|
Advent and Christmas
I do not understand you Christians, said a friend of mine, how
could you believe in a God who became a human being, and you say
he was born in a manger and then died as a criminal on the
cross?
This my friend in his question did not know that he really,
asked the most important question that a human being can ask
about Who is God and what humanity is for God. And why evil is
in the world and how God could conquer evil when he created
human beings as free to choose between good and evil.
No other religion can understand the mystery of God as should
the people who believe that the Bible is the word of God. In
fact from Genesis to the Prophets, to the psalms to the last
book of the Old Testaments hundreds of verses tell us about this
God who feels with us as a mother and even became one of us so
as to uplift us from our miseries and make us understand that
our humanity cannot find its final response but in Him. The
Gospel of St. Matthew, who was written to his Jewish brothers
and sisters bring a lot of references from the Bible that are
fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Isaiah the prophet speaks on this second Sunday of Advent about
"A shout shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his
roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest
upon him: a spirit of wisdom and understanding..."Isaiah
11:1-10. It is not by accident that Jesus came from the stump of
Jesse.
Isaiah will say on the third Sunday of Advent: "Here is your God
... he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be
opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared;...then the tongue of
the mute will sing..." Isaiah 35: 1-6. No wonder how Jesus came
to save us. In fact God's name is YHWH. Christ was YHWH in the
flesh. His very name, which is Yahshua or Yehshua means YHWH
saves. (for more on this theme, please visit: http://reluctant-messenger.com/Gods-sacred-name.htm)
Isaiah 7:10-14 will speak about virginal birth of the Emmanu-El),
God with us. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you this
sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name
him Emmanuel."
Many other prophets will speak about the life of third messiah
and his death.
Advent and Christmas come to give us then the answer. God came
to live our life so as to change our way of living. "I never
understood, said a friend, the suffering of as person who had
cancer until I got the cancer. Then I started to appreciate live
and to tell people how they can make from their life a better
one, as I felt I was going."
Advent and Christmas is just this: God becoming one of us so as
to tell us how we can live better. He chose non-violnece, he
chose to bless his enemies, he chose to forgive, he chose to
call for peace and justice, he chose to accept suffering and not
blame it on anyone, but use it to save, he chose to live a
simple life, he chose to love to the end. So I can choose a role
model in my life.
If he did not do that, how could I know that love will always be
the winner, that forgiveness is always the winner, that the
challenges, difficulties and sufferings of life can serve to
redeem and serve to love and not to hate and condemn. That you
can use everything, anything as little as you may have to be at
the service of humanity.
Advent and Christmas is really about how you live the life of
Messiah. |
|
|