Jesus Christ is, and remains, the Alpha and the Omega, the origin and goal of the entire creation and of every individual human life.
At Christmas, the eternal and ineffably high God stretches out HIs arms to us as the Child in the manger. This Child does not question us about our faults, our frailties or our sins but simply rejoices at our presence, at our love. He smiles at us and wants to be embaced and loved by us. Even though this Child reaches out to us in frailty and weakness, nevertheless He is our way, our truth and our life for all eternity. No one can reach perfection with the Eternal Father except through Him, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
He wants to become our saviour and redeemer. He callls on us to come to HIm in the manger and invite Him into our daily lives. Whether we are rich or poor; whether we are experiencing poverty, suffering, sadness, or stress; or whether we are stuck in calm complacency, He wants to come to us as “Jesus”, which means “God saves”.
So let us travel in spirit to Bethlehem; let us fall down and adore God in the Child – like the angels, the shepherds, the kings from the East. For in Him, God saves the world.
Every year I am struck by the phrase from the prologue of St.John’s Gospel: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:11-12). So let us drop everything, let us set out and go to Him. Let Him come into our homes, into our hearts, into our world, into our lives. He will save, transform and change the world, healing and perfecting it. He can do all things, for He said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)
He also helps us to understand our times and their signs, for “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts“. We find grace, we find comfort, when we entrust ourselves to Him, to our redeemer, like little children, with the needs of our world which we are so many and so well known to us at ACN. He shows us how we can best help suffering Christians throughout the world. Through our prayers and gifts, we can – and must – truly bring them the redeemer Who comes to us.
At the manger we also find His mother, Mary, who is our mother as well. She accompanies us on our journey to Him, leading us to salvation. In this Christmas season, I entrust you especially to her prayers and intercession.
