The great event of Christmas, the birthday of Lord Jesus Christ, is around three weeks from now and Christians all over the world have begun their preparations for celebrating it. According to the Christian tradition, nearly four weeks of preparation, called the season of Advent, is done before they actually celebrate Christmas. During this period, Christians are called to renew themselves so that they can celebrate the birthday of their Lord Jesus in a meaningful manner. Or as His Holiness Pope John Paul II has said, it is ‘a journey of spiritual renovation in preparation for Christmas’. The voices of the prophets in the liturgy, who announce the Messiah and unite all to conversion of hearts and to prayer, resound. And they do so by fulfilling religious requirements, such as participation in special prayers at home as well in churches, fasting and abstinence and engaging in some altruistic acts. What is most noteworthy, however, is the inner attitude that one is called to possess during this time of preparation. It is well reflected in the verse from a Psalm: I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house (Ps. 121:1). There is gladness in the heart of everyone who waits to meet the One who has power over one’s destiny. The Lord alone has the power over human destiny and a devotee can only be glad and rejoice at the good news of meeting with his Master. For the Christians, the good news is that the Lord is coming into their midst. Well, he has already come once, but his followers continue to remember and annually celebrate his incarnation or taking human birth on the earth. And the Lord’s coming was eagerly awaited by his faithful as it is beautifully described in the following passage from the Book of Zephaniah, ‘Cry out with joy, O daughter of Zion; rejoice, O people of Israel! Sing joyfully with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord God is in your midst’. (Zeph. 3:14,17) The time of preparation before Christmas would also mean the reawakening of the hope for attaining peace in ourselves and in the entire world. Peace can reign in our hearts only when we erase the traces of vengeance, greed and every form of selfishness in us. Human beings need to work at it; they need all the determination and resolve to change their ways of living so that they can attain the inner peace that the celebration of Christmas promises. The writer is spokesperson, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India
