Jesus Christ is born, he came into our world. Why did he come among us? He did not come to reign, to rule over us, as this does not enrich him. He had no interest in searching us, reaching out to us. He does not want anything from us. He wants to give something to us. He wants to sacrifice himself for us. From the beginning of the world God is the one who gives us something. He created mankind, he offered himself as a gift. This is a real mystery that we cannot comprehend. If we understand a little bit of this mystery, our Christmas is real. It is worth it that he came among us.  

In many cases we are so busy with our own things that we forget what the most important is. This is how we deal with our values, our feasts. “Christmas is the feast of love”, we say and repeat this sentence out of routine. Every minute of our day is filled with something “important”: cleaning, buying presents… We forget the most important thing: that the rising Sun comes and visits us from heaven: God is visiting mankind. God liberates people, sends a liberator, God is merciful. That is the centre, the essence of Christmas, the feast of the birth of Jesus. this was, this is the essence forever.

Advent latern

There are moments when we realize all the correlations that affect and control our lives. In such moments our hearts are filled with joy and gratitude, as it happened with Hanna, who handed her very small child, Samuel, to God. In such moments our hearts are filled with happiness, as the heart of the Virgin Mother, who praised God for his wonderful plan. Our life is the fulfillment of God’s great love, it is never just a coincidence. Did I ever realize this?

The bride and the groom love each other with the same intensity. The relationship between the Church and Christ has to be the same. And the same has to be our own relationship with God. The intensity of God’s love never decreases, as it is not for itself but for us. Mary’s visit to Elisabeth shows the strong love that is willing to do something for the loved one. It draws our attention to see the needs of others.

The last stage of our preparations in Advent: recognizing God’s plan, believing in God’s plan, says yes to God’s plan. We have to say yes to God’s plan even when we do not understand what and why is happening. Be it suffering, sickness, the death of our beloved ones, God is always caring for us. On the 4th Sunday of Advent let us discover that God is concretely present in our lives, and just like the Blessed Mother of God, let us answer with a YES. The dialogue with the archangel, during the Annunciation, was ended by Mary thus: “››Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. ‹‹ And the angel departed from her” (Lk 1:38). By saying yes to the Lord, the Virgin Mother said yes to Life. She said yes to our life.

“Nothing is impossible for God” – proclaims the archangel to Mary, when announcing the birth of Jesus (Lk 1, 37). It was not impossible for God to fulfill the request of Manoah and his wife, giving them a child, who later became the one of the judges of the chosen people of God, under the name of Samson. It was also not impossible for God to fulfill the wish of the high priest Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth, although they were past their youthful years. He gifted them, with such a child, in the person of John Baptist, who later prepared the ways for the coming of Jesus amongst his people.  Nothing is impossible for God concerning us too. That is why we must address him in the spirit of faith. Christmas is not only the feast of love, but of faith too. Let us allow it, to deepen in us the strong, unshakable faith.

ADVENT LANTERN (daily meditations) The thoughts of Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Tamás József

It is not very common to know our family tree. Some people who are very interested in the history of their family, have their family tree done. The Gospels have preserved the family tree of Jesus. But not only those belong to Jesus’ family tree, whose names are written and preserved in the Gospel, but all the Christians. Once when Jesus was told his mother and family were waiting for him, asked: but who is my mother and who are my relatives?! “And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, Jesus said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.’” (Matthew 12:49-50) Christmas is a wonderful feast for us, because we belong to Jesus. It is such a great honour and pleasure to belong to Jesus!

ADVENT LANTERN (daily meditations) The thoughts of Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Tamás József

ADVENT LANTERN (daily meditations) The thoughts of Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Tamás József

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