Christmas

The God of Christians is a God who is close. A God willing to be born as a small baby. A God willing to visit our homes. A God who brings hope and peace to our families, and to our world. 

May the joy in our children’s eyes touch our hearts again. May this joy shift our attention back to the foundation of our life – love.

Let me share a Christian view of love. We believe love is not just something, but, perhaps surprisingly, someone. A person. Jesus, born in Bethlehem, whose entire life, until the very end, revealed what love is like. Weak, vulnerable on one side, yet stronger than death on the other. Love from which no one is excluded. Love that does not judge. Love that forgives. Love that is close. Love that desires to give, to give oneself. Love willing to sacrifice. Love (and God!) willing to suffer to save us, the beloved. Love that trusts us and believes in us.

We believe not only that Jesus lived in the past, but also that Jesus, Love, lives at the deepness of every human being. That’s how close He is. Our being is rooted in His being. He can touch us, and can be touched by us. This intimate presence of a loving God can become a source of inner peace, inner joy, and inner freedom.

The famous verses from the Gospel of Luke 2,9-14 dedicate Christmas to all people of good will, across nations, religions, and cultures. Christmas is something very extraordinary. It is not just an event like other events in history. It is The Event in history. And therefore, we celebrate, in amazement, respect, and joy.

Christians call the God our Father. Therefore, all people are God's children, therefore, all people are brothers and sisters. Jesus called us friends in his farewell sermon /John 14-17/ and asked us: Love each other as I have loved you. May we succeed.

Blessed Christmas to everyone and peace and joy in the new year!