The Savior is Born

No one is light unto himself, not even the sun. Christ alone is the Light. Before his birth men were in darkness, confused about the very meaning of life, and like infants, were crying for light with no language but a cry. But God sent his light and brilliancy in Christ, before the jaws of death could devour men. Viktor Frankl was a prisoner of the Nazis in World War II. One early morning he and some other prisoners were digging in the cold hard ground. As he was struggling to find a reason for all his sufferings and slow dying, suddenly he became totally convinced that there was a reason, though he could not fully understand it. He writes in his book Man’s Search for Meaning, ‘’At that moment a light was lit in the distant farmhouse which stood on the horizon, as if it were painted there in the midst of the miserable grey’’. At that moment, he says that the words of the Gospel flashed into his mind: ‘’The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has never put it out’’ (Jn 1: 5). From that time, Victor was a different man, for it gave him hope and dispelled his despair.

There are times in our lives when we are thrown into darkness in which even shameful deeds do not bring disgrace. But if we open our hearts to Christ, he can dispel our darkness. When we do something wrong and try to hide it, our deeds are in the dark; but the light of Christ can reveal our deeds as they are, moving us to acknowledge our guilt and repent. When we don’t know what to do or what to say, our minds are in the dark, but his light can remove that ignorance, urging us to help those who are in pain or to speak on behalf of the poor, unmindful of its consequences. When we don’t see any purpose in life, our life is in the dark; but his light can remove that ignorance, urging us to help those who are in pain or to speak on behalf of the poor, unmindful of its consequences.

When we don’t see any purpose in life, our life is in the dark; but his light can help us to find meaning in our life. When we can’t accept Jesus into our lives as our Savoir our religion is in the dark; but his life can offer us the gift of faith, if we truly open our hearts to him. When we fear death because we don’t hope for anything beyond the grave, our death is in the dark; but his light can reveal him as our resurrection. Hence, when our light is low and the quiet shadows are falling, when our blood creeps, the nerves prick and the heart is sick, we must seek the light of Christ.

So many centuries have gone by since the coming of Christ and yet, perhaps, we are still in the dark. How do we know that it is day and, for a Christian, the night is over? Is it that, at dawn, he can distinguish a mango tree from an apple tree, or an ox from an ass - not really? When he looks at his neighbor and recognizes in him or her his own brother or sister, then it is day for him; then he is in the light of Christ for love of neighbor is the heart of Christ’s message. If this is not the case, we are still in darkness which Christ alone can banish, for he is the brightest and the best of the sons of the morning, streaming light on our darkness. But he cannot remove our darkness all by himself, we have first to open our hearts to him. A famous artist drew a magnificent picture of Christ, thorn-crowned and carrying a lantern in his left hand, knocking at a closed door. He entitled the picture as ‘’The Light of the World’’. A friend of his who appreciated the painting much, said to him: ‘’ But, you have put no handle on the door,’’ The artist replied: ‘’You forgot- the handle is on the inside’’.
Therefore, Jesus is willing to fill us with his light, as sunlight is willing to flood a room that is open to its brightness; but we must open our hearts to the light, for we have the key. Once filled light, we are called to become a beam of light in the midst of darkness and a ray of hope in the midst of despair. It is not enough to decorate our homes and trees with our Christmas lights. We ourselves must become lights and must light candles from our own light, instead of cursing the darkness. We are called to shed Christ’s light on others by our example. Example is always more efficacious than precept, for precept begins, example accomplishes. Our example must be witness to our religious faith in the midst of a world that often ridicules religious faith as superstition; witness to human dignity in the midst of a world that often tramples on human rights. May we, then, become bearers of the light to get people out of darkness and the shadow of death and thus leave a trail of Christ’s light behind us as we pass through this life. Merry Christmas to you all and have wonderful celebrations.