Whatever stage in life, and whether or not you believe in Santa, we can agree that we are here to glorify God. The Gospel continues from last night’s birth of the Child. Closer to midnight, the first of the Christmas Masses showcased the battle between darkness and light with the focus on the announcement of the Angel. This morning after the Angel’s announcement, the Shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to behold the birth of the Child Wonder. The fruit of their encounter of the Saviour was their proclamation of what they had witnessed. According to social hierarchy, the shepherds rank right at the bottom of the ladder. They had nothing. It was their lack that allowed them to behold so great a sight.
The birth of this Child lifts earth to heaven and stoops heaven to earth. One can even say that shepherds who came to behold the Child were indeed coming to behold, like us, the Eucharist. It is like sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament and adoring Christ. He came as an insignificant Child, choosing to be born in such a humble setting so that we can all marvel at what God can accomplish. He did not come with power, not as emperor or king, MP (member of parliament) or congressman. He came as God to show us what He can accomplish just by being Himself.
In fact by His helplessness, He drew to Himself, the powerful like the Magi and the powerless like the poor shepherds. But sadly, we are afraid of nothingness. Maybe we are even afraid of our shadow. Have you noticed that our Christmas has to be filled with plenty. This is supposedly the season of emptying like Christ emptying Himself but judging by gifts galore in the shopping malls, it is the season of getting. Commercially we have been corralled to adopt a kind of bazaar behaviour. And Christmas has been reduced to nothing more than a consumer’s haven. Consumerism could be a sort of overcompensation for our fear of nothingness and it leads to an obsession with the self.
How then can we be more than consumers? How should we not overcompensate?
Perhaps the English language can help us. It is the word “present”. We have taken the reality of “present” to new heights of materialism. While giving is part of Christmas, the greatest present we have and can give is the presence of ourselves. It is personal. How present are we to one another? What is the quality of my presence to my family or friends? The beauty of the lowly shepherds is their ability to adore the Lord fully present in His humility and helplessness.
Sometimes we substitute our presence with presents thinking that sheer material pleasure is enough to take the place of the simple truth of being present—physically, psychologically and even spiritually. Many struggle to be present, let alone be still. Imagine sitting down and doing nothing? For almost all of us, that would be the definition of boredom. Visualise the motorcycles 5 or 6 abreast and the queue is one-kilometre long enduring the daily drudgery of crossing to and from Singapore. Everyone, if not all, silently gives thanks to the Lord for social media and the internet. To be able to watch a movie while waiting is not “wasted” time. For many this represents progress.
But what have we lost in this unstoppable “march of progress”? It is an ability to withdraw, to take a step back and to contemplate. The shepherds hurried away from their already quiet lives of desperation when they went to see the child. They found Him and they contemplated Him in His humble glory. The description that Mary pondered these things in her heart shines the path forward.
Christmas Mass at Dawn helps us to contemplate the event of human salvation. We are saved by the coming of the Lord. We marvel at what Christ can do and has done for us just by being Himself—God made man. In our withdrawal we gather fruits for the sharing.
However, an inability to step back and to ponder will have an impact on the world we live in. Recently, a CEO of an insurance company was shot dead in broad daylight in cold blood. Some young people have taken to social media to hail the murderer as a hero. Maybe this phenomenon suggests a normalisation of violence amongst the young but what is evident is a loneliness and emptiness in society that provides a fertile ground for a narcissistic glorification of the self and reflects a loss of the sense of the sacred.
Hence, rather than focussing on giving material gifts perhaps we can come away with the idea of making ourselves as gifts to others by our sincerity, our caring and our love. Have you ever as a parent or an adult experienced this? Your child did something incredibly stupid and in a moment of anger you punished your child? Or your wife said something which offended you deeply and in an uncontrollable rage you land your hands on her? Later you regret and you try to make up for it by buying a gift? Can you imagine what your child or your spouse would have liked? A present or you being present?
You know the answer to that question. To be present to others in a lost and lonely world is a gift far beyond any material gain. We can become gifts of love and patience to others. You see, the shepherds were not only the first visitors, they also became the first missionaries. It is not impossible to walk their footsteps. To be the Gospel, the path forward is to move beyond an obsessive focus on the self. Contemplating a humble and helpless Child invites us to marvel that what lies in the manger is none other than the mighty Saviour of the world. O come, let us adore Him.
