No Shame or Reluctance in Announcing Jesus Christ.

 

            Through the mystery of the Incarnation the Eternal Word, the Only-Begotten Son of God involved Himself in the movements of human history. When the Son of God became the Son of Mary, He manifested the depths of God’s love and compassion towards women and men who found themselves wandering in deep darkness and chaos. God’s heart was so moved to pity for each of us that He came to us so that we might open our hearts to His divine love. The Holy One of Israel came into a world that had been mired by sin. God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to reform the children of Adam and Eve in His image. Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit all of us can be conformed to Christ and thus be transformed into a new creation. Gregory of Nyssa expressed it nicely. “We become an expanding universe sharing in the Divine fullness continually because the spring of all reality flows ceaselessly.”

            Christ is the Light of the World and He comes into our lives to free us from the darkness of sin and death. Through the mystery of the Incarnation Christ becomes for each one of us the light that leads us back to the heart of the Father. The Word became Flesh so that we could experience the fullness of God’s super abundant Love. He gathers outcast sinners by his grace in the hope of bringing them into his heavenly dwelling place. Those who let Him, He carries close to His heart. To those whom God heals with the consolations of his Spirit, he speaks peace, assuring them that their sins are forgiven.

            Because of his great love, we have reason to rejoice and be glad. While our knowledge is limited, God's is boundless. Even though he calls the stars by name, he comes to the aid of the broken-hearted sinner. While he feeds the young ravens, He never neglects the needs of his beloved people. God became Man not just to tell us how to live, but to show us how to live life abundantly. He Who was rich became poor so that we might be enriched with His divine majesty. In Christ, the Fire of Divine Love illumined the world, revealing the beauty of a world that has been touched by God. Through the mystery of the Incarnation, God emptied Himself and took the form of a slave so that He could meet, listen to, bless and walk with the people who most needed Him.

            Because Christ is the Heart of the Universe, all who are loved by Him are to cooperate with Him in making the Father’s love known to the whole world. He who is God's greatest gift to the world wants us to work with Him in making His gifts available to everyone. Through the mystery of the Incarnation mankind is remade in the divine image. In Christ we can manifest the wonders of divine love and imitate the fullness of filial love. In Christ, we are reminded that our purpose in life is to give love and to receive love. Christ came into the world to reveal the desire of His Father’s heart and to reconcile the children of Adam and Eve with God their Father. It is through knowing God, heart to heart, that we come to experience His love. Because we have come to know the desire of the Father, we are given the grace to desire the Father in return.

            To have entered into communion with the Son means that we become more and more like him, first in our desires, and then in our actions. To love Jesus means to share his love and once we begin to share his love, we begin to share his compassion toward all those in need, especially those who have the greatest hunger and need of all. Christians are called to proclaim the reality of the Kingdom of God in concrete and tangible ways. Pope Francis offered these reflections when he addressed the International Congress of the Pastoral Care in big cities. “We must have the courage to be daring and fearless in our pastoral care, because this is what the men, women, families and groups who inhabit the city expect from us, and need for their lives, the good news of Jesus and His Gospel. So often I hear of people who feel ashamed to expose themselves. We must work to have no shame or reluctance in announcing Jesus Christ… For me this is key!” By God's grace, may this be key with us too.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO