A virgin shall bear a son, and his name shall be called “Emmanuel, God with us.” In many religions and philosophies, humanity is told to climb, ascend, reach higher, etc. As Christians, Christmas reverses that script. In Christ, God doesn’t stand on the safe side of eternity shouting instructions across the gap. Rather, He crosses over, steps into the gap, into our confusion to bring clarity, into our sin to bring mercy, into our fear to bring peace, into our death to bring life, into our shame to bring forgiveness, and into our past to bring healing. So, Christmas is God saying, “I have come to enter your darkness myself and walk you through to the other side that is light. Christmas, therefore, is God refusing to leave us where sin, shame, and sorrow dropped us off. Christmas is personal and transformative before it is a festival.
Because Christmas is personal, it invites us to ask: what are the things that are still holding me in darkness? What old guilt still holds me down? What fear and shame still own much of my peace and happiness? What voice of condemnation still drowns the voice of grace in my soul? Where do I need a crossover? Could it be from resentment to forgiveness, from self-hatred to self-acceptance, from despair to daring hope, from spiritual paralysis to renewed commitment, from pride to humility, from grabbing to sharing, from hatred to friendship, from contempt to forgiveness, or even from discrimination to acceptance.
Because Christmas is transformative, it also invites us to become that which we have received; a bridge to help someone else cross over—the holy moments that Christ said is done to him when we do it for any of the little ones—a simple visit, a call, a meal, a small gift that says, “You are seen and noticed”, a word of encouragement to a young person, a struggling parent, a grieving elder, a quiet act of generosity toward someone who cannot pay back, etc. These are the mirrors of the movement of the God of Christmas—reaching to touch others as He reached out and touched me, making room for others as He made room for me, bridging the gap for others as He bridged it for me, helping others cross over from loneliness to belonging, from shame to acceptance, from anxiety to trust, from feeling forgotten to knowing they are loved, from poverty to wellbeing, from tears to joy, from mourning into dancing, from being rejected into being accepted. This is the story of Christmas.
This is why Christmas does not expire on December 26th. It is a life-long engagement of bridging gaps and helping others cross over. In this way, it will not just be a celebration on a calendar but a revolution in the heart.
#Word-Walk-with#—Msgr Nwaorgu.
