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For many of us, Christmas is a source of great joy; for some, it is a challenge; while for others still, it is both a joy and a challenge. The approach one has towards the season and its festivities, has a great deal to do with his or her understanding of its meaning, and how it impacts his or her existence during the yuletide season.<\/p>\n
We could safely say, this time of year naturally radiates a sense of joy and wellbeing in such a way, that even the poorest of the poor can enter into and experience the spirit it represents. However, it is also a reminder to us of the huge gap and the resulting lack that remains to be filled, in order for all of humanity to arrive at the true purpose of Christmas, that is, the salvation of all. Therein lies the bitter-sweet experience of the season.<\/p>\n
In the First Reading of the Second Sunday of Advent, the prophet Isaiah shared his dream of what the coming of the Saviour will establish. The imagery he used is as follows:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wolf lives with the lamb, the panther lies down with the kid, calf and lion cub feed together, with a little boy to lead them. The cow and the bear make friends, their young lie down together. The lion eats straw like the ox. The infant plays over the cobra\u2019s hole; into the viper\u2019s lair the young child puts his hand\u201d (Is 10:6-8).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n This, in essence, represents the spiritual environment which Christ, who is the object of Christmas, will establish by His coming among us. The question for us is, how can we work together as a people to make this dream a reality? The truth is, Christmas will always remain a challenge unless the human community sets a viable agenda that will seek to achieve this goal. The festivity, therefore, serves as a reminded to us, of how much we are yet to achieve total peace on earth to men and women of good will.<\/i><\/em>\u00a0Millions are still hungry, injustice of every dimension still reigns, hatred continues to exist in our hearts and the list goes on. However, it is not all hopeless. There are many good actions and intentions that the reality of Christ\u2019s birth engenders among us. The key is, we must allow them to grow and multiply, not only during the yuletide season but throughout the year.<\/p>\n It is for this reason we show appreciation in this special season, for anyone who, by virtue of his or her position in society, touches the lives of even the least among us, to make theirs worth living. I refer to our leaders, both civil and religious, our public servants and educators, the judiciary and law enforcement agents, the business community, professionals, private citizens, farmers, fisher folks, etc., so their continued contribution to the well-being of our society will reflect the true objective of the Peace<\/i><\/em>\u00a0and Joy<\/i><\/em>\u00a0of the Lord\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n A merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year to everyone!<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For many of us, Christmas is a source of great joy; for some, it is a challenge; while for others still, it is both a joy and a challenge. The approach one has towards the season and its festivities, has…","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":296174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[276,235,9,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas","category-homepage-carousel","category-news","category-religion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n