REFLECTION FOR CHRISTMAS: THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD Week beginning 25TH DECEMBER 2022
The “THOUGHT FOR THE DAY” at the foot of this page can be interpreted in a profoundly fundamental manner. It can be used to highlight the prime event of human history, the Incarnation – God, Absolute Spirit, assuming human form in the Person of His One and Only Begotten Son, and all for our salvation and redemption. For in Jesus, God the Father has revealed the light of love to humankind – “to those who need it most”. This is by no means those who feel they need it most. Every single human being is included in these words – never will there have existed a person who does not need it.
Friendship is at the heart of this “THOUGHT FOR THE DAY”. Befriending is clearly at the heart of true Christianity. Yet Christmas does draw or impel us towards the deepest and most enduring friendship of all.(In the Gospel of John, Chapter 15: 15, we hear Jesus assure His disciples: “I shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master’s business – I call you FRIENDS for I have made known to you everything I have learnt from My Father.”
For the true meaning of Christmas, we may go to the very beginning of that Gospel – the Prologue. In John 1:14 we see and hear John say: “… we saw His glory, the glory that is His as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Verse 16 assures us: “ Indeed, from His fullness we have, all of us, received – yes, grace in return for grace …”
The final 2 verses of that Prologue assure us: “… Grace and Truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son , nearest to the Father’s heart, Who has made Him known.” – John 1: 17 & 18.
Truly, Christmas is all about LIGHT and all about LOVE. It is also all about LIFE – eternal life. Of our God, we can say with profound respect and humility that He wears 3 L-Plates: LOVE, LIFE & LIGHT. These are the 3 Ls of the true meaning of Christmas.
Good Shepherd Catholic Church 