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**Christmas Eve**
**Luke 2:1 - 14 - Jesus, a completely different hero**
We love stories of Heroes with great deeds. From Superman to Spiderman, Wonder Woman to Black Panther, superheroes have become a staple of our culture and captivated the imaginations of people of all ages. Heroes possess incredible powers, fight epic battles, and inspire us with their stories of heroism. They stir in us a desire that lifts us to pursue the best things. Chivalry will never die, because love is the one thing that lives forever.
This Christmas Eve we read the story of a small family, so small and insignificant that one almost must feel sorry for the mother, the father and especially the child. In the shadow of gigantic male figures such as the ubiquitous Emperor Augustus and influential local rulers, the child came into the world. Augustus was considered divine - conceived by a serpent as his mother lay asleep in the temple of Apollo, the Greek god of seducing dance, and music and of poetry. Temples, palaces and servants shape his life: Augustus was god, high priest and king.
Nevertheless, Luke not only dares present to us the story of a carpenter, an almost inconspicuous and humble woman and a poor child on this Christmas Eve. He even ventured to put the birth of Jesus on the same level as that of Augustus, if not even higher.
While the imperial decree attempted to encompass the entire population of the earth, the birth of the child of Nazareth incorporates men and angels, all beings in heaven and on earth. According to Luke, men and angels rushed to Bethlehem and testified the glory of God because in this child Jesus peace irrevocably appears on earth. The emperor could only grant peace for a time until death took him away. What the emperor dreamt to accomplish; the child makes possible; for his death is the decisive moment that creates peace for all eternity.
The stable, the manager and smelly and dirty diapers, are these not places that determine many lives, known and unknown to us? Is the stable not a place that reminds us of the many homeless, displaced people and orphans afflicted by war and violence. Aren't Joseph and Mary people who remind us of the suffering parents. Many parents who try everything to take care of their children, but still encounter many obstacles. And then there are the manger and swaddling clothes: Isn’t it the current cost of living crisis, the lack of necessities, but also the unwillingness to share because of human egoism. Swaddling stands for all people who work hard and still feel deprived of their well-earned wages.
Despite everything that goes against life, Luke keeps the message of the child Jesus in mind: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
Can we trust this message again? Mary and Joseph do, the shepherds too. Finally, even the wise men from the East. The great Saint Augustine in particular leaves no doubt about the benefit of faith in the birth of the Child of God:
“He is God. Consider His divinity, and all cause for wonder will cease. Let amazement pass away; let praise ascend; let faith be present; believe what has happened. Has not God humiliated Himself enough for you? He who was God became Man. The inn was too small; wrapped in swaddling clothes, He was placed in a manger. Who does not marvel? He who fills the world found no room in an inn. Placed in a manger, He became our food. Let the two animals, symbolic of two races, approach the manger, for the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib. Do not be ashamed to be God's beast of burden. Carrying Christ, you will not go astray; with Him burdening you, you make your way through devious paths. May the Lord rest upon us; may He direct us where He wishes; may we be His beast of burden and thus may we come to Jerusalem. Though He presses upon us, we are not crushed but lifted up; when He leads us, we shall not go astray. Through Him may we come to Him so that we may rejoice forever with the Child who was born today.” (Augustine, Sermon 189,4)
No emperor can promise this faith, only God who makes Himself small, so small that it is inconspicuous.
So, on Christmas Eve I wish you the courage to stand up and clothe yourself with hope again. We are not afraid of the future, we face it with strong faith, hope and love.
Joseph Lam, PP.
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