The story is told about Jesus and Santa Claus meeting each other in heaven. Jesus said: “You know Santa, I am jealous of you.” Whereupon Santa asked: “Why so, dear Lord?” And Jesus answered: “Soon it will be my birthday, but, it is you the people are preparing and waiting for.”
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In today’s Gospel (Lk. 1, 26-38) we hear of the preparations that led to the birth of our Savior. I must say I am impressed with the efficiency of the search committee in heaven. How on earth did they “Google,” and find a simple girl in an unknown village somewhere in the land of Israel to become the Mother of the Savior? I must also acknowledge the temerity of the Divine Plan that rested on the “yes” of a virgin to conceive sans relationship with a man. What if she said “no”? What if she refused to cooperate? Was there a Plan B?
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More than impressed, I am touched by the reaching out of the Divine to us mortals. The message of the annunciation is the importance of each one of us in the eyes of God, and the respect of the Divine for our free will. Yes, we count on God’s heart.
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There is a song titled “Somewhere Out There.” What an assuring and heartwarming message to know that “someone’s thinking of you and loving you tonight.” But more heartwarming is the reality that this Great Someone is now not just “out there” but has already come down here and loves us in flesh and blood. All because a simple girl said “Yes,” “Fiat,” “Thy will be done”!
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What made Mary say “yes”? It was the greeting “The Lord is with you” from the Angel Gabriel. It made her accept her calling and made her overcome her fears. May this greeting, “The Lord is with you,” help us too whenever we go through difficult, and even impossible, situations. Our greatest assurance is that the Lord is with us no matter where, no matter what.
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Forty-year-old cancer patient Lea continues to call me at about 7 p.m. every night before she sleeps just to receive God’s blessing over the phone. All she holds on to is the assurance that the Lord is with her in her pain and terminal illness. I am so touched by her simple, humble, hopeful faith. Yes Lea, the Lord is with you!
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Take note that all that people need to know really is that the Lord is with them. I often ask myself if we are really making this message heard and felt. All too often, we tell people about rules, issues, doctrines, obligations, and we forget to proclaim unto them God’s living and loving presence in their joys and pains in the here and now.
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Further down the line, I often ask myself with concern and fear: Are we really connecting with the young, with the worldly, with the poor and the marginalized? Are we really communicating with them, and is our message really coming through? I hope that we do not wake up one day and realize that we have lost them, or are no longer relevant to them.
May we all feel the Lord’s personal presence this Christmas. To do that we all have to have some quiet moments and let Him make His presence felt, and that happens if we take time to have time with Him. Focus on Jesus, not so much on Santa Claus, nor on the Three Kings and their gifts, nor on the shepherds and their lambs. Lessen on shopping and partying, and add on loving and praying. May we also make God’s presence felt by others, especially the poor, the sick, the needy and the marginalized this Christmas. Remember, Christmas is making God’s love present and alive in the here and now.
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Want to feel real Christmas joy and not just Christmas happiness? Start with yourself. Be reconciled with God, and with people you have wronged or have wronged you. And forgive yourself for whatever failures because you are loved without conditions. Remember, “The Lord is with you!”
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Do something good to others secretly this Christmas. Have a “project” that only you and God know, and you will experience that joy which the world cannot give nor take away.
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Please remember that the Savior was born in a lowly manger, to remind us to stop becoming a manager. Let God be the manager of our lives so stop managing people, stop managing life, and stop managing Christmas itself. Letting go and letting God is the best way to make Christmas a reality. Remember, there is a God… and you’re not Him!
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“Nothing will be impossible for God.” I repeat this line from today’s Gospel especially for those in need of healing, forgiveness and conversion. Like Mary, may we believe, believe against all odds, and continue to believe that God has a plan, that God is in control, and that God loves us more than we can imagine or measure.
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God is a God of surprises. Let us open our hearts and minds to possibilities—and miracles. Let us broaden our horizons, and spread wide our arms in peace and love, and let us dig deep into our pockets too, for the world around us is so much in need of salvation and love.
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A moment with the Lord:
Lord, thank you for being with us, and help us to make others know and feel that you are with them. Amen.