Christmas 2023 God offers Life!

Merry Christmas to all!

We celebrate that God, the all powerful, almighty creator of all things visible and invisible offers us the fullness of life. Not only does God offer fullness of life, but offers it freely, no price. Not only does God offer fullness of life freely, God enters into our human life completely to reveal the value and worth of our human life, to reveal just how much humanity means to God, and to reveal what a full human life is.

God comes, God reveals, God lives in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, incarnated.  

Accept the Gift of God!  Live life fully as Jesus reveals.

This means live with humility; be open to being changed, recognize that we still need to grow; there is more to life than we know. Engage in healing and forgiving; welcome and share, give of ourselves for the good of others; a full life always involves the love of others.. Be those best versions of ourselves, as God created us to be.

Christmas celebrations encapsulate all of this. We give gifts to people as a sign of affection and gratitude. We accept those odd gifts too, in the spirit given. We greet people into our homes and extend hospitality. We rebuild old relationships that maybe have gotten a little rusty. We take time off and look at the lights, the trees; we hang with family and friends; husband and wives nestle and cuddle without having to work (at least I hope).

Jesus comes into our lives and is in our lives to offer us a better way to live and to love; to adjust our priorities, our attitudes; to re-adjust and ask ourselves whether the “What is important my life” has replaced the “WHO are important in life.”

God being born as human calls us to engage in living, and the fullness of life always involves others, people. We even think how the “what” of the Eucharist becomes the “Who”, the person of Jesus; reminding us of the importance of not only God in our lives, but those others who share our lives with us.

We can all lose our focus at times, go astray and start putting more energy into our things, our own needs, wants and desires; get pulled in by our fears.

Christmas calls us to remember what God has done and does for us, for all people.  So celebrate with the gifts, celebrate with food; but celebrate with the people God has placed into our lives. Celebrate with thanksgiving too, take the time today, tomorrow to stop, looks at the chaotic messes under the trees, on the dinner table and kitchen;

And see the love of God, shown in Christ, present amid it all; always.


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