A Christmas Message from Father Kevin Morris
As we enter the dark months of the year, we prepare to celebrate Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ, whom Christians proclaim as the “Light of the world.”
For many people the approach to Christmas merely accentuates an underlying dissatisfaction in their souls, a deep longing; though we really don’t seem to know what we are longing for. We keep trying to satisfy this longing with things that we think we ought to want, and then wonder why we are disappointed. Happiness can’t be bought for long with material possessions or the illusions which advertising and the media surround us.
In a candlelit church in the middle of Christmas night, we hear the words of the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God.... He became flesh and dwelt among us.” There is none of the traditional imagery of angels, stable, shepherds, kings and the star, just the stark reality of God, the God who loves us and made Himself known to us in Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is the most meaningful thing we can hear at Christmas amidst the hurly burly of our celebrations.
At Christmas we celebrate gift and generosity and open expressions of love. You don’t need to be religious to understand that all of those things make life worth living. The Christmas story suggests that these things are basic to what God is like. In the person of Jesus we see these qualities revealed in human form. In the Babe of Bethlehem we come to understand the meaning of our deep yearning; we long to believe that we are loved and that we belong.
If Christmas is about anything, then it is about that we are loved by God and belong to Him and one another in profound ways. Let this be at the heart of our celebrations and our lives.