Christmas message

“The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found the baby lying in the manger.”

The magic of Christmas – as some call it – has always been centred on the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. St John in his Gospel says: “The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn.1:14) This is the STORY of Christmas! It is truly a story of LOVE!

The Christmas Story is filled with many moments of LISTENING … Mary listening to God’s invitation to be the mother of the Redeemer; Joseph listening to the voice of God in a dream to take Mary home as his wife even though he knew the child she was bearing was not his; the shepherds listening to the Angels and seeking out the babe in the stable of Bethlehem … in all these moments of listening actions followed that would allow the miracle of the birth of the God-man.

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in October launched a Synodal Process that has invited us to be a Church that journeys together, listening and reflecting together so as to live communion, to achieve participation and to open herself to mission.

As we approach Christmas 2021 and prepare to proclaim once more the Story of Christmas, we can ask ourselves what has changed since we last did so? The disruption that our lives have experienced because of the COVID-19 pandemic has not changed significantly from last year Christmas. There are still those who are experiencing LOSS: of jobs/income; of time in school; of interaction with friends, neighbours and families. There are sisters and brothers who are sick, hospitalised and have died. We are still quarrelling about vaccines and their efficacy or safety. Slowly we are recognising that COVID-19 will not just leave us but that we will have to prepare to live with the virus and its effects for some time to come. So, what has changed since we last told the story of Christmas?

Our Island home, Jamaica, is still battling with crime and violence, very often inflicted on innocent women and children. Our homes, once seen and experienced as “sanctuaries” where the young were loved, nurtured and taught the way of love are being experienced as horror houses of abuse and violence. What has changed since we last told the Story of Christmas?

We continue to grapple as a people with half-truths and lies as integrity and accountability continue to be lofty words that elude our way of life – especially in the public domain. What has changed since we last told the Story of Christmas?

But in spite of these and many other situations of struggle, pain and suffering there are many things that have changed since we last told the Christmas Story. Our lives (individually and collectively) are filled with stories of love, kindness, forgiveness, respect and value for the “little ones”. Yes, much has changed but we recognise that much still has to change … and so we continue to tell the Story of Christmas. But our telling of the Story of Christmas has to be more than just reciting words, we have to be prepared to embody the STORY – live it. It is only when we live the STORY of Christmas that we will bring about the change that will end selfishness, unkindness, unforgiveness and lack of respect. Christmas is not marked by the things we do, but rather by the way we are with each other. It is the season that invites us to open our hearts to each other. It is, in the words of SYNOD, the journeying together seeking after UNITY, listening with respect to each voice that will help us to proclaim the story of LOVE.

I take this opportunity to wish you and your families a Holy and Spirit-filled Christmas and a New Year that is lived in expectation of the fulfilment of the promise of redemption. You will be remembered in my Christmas Masses.

With every good wish and prayers.

MOST REV JOHN D.

PERSAUD

Bishop of Mandeville