Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace and the incarnation of the God of Justice. As we open gifts, laugh, and enjoy the blessings we have been given, let us remember the context of which we live.
This is a beautiful world filled with lots of wonder. But we also have a lot of pain and suffering. Our gorgeous world is torn apart by war, fear, and violence. And yet, we find our hope in the word made flesh. The Living Word speaks truth to power and springs hope into the darkness.
I would like to invite you all to consider this Christmas Day (and season Christmas ends Jan. 6) that the birth of Christ is not in the midst of your family. The birth of Christ is found in the excluded, the occupied, the marginalized are. Jesus was born in a manger, rejected by the society and hated by the empire, but today Jesus is born in Ferguson, Baltimore, San Bernadino, Palestine, and all places where turmoil has occurred. The Prince of Peace comes uninvited and transforms violence to wholeness with His healing grace. Let us welcome the new born King of Kings in the unexpected places today.
Here is a quote from Thomas Merton, I'd like to share with you in closing.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!
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Into this world, this demented inn
in which there is absolutely no room for him at all,
Christ comes uninvited.
But because he cannot be at home in it,
because he is out of place in it,
and yet he must be in it,
His place is with the others for whom
there is no room.
His place is with those who do not belong,
who are rejected by power, because
they are regarded as weak,
those who are discredited,
who are denied status of persons,
who are tortured, bombed and exterminated.
With those for whom there is no room,
Christ is present in this world.”
Thomas Merton
This is a beautiful world filled with lots of wonder. But we also have a lot of pain and suffering. Our gorgeous world is torn apart by war, fear, and violence. And yet, we find our hope in the word made flesh. The Living Word speaks truth to power and springs hope into the darkness.
I would like to invite you all to consider this Christmas Day (and season Christmas ends Jan. 6) that the birth of Christ is not in the midst of your family. The birth of Christ is found in the excluded, the occupied, the marginalized are. Jesus was born in a manger, rejected by the society and hated by the empire, but today Jesus is born in Ferguson, Baltimore, San Bernadino, Palestine, and all places where turmoil has occurred. The Prince of Peace comes uninvited and transforms violence to wholeness with His healing grace. Let us welcome the new born King of Kings in the unexpected places today.
Here is a quote from Thomas Merton, I'd like to share with you in closing.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!
+++
Into this world, this demented inn
in which there is absolutely no room for him at all,
Christ comes uninvited.
But because he cannot be at home in it,
because he is out of place in it,
and yet he must be in it,
His place is with the others for whom
there is no room.
His place is with those who do not belong,
who are rejected by power, because
they are regarded as weak,
those who are discredited,
who are denied status of persons,
who are tortured, bombed and exterminated.
With those for whom there is no room,
Christ is present in this world.”
Thomas Merton
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