Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas is such a simple message that perhaps we have lost some of its meaning. We speak these words without reflection on what they mean; do we mean what they say? It is far more than the generic “Happy Holidays” which really doesn’t make much sense this time of the year. “Happy Holidays” is so generic that it is best suited in the European sense where it is likely to indicate one is going on vacation. It has little to do with a specific celebration.

But Merry Christmas is a loaded greeting that few take the time to ponder. We are asking someone to be merry as in happy, joyful and light hearted. It means that we should not take the world so seriously and realize that life will go on, despite our current problems and anxieties, the world will continue to move on. The world’s continuation is not reliant upon what we do in the next few minutes, days or weeks. We have to make plans and work for a better future but we also have to put things in perspective. Enjoy the day! Know the good things God has gifted you. Don’t live for happiness tomorrow; allow it to penetrate your heart today!

Christmas of course is a powerful word. It refers to the Mass of Christ that celebrates the coming of the Lord into the world. It speaks of humankind being so esteemed by out God that God came to live among us as one of us! God was born as an innocent child dependent on human parents for His security. He was watched over by angels but was entrusted to the Holy Family of Mary and Joseph. In doing so He gave great dignity to all families and hope for all human kind. God humbled God’s self so as to exult His human creation. He would lead us into salvation and would pay the price so that we could have everlasting life despite our sinfulness. How blessed we are.

When you say Merry Christmas, remember what you are doing. You are telling the person to realize how blessed we are and to know that God loves us so much that He was born as one of us to leads us to the salvation we celebrate at Easter. Merry Christmas tells us to enjoy this gift of life and the gift of now being called brothers and sisters of Christ and thus Children of God. We live in the Kingdom of God that exists in the believers and followers of Jesus Christ. We are the People of God, made that way by our God who loves us so much that He would become one of us! We await that Kingdom coming to its fullness when that child born on the first Christmas returns in glory to set all things right and make them here on earth as they are in heaven.

Have a Merry Christmas and remember that God has given you this life to enjoy. Those around you that make up your family are God’s gift to you, as you are to them. Don’t let another day go by without making that reality true in your heart. If you have no family with you at home, know you have one in God’s people for in the Kingdom of God we are all brothers and sisters to each other and to Jesus, with one very loving Father in heaven. How blessed we are. Have a very Merry Christmas indeed!

Father Steven Foppiano