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25 dic 2020

25/12/2020 – Christmas

25/12/2020 – Christmas

Night                    IS 9,1-3.5-6            Psalm 95/96        TITUS 2,11-14      LK 2,1-14

Dawn                     IS 62,11-12             Psalm 96/97        TITUS 3,4-7         LK 2,15-20

Day                        IS 52,7-10               Psalm 97/98        HEB 1,1-6             JN 1,1-18

We kneel down among the shepherds from Bethlehem in front of the Child tenderly tended to by Mary! Mary knows that the son is coming from above. The shepherds know He is the Saviour, the most desired person and awaited by the whole people! They know it because they have heard it from a mysterious angel who was not ashamed of them. In Mary’s heart are echoing the words she heard from another angel nine months before, and she is still in admiration and grateful for Joseph’s behaviour, who has welcomed her through an act of faith. The shepherds are looking for what was in the angels' song, which has surprised them with two words: glory and peace.

They are expecting great things, because « glory » is a word referring to the greatness of God, the Lord, the Most High, awesome, whom the prophets are talking about. They are expecting to notice the presence of people with the power to publish laws about peace, in order to give serenity to the whole people. Nothing like that, but the shepherds are not disappointed, and among them we take part in their surprise.

The glory of God is that Child, the peace of men is still in the arms of that mother with her sweet and confident gaze. The glory is God’s revelation, and God reveals Himself in the man’s life since its beginning: that Son is a source of joy because lets us and pushes us to believe that God loves us today! The peace of men cannot come from anywhere but from that humility  personified in the fragile and weak body of the newborn baby.

Among the shepherds we are left dumbfounded, and we start believing that our certainties and our desires of greatness and wealth are cheating us and bringing us to ruin. We begin to feel sympathy for the Child, to desire that from the mother’s mouth would come a word, that from Joseph’s action we would be helped understand. And instead nothing: silent, only in our heart we need to look for a word. And the latter comes, here it is blossoming slowly on our lips: « Here I am, little Jesus, here I am. Do you need me? Here I am! May I be of service? Here I am! When you will be all grown up, and you will call me, here I am. »

Alongside the shepherds we return home keeping this « here I am » always ready. In fact, there is no need for looking for an occasion, the latter is always there for us. We understand perfectly that, when we meet a person who is sad, suffering, bitter and resentful, the memory of the Child and of His mother’s gaze is making us try to give help, a smile, a hand, a word of pacification. « Here I am », and the occasion is not far away, there is no need to wait for the Child to grow up: right away, now I am at the disposal of God’s glory and of the peace of men! God begins sparkling in my actions, peace begins coming out of my behaviour. Everybody begins seeing and realising that I have met the Child!

I become the witness of His truth, witness of the fact that He is true man and true God, like John. It is really true that the Word of God has become flesh and dwells among us: my flesh too, my human nature, is now different, becomes the carrier of truths that are not coming from the world, but from heaven. He is the light and the life, and I swear by it, because since the moment when I met Him I am not walking in the darkness anymore and I cannot feel the want for life anymore. Since I told Jesus « here I am », since then I am sure that my existence is precious, useful, great in God’s eyes and in those of whom belong to Him!

Among us dwells the Child with His mother. I will not forget Him tomorrow, I will not forget Him next Sunday, I will not forget Him in a month. His dwelling among us is faithful, I will be faithful too to His presence in this world! I am not used to faithfulness and I am not able to be faithful. I will ask for the mother’s help: in fact she looks at me too with the same look she has for the Son!

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming and pitching your tent among us.I will live remembering you, loving you, bringing you with me in every place, because every place needs you and without you are empty, without you they are frightening and hostile places. I will bring you with me, so you will be able to transform many places in places of peace, and in them you will be able to show yourself as the glory of God, of the God who loves and wants to free all men from lies and  fear. Jesus, here I am!