Christmas
is an encounter with Jesus. On this holy night you are invited to ask yourself
how you can meet Jesus, whether you are ready to meet Jesus, or whether you let
yourself be carried along by life as if it were all just a game. No, Jesus is
knocking at your heart; Jesus is
telling you the same thing that the angel told the shepherds: a Redeemer has
been born to you. He simply asks you
to listen – or rather, he asks you to seek him. Today he invites us to seek.
And
where should we look for him? The sign that was given to the shepherds is the
same as always. I’ll repeat it as it was told to them: seek him in a manger, in
a stable. The sign is the same: look for
him where no one else would. Don’t look for him among the lights of the
great cities; don’t look for him in appearances. Don’t look for him in all that
pagan assemblage that is offered to us continually. Seek him in the unusual, in
surprising places. Seek him like those shepherds who were told to look for a
new-born child lying in a manger. Seek him there. Push away the foliage, and
underneath you will find the shoots of life, in that simplicity, in that
littleness.
In
the grotto of Bethlehem today, in order to enter the place where Jesus was
born, one has to crouch down, to lower oneself: to meet Jesus one has to make
oneself small. Shed all pretension. Shed every ephemeral illusion; get down to
the essential, to what promises you life, to what gives you dignity. Lower
yourself: do not be afraid of humility. Today we are told that the higher you
hold your head, the more important you are. The more vain you appear, the more
power you have. The more one shouts and quarrels, the more discord one sows,
the better. No, that’s not the case! Lower yourself; make use of meekness.
Listen and live together in peace. Recognize your dignity and that of others.
Love and let yourself be loved.
Source: Pope
Francis, Encountering Christ, pp.31-32.
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