Johannine Hours               Luke 2: 8-20               January 1998
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en
199801
January 1998
Luke 2, 8-20
Christmas, like every stage in the life of Jesus, needs to be seen
in the light of Easter to let its full meaning appear. By the gift
of his life even to the point of dying on the cross, Jesus sets
humanity free from the fears that encumber us and opens the way to
the life of full communion with God. And he will bring this about by
means of a reversal we could never have suspected: by dying, by
going into the most complete weakness.

At Christmas, the angel-messengers proclaim the glory of God. The
sign given is a new-born child. But no more information is given
about his destiny -- where, when or how? The whole promise and the
presence of God unfold in a new-born child who represents the state
of extreme dependance and vulnerability. God is not going to use
other means to reveal himself and accomplish his plan. This is where
his saving action is going to take place.

In this way he removes all ambiguity about his power and his
authority. He does not force: he calls. As a new-born child, he asks
for and stirs up what is best in human beings. God takes the risk
that people are not going to refuse him. God is going to act through
others, through the response of others.

In this way, he makes himself accessible for everyone. All humanity
can recognize him, from the shepherds on the margins of society to
the wise men from a foreign country who have neither scriptures nor
prophets. What a hope is offered there! The messengers call us to
peace, not to anxiety. 

Through which paths of weakness does God come into the world today? 
How does God come to be born in the things that are most vulnerable
in my life?
When am I able to say with the apostle Paul: "When I am weak, then I
am strong"?


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