These four words are written all over: in every Christmas card, newsstand, shopping center, window, manger scene, Christmas carol. No matter what faith you profess you can’t deny that this season is full of joy, peace, hope and love. Let’s try to go a little deeper and see why. The whole manger scene, seen in a superficial way, actually conveys the opposite: a cold cave, hay, cows, smelly shepherds and sheep. This inspires peace and joy? Let’s take a closer look.
Joy: the scene described above is quite simple: no fancy ornaments, no expensive clothing, no loud music, no lights, no celebrities – just simple, ordinary elements of nature and ordinary working people. Could it be that precisely this simplicity is the cause of so much joy? Could that joy come because that baby lying in the manger is there to save us and free us? To experience that joy we need to be as simple as the shepherds. We need to be free from all the externals. Authentic joy comes when people meet and interact with each other without distractions. Simple things and simple people bring out the best in us and that “best” causes an inner joy that’s hard to explain.
Pope Francis said: “A Christian is one who is invited. Invited to what? To a shop? To take a walk? The Lord wants to tell us something more: You are invited to join in the feast, to the joy of being saved, to the joy of being redeemed, to the joy of sharing life with Christ. This is a joy!”
