A way to appreciate the profound reality of God as one of us is to look at history. When we speak of royalty, the imagery is that of a “cordon sanitaire”—a buffer zone surrounding the royal personage. Even though the POTUS is not royalty, still observe how Trump is protected. Compare this “sanitised” version of royalty with Richard III. He was the last King of England who died in battle. He was at the forefront of it all. Whether he was a good King or not is not the point here. Instead the fact that he died in battle gives us an idea of what sort of God we have. He not only pitched His tent amongst us. He bore our pains, carried our grief and suffered for our transgressions.
There is a huge chasm between Richard III and our God. Richard died to protect his position which is basically nothing more than self-interest. He was fighting for his kingship or his reign. Whereas Jesus, our King died for our sins. He who was sinless took upon Himself all our offences.
We have a God who, all holy, dares to take on our messiness in order to save us. The 1st Reading speaks of this messiness by linking it to darkness and how a nation who has lived in darkness has been longing for the light. Christ is the light that broke through the darkness of our sins. He came in order to save us as individuals and as humanity.
The fascinating truth about this salvation is that prior to Christ coming to be with us, the people longed for Him. The irony is that after He came, still people did not know Him. I wager that the world is still waiting for a Saviour to come. A simple example of our waiting is our search for “solutions”. Right now we are looking for a cure for the malaise (not Melayu) known as global warming. While we are trying to stem the rise in ambient temperature due to excessive carbon dioxide emissions, the effort is actually nothing more than a cry for salvation.
The final solution that we all desire is not to be found in human machinations in the first place. In trying to cut waste and the ever-increasing need for landfills that is caused by our disposable culture, we seem to focus on biodegradability. The use of biodegradable plastic bags may have created the illusion that we are no longer polluting the earth, and in some cases, it may have encouraged greater usage. This search to “save” the world merely shows that the solutions we seek are to be found in the conversion of our hearts. And that is a much harder task to achieve.
Conversion is a life-long and life-changing process. Christ in becoming man is God’s great gift to us to reclaim our divinity. As the Psalmist says, “You have made us a little less than a god” but we lost that gift through the sin of Adam. With Christ assuming our humanity, the process of restoring our divine state as a little less than a god can resume. At the Offertory, the adding of water into wine we pray that “we may come to share His divinity as He humbled Himself to share our humanity”.
The Light has come to change our destiny. The trouble is, do we need that Light or are we still interested in that conversion?
Firstly, we are having a good time here on earth. A good example is the luxury afforded by air transportation. Here in the hot tropics, imagine how temperate-climate fruits that have a short shelf-life can now be savoured by us. Literally, from the trees to our tables. Life is good except for the occasional road-bumps. Old age, chronic illness, financial disaster. Other than these minor inconveniences, the truth for so many of us is that we have no need for God, let alone a Saviour.
The sad reality about this is that more than ever we need the Lord. We need the Saviour. Ukraine is still being attacked by Russia. The peace deal in Gaza is at best flimsy and all that is needed is for an idiot to set the region afire. Even though we may have advanced technologically by leaps and bounds, the truth remains that we are not saved and we cannot save ourselves. An alcoholic can tell you that, or any addict, for the matter of speaking. Unless he or she recognises that there is a power under which one is pressed down or in bondage to, only then can the enslaved individual reach out for salvation. We need to be saved. Whether we know it or not. Whether we accept it or not. We need a Saviour, and in many cases, we need to be saved from ourselves.
Tonight, we celebrate the coming of the great Saviour. Indeed every Christmas is a reminder that He has come, He wants to be with us, He wants to save us. The Child, placed in the manger, is our Saviour. Come let us adore Him.
