturb us!
No comments:
Post a Comment