State of emergency – then and now!
How distant and unreal may Mary and Joseph, the Emperor Augustus have
appeared in Rome in their everyday work as a craftsman in Nazareth. But: They
have to go out, they have to take the arduous journey to Bethlehem, a journey
a heavily pregnant woman would certainly never take voluntarily, and then look
for accommodation in a completely strange, overcrowded city.
So far and unreal may have appeared to many of us in 2020 (you could call it an
ANNUS Horribilis like the Queen of England) the threat of a virus from far-
away China. And then: how much was our life changed within days in spring
and especially now with the second wave!? Home office, short-time work,
unemployment, looking after the children at home because the school is closed,
bitter loneliness in hospitals, nursing homes and probably also at home!
Distance, distance, distance …. As different as the effects were and still are, for
everyone it meant giving up familiar habits, trying new paths – also in pastoral
care – keeping distance, enduring uncertainties.
GOD LOOKS CLOSE
Now we’re going to celebrate Christmas, not yet knowing how? We hear the
message: In the midst of such a mess JESUS was born in Bethlehem. All
security, everything familiar, all human closeness has broken away for Mary and
Joseph. AND: The birth of God’s child took place in it. This is where the
moment of greatest closeness between God and man occurs! This is the
MESSAGE of Christmas: God loves people so much that he cannot stand
distance from them. He seeks the greatest possible closeness by becoming
human himself.
We are now celebrating this festival of GOD’S PROXIMITY at a time when we
have learned to avoid closeness: Keeping your distance, hygiene and masks has
been the trend for months. Many people have sorely missed closeness, the joyful
hug, the loving handshake. Distance is the order of day, which unfortunately also
applies to everyday church life and, above all, worship services, including
Sundays.
In this situation, the Christmas message is now spoken to us. God seeks closeness
to people. He will not let himself be stopped by circumstances like then in
Bethlehem and today in the pandemic time! This commitment is valid, and we
need it more than ever this year. God is close to us, not only at Christmas and not
only when people are close to us. What a treasure in your heart if you can live in
this consecrated faith right now.
So it is worth asking: How can I keep this message in my heart and my thoughts,
even if after the appearance of the Lord – the Three Kings – everyday life is again?
Perhaps a candle, consciously lit in the Christmas days, can accompany you
through the year and remind you again and again that CHRIST, the light, is near
and present? As Christians we proclaim a God who is near. Especially when
people are in loneliness, need and sadness, we can testify to them. HE is close to
YOU, HE is your HOPE and your LIGHT! They will do that for us if we combine
this message with affection, with human closeness – even if it could only be a
letter, SMS of telephone. This demands our creativity and our love!
Christmas tells us: GOD didn’t wait for it to be over. He did not wait for Mary
and Joseph to return to the familiar Nazareth. God became man where his
closeness was most urgently needed. And we who follow this child, should act
then and there where people need us most urgently; even if it is tedious and has
to be overcome. Even if it’s far from perfect. If we act, it can still arrive, the
message of the angels: Today is to you, today the Saviour is born to YOU, it is
CHRIST, the LORD! And: HE IS CLOSE TO YOU!
I sincerely wish all of us this tangible closeness, joy and hope, but also the courage
to live this message!
By Msgr. Willibald Steiner, Ecclesiastical Assistant