Christmas Eve
Reflection
Christmas Dawning
Christmas is the dawn of God’s visceral and merciful love on the earth! Such are the words of SS by Zacharias! “Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us. To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” LK 1:78 The inspired Greek words for “tender mercy” in the Bible are splanknon and eleos. Splankon in Greek means in the deepest part of our being. It is probably the most emotional word in the New Testament for our inmost feelings. It is often used for Jesus. The word eleos means mercy or undeserved compassion.
These are among the most beautiful words for God’s love for us. I think one of the biggest mistakes of our lives is to underestimate the incredible love God has for us! Beyond our wildest imagination, we deeply matter to God! We can understand why people had such a hard time grasping that the God of the galaxies would care so much as to share our suffering, weak humanity! But Scripture strongly testifies, “God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son for us. So, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” Literally, “It matters to Him about you.”1Pet 5:7
Zacharias finally prays: “The Sunrise (Morning Star) from on high will visit us. In SS, Christ is called “Morning Star.” Christmas celebrates the greatest visit ever made in human history! “Visit” is perhaps easily misunderstood. Jesus comes to us to stay, not for a few hours with His overnight bag. He comes to stay. “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” MT 28:20
“They shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”
Jesus is here, but sadly, we are often not all there! Karl Rahner beautifully remarks: “People go through life with God over their shoulder, but few stop, turn around and say ‘Hello.’”
Hello, dear Jesus, we would love it if You would find room in our hearts this Christmas!
