John ESENE

    Jesus needs to be born in us to reconcile us with God who loves us more than we love ourselves; and to reconcile us with one another to end killing, raping, kidnapping and so on. The feast of Christmas is not for a day or a season.  It is an eternal joy; joy that no one can take from us because it is the joy of Jesus Christ Himself made present in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.  Christ’s coming has given us the privilege to call God His Father our Father despite our nothingness and sinfulness. Let us wholeheartedly accept Him and truly surrender all we have and are to Him.

     In the past, God only revealed Himself partially to a very few but through Jesus, He came to dwell in our midst in human form; this is an ineffable mystery: God in His boundless mercy has called us to contemplate the glory of His Only Begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father. This is the incredible paradox of the great and merciful God; this is the greatest gift of God: His Only Begotten Son. To see Him is to see the Father.

         If you want to encounter Jesus in this Advent, prepare your heart where He can find a home and live in you. Those who make extra ordinary profits from sales and services especially during Christmas should learn from Zacchaeus and stop defrauding people. My emphasis today is on inward cleanliness and our availability for the Child Jesus to be born in us. Confess your sins and avoid anything that will lead you to sin or block your way.

      Zacchaeus was determined to see Jesus hence he decided to avoid distractions and climbed a sycamore tree to enable him sight Jesus. Jesus seeing Zacchaeus’ readiness to see Him, He decided to visit him. Then, his life changed for good and he was never the same again. So shall it be for you and I this season in Jesus’ Name!

       “And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ So he made haste and came down and received him joyfully.  And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost” Lk 19:5-10.

      Pope Francis has said “Bethlehem is not a capital, and because of this it is preferred by divine providence, which loves to act through the small and the humble. Jesus in whom the hope of God and man meets was born in this little village.” Ignore your riches, power and position and be humble today as you wait to have Jesus born in your heart! When you have Jesus, you have everything.

      There is need for us to reflect soberly on the birth of Jesus rather than occupy ourselves with expansive arrangements of food and drinks which bring about distractions: God being born in human form is one of the best things that has ever happened to creation. There is nothing wrong with the above visible arrangement though. The truth is that you are expecting a spiritual king; hence you have to be clean inwardly to receive Christ spiritually.

     Like the three shepherds, be ready to abandon whatever you are doing to enable you locate the new born Jesus: worship Him and present your gift to Him.  “The angel said to the shepherds, ‘Be not afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to us is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” Lk 2:10-12.

     In Nigeria, today, Christmas season has been commercialized in all sectors. Transporters knowing fully well that people must travel often decide to hike prices beyond expectations. For example, the costs of flight tickets have never reached this level in the history of Nigeria. Bus drivers are panel-beating their own prices while food sellers are already kicking us. Hotel accommodations, clothing, decorations, drinks, etc. have all gone high.  Unfortunately, both Christians and none Christians who are privileged to be in positions to remove these stupendous and excessive burdens from Nigerians are smiling and rejoicing over these changes because of what they will gain from it forgetting that money cannot give you everything. But if care is not taken most of the righteous will turn to evil ways and reap where they do not sow!

Rev. Fr. Dr. Okhueleigbe Osemhantie Amos said, “Christmas is redeemable. We can redeem it from the marketplace. We can choose faith over frenzy, humanity over hustle, and contentment over chaos. Christ came quietly, in a manger, not in luxury, not in decoration, not in glitter, but in grace. That grace is still enough.”

      Rev. Fr. Prince Chidi Philip says, “Buy Christmas clothes, not only for your children, but for the neighbor’s child who has none. Put food in someone’s kitchen. Send money to a struggling family. Call that person you know is depressed. Share love that costs you something.  Let this December be the month you stop practicing photocopy Christianity, the type that looks holy inside Church but becomes blind and deaf outside. Let your Christmas be a blessing to people who will never repay you.”

     Let people see in us, the attitude of Christians to attract them to us and enable us lead them to Christ like John the Baptist did in Jn 1: 6-8, 19-20. 

I wish you all a Happy Christmas in advance!