Joy this Christmas: A reflection

2020 has been a rather unorthodox year. And in this year full of many plot twists, what does Christmas look like?

As an immigrant distant from friends and family by oceans, it will be yet another “zoom” Christmas. Regardless of how your Christmas may look -like mine, better or worse- we, as Christians, are fortunate that the essence of Christmas is not found in the mundane events.

For us, the essence of Christmas is the birth of Christ. It is in this glorious mystery, that we source the joy in this season. On this 25th of December, we bask in the celebration of his birth by focusing on the historically significant events that surrounded the birth of Jesus.

The words spoken by the angels to the shepherds in Luke 2: 8–14 particularly stand out to me:

“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

These words reveal to me that God had me in mind right from the birth of Jesus. Assuming the angels were fluent in the English language (I mean they are angels), there are many ways they could have phrased that sentence that would exclude me and you today. They could have said, “… all the people today” or “… all the people that use the iPhone” etc. however, they chose the phrase that encompasses all the people today, tomorrow and forever. Knowing this fills me with joy and an increased curiosity. Joy because it shows a God that cares. Curiosity, because I want to know more about this news!

In knowing more, we learn of the sign told to the shepherds, “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger”. This sign is for me, the greatest source of joy. It signifies to me a God fully committed to my humanity. By this act of humility, God taking the form of a human, the divinity and dignity of humanity is uplifted.

And like a child on a seesaw, excited as I go up, I am filled with joy when through Christmas, I am reminded that he came down that we may be lifted. I hope it does the same for you.