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Lessons From Christmas
Tonia O. Alabi

I greet you with great joy which comes with the season of Christmas. Christmas in Latin means “Gathering together for Christ.” Mass is a Latin word meaning “gathering together.”

Christmas is the very essence of humanity. During the few days of Christmas everyone and everywhere is filled with an air of relief, joy, charity, hope etc.
In recent past, life became ostentatious, most people, young or old get carried away with the task of acquiring material things that will show off how successful the year had been for them.

As the years go by and mankind seems to have worn itself out with the production of things for luxurious living, life becomes very expensive and unaffordable for many. To many, this is a challenge but we need not see it so.

The Catholic Church and some other churches that have been very attentive to the real needs of man with regards to Kingdom Life, and have followed the trends of living came out with an alert for Christians to be careful not to miss the real meaning of Christ’s coming, His birth and life.

The Church now preaches that as much as Christmas is a joyous season, when we share the love of Christ, we must be weary of what we do to get that which we share and why we share with those we share with.

We are to know that the Advent, that is, the three weeks before Christmas, is a period when we have to be reflective, thinking of how we have spent the year. We need to ask some questions of how we have lived with our brothers and sisters in our homes, families, workplaces, communities and the House of God. We are to look at all our relationships. How we have reacted to situations, people and challenges. Have we seen Christ in the midst of it all, and can we say people have truly seen Christ in us. Have I been the face of Christ to others?

Christ came that we may be saved. He came to be born in a manger to show us that greatness is not about material things. His light was seen by the shepherds and wise men even though he was just lying in a manger. They were led by the Spirit of God. He had gifts that could only be for a royal.

Mary, who is the Ark of the Covenant submitted herself to God right from the Annunciation. She allowed herself to be the carrier of God, who came as the son to show us how we have to live our lives, to gain the kingdom of God.

Mary knowing who she was carrying, was never proud, not to the one she was betrothed to, Joseph, nor to her cousin Elizabeth, nor to her neighbours, to the laws of the land, nor to the disciple who knew her as the mother of their Saviour.

Mary was discreet to the end. She allowed God to unveil Himself at the purposed times. She never took upon herself the glory of been the Mother of God. Hmm, imagine if it were the woman of today, she would have flaunted it at the faces of people, use the status to make way for herself wherever she faces difficulty. Mary kept the secret of God and allowed it to be revealed when He by the spirit spoke to and through people.

We are going into the New Year 2019, let us live by the lessons we have learnt from the Christmas of 2018, the gathering for Christ we had and passed through. Let us be on the alert, that we may not follow the search for material things which would fade away with the passing of time. Let the spirit of Light lead us always.

Be humble even when you have seen God’s greatness and glory in your life. Allow yourself to be used for the good of others, that they may see in you the face of God
Pope Francis in his message at the last Papal Audience for 2018 encouraged us to live with one another in the way Jesus would want us to, and then await the surprises He will bring to us.

Let Christ lead us till we gather again at Christmas to sing; Halleluiah! Halleluiah!! Halleluiaaaaah......
I wish you a very blessed 2019 as you are a winner in Christ.

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