THE story is told that on Christmas Day, an upright politician, an honest businessman and Santa Claus were walking down the street when they saw a $100 bill on the ground. Who picked it up? Santa Claus, of course! Why? The other two don’t exist.

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In today’s Gospel (Lk. 2, 22-40) we hear of upright, honest and simple people, real people who existed, and whose main agenda was to help make the plan of salvation of the Lord come true—Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna. They lived for something and for someone greater than themselves. They were not operators. They accepted their role as co-operators in God’s plan. If you look at yourself as the main character in your life, the be-all and the end-all of your existence, then you’ve got it all terribly wrong.

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Pope Benedict XVI in his Christmas message said that greed will destroy the world. It is already destroying the world. The worldwide financial crisis that faces all of us right now was caused by many selfish, greedy, faceless people whose only agenda was to get more, and earn more and hoard more.

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Greed is already destroying the Philippines. Not only individuals, but even institutions have been corrupted. It has all boiled down to money, money and more money. Worse, even our moral values have been undermined. A whole culture of corruption, cheating and lies has been put in place. We are at our lowest level. What brought us all to this? Greed. We have greedy leaders. It is as if we have never heard of Christmas and it’s message to love and to serve.

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Today is the Feast of the Holy Family. Even the family, the very foundation of our society, is being threatened and attacked on all sides. Let us be alert and be vigilant. Let us not allow greedy and corrupt people to destroy our families.

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By the way, today is traditionally Holy Innocents’ Day. But we are not celebrating it this year. Maybe it is because we as a people have lost our innocence and benevolence, because we have set God aside, in pursuit of our worldly pleasures and ambitions. Whatever. May we gain back the innocence of the children, the simplicity of the poor, the trust of the desperate, the hope of the weak. In other words, may we all minimize our greed, and go back to God’s way of righteousness, and learn again to be submissive to His will and plan.

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During my homily at the TV Mass last Christmas Eve, I saw a mother cuddling her baby in her arms outside the studio. I asked the camera man to focus on them to bring out the message that at Christmas, many of us are celebrating but Mary and Jesus are shut out of our hearts, our homes and our nation. I brought them inside the studio. Why were they outside? The mother said: “Because the baby was noisy...” How many times have we shut out people, and even God Himself, from our hearts and from our lives precisely because they disturb us and our comfort zones?

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Last Christmas Day, while a lot of people were celebrating, I said Mass for a family that lost one of its members. What does one say in such a situation? “Merry Christmas”? All that we could say is that Christmas is especially for the sick, the lonely, the poor, the grieving—because Christmas is hope, and Christmas stands for fresh starts and new beginnings.

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Christmas Day is over. Now we begin our mission to make Christmas happen every day in the New Year. Calling on all Christmas-makers! We have a lot to do to be “re-minders” and “re-makers” of Christmas all throughout the coming year.

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It is easy to feel one with the Baby Jesus precisely because He was weak, innocent and poor. But please remember, this Christmas Baby grew up to be the Jesus who challenged us to mend our ways, and who suffered and died for us in Calvary that we might truly live. Let us not end with Christmas. Let us follow the Child all the way through His public life, passion, death and resurrection, all the way to eternal life!

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How is your family? Is your family close to God? Is your family close to one another? Is your family close to the people? Let us all reflect today on this often quoted saying: “Success outside the home cannot compensate for failure inside the home.” Let us go back to this most simple formula for good, holy families: “The family that prays together, stays together.”

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Praying that 2009 will be a better year for all of us, in all aspects, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, may greed not destroy our souls, our families, our nation, our world. Amen.