Christmas is special for so many reasons. It is a time for family and friends, for gift-giving, for church-going, for eating, and, perhaps by the late afternoon, even for napping. As a European, I love the relaxed and laid back atmosphere of the Aussie Christmas, which is more likely to feature a game of beach cricket than the snow men of my youth.

But even as we appreciate all that Christmas is to us, let us try to never forget that Christmas is truly special because it recalls the fact that a little over 2000 years ago, God chose to come and dwell with us, in the person of Jesus Christ.

I think the Incarnation is mind-blowingly wonderful. That God should choose to come and be with us; to be like us in every way except sin. And it is in the Incarnation that I find a model for being a missionary, indeed for being a Christian.

When God wanted to reach us and to redeem us, and to bring us back to him, he didn’t remain aloof from us – he became one of us. This shows me that I too, cannot share the love of Jesus by remaining aloof from the situation of the people I encounter in my daily life. If I am to be the presence of Christ for the people I meet, then I must enter into their lives. I must take time to be with them, to share with them, to understand them and to really dwell with them.

It’s in the Incarnation that I find my true identity as a Christian, an identity that is fulfilled with the resurrection, and life eternal.

So this Christmas when you gaze on the nativity scene, I invite you to ponder what the birth of the Christ child means for you personally. Who might that child be calling you to dwell with, to spend time with, to get to know? God’s coming into our world cannot leave us untouched. It calls us on to Mission. It calls us on to love.

May God bless you and your family this Christmas. We look forward to catching up with you in February when the In the Word e-news resumes.

Yours in the Word,
Fr Henry Adler SVD
Provincial