Christmas Message from H. H. Dr. Samuel Theophilus Metropolitan

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It’s Christmas Again! – Christmas Message from H. H. Dr. Samuel Theophilus Metropolitan

Glory and honor to the one True God, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, Amen. Well, before I begin, I should say, happy Christmas and also a happy New Year. It is Christmas again. Every year comes the month of December, and the whole world thinks and prepares to celebrate Christmas. But then I was just thinking these past few days: what actually is Christmas? Whom are we celebrating? What are we celebrating? And why do we celebrate?

We are actually celebrating the birth of a child—a child right there in the manger, a toddler. What is it that the whole world talks about and celebrates about this child? That is the core of the whole thing.

Well, we all can say Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, Redeemer, miracle child. And then we talk about the manger, Joseph, the mother Mary. We talk about the wise people. We talk about the star in the sky, the angels singing—lots of subjects like that. But think: who is lying there? It is just a simple baby.

So, what do you think the message we carry today should be, about an event that happened 2,000 years ago? God coming down in the form of a human, incarnated as a baby—the Savior, the Redeemer. But I think what God wants us to think about as we celebrate is to look at the child, the virtues of that child, the characteristics of that child.

What are some of those virtues? Humility, faith, trust, innocence, willingness to risk, openness, vulnerability, naivety. And no wonder our Lord Jesus Himself, during His journey of teaching, preaching, healing, and doing all kinds of good deeds, said, “Turn around and be like one of these children so that you may enter into heaven.”

So, may I ask you that during this season, as we celebrate with lots of songs, carols, glittering lights, illuminated church buildings and homes, giving gifts, and cutting cakes—whatever it may be—could you please think about this: Do I have these virtues?

Now look at our world, our society. We find broken homes, broken families. Why is it? Because there is no love, no kindness, no compassion, no forgiveness. People may be sleeping under the same roof but are bitter, angry, without harmony or unity. Isn’t it those virtues that we really long for?

Even when we celebrate in the midst of a big crowd, surrounded by lots of people, looking gorgeous, handsome, and beautiful, dressed neatly and professionally, don’t we still feel lonely, unloved, unforgiven, left alone? Broken homes—parents, fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers not able to love and unite together. This is the kind of celebration God is intimating to us: a celebration that reflects love, joy, peace, forgiveness, compassion, and kindness, creating a world that lives with peace and harmony, even in the smallest of homes.

Think about that little town where Jesus was born. It says in the Holy Scriptures that Jesus was born in Nazareth. Could your home be one Nazareth? Could your family be one Nazareth? Could your personal life be one Nazareth? Could you make your church, your parish, one Nazareth where Jesus, that child, is born? And could you declare and proclaim that good news to everybody?

And then think about Mother Mary. I’ve read a story about a boy who was a street boy. He was taken by the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity to the children’s home in Calcutta founded by the great saint Mother Teresa. They gave him a good bath, clean clothes, good food, a place to sleep—all those things. But then he ran away. Somebody else found the boy on the street again and handed him over to the sisters. They brought him back to the home, gave him another bath, clean clothes, and said, “This is your home.” And then Mother Teresa told her sisters, “You know what you do? If this boy runs away again, please follow him and find out where he is going and what he is doing.”

Lo and behold, he ran away even a third time. And the sisters followed him. As they followed, the boy went under the foot of a tree where an old woman was cooking food on a temporary kind of oven. You know, you put three big stones, place a pot on them, and cook rice and water. The boy sat with the woman, and the sisters told him, “Come home.” The boy said, “This is my home; my mother is here, and my food is here.”

So, think about Mother Mary. She gave birth to this child, enduring mockery, abuse, and all kinds of sacrifices to raise Him. Can we be a mother like that during this season? Giving food, giving shelter, giving a place where someone feels, “I belong.” Just like that boy said, “This is my home because my mother is here, and my food is here.”

I hope and pray that we think about these thoughts and become people who actually celebrate in all truth and sincerity the coming of Jesus Christ. Let us love one another, embrace one another, forgive one another, and give more and more so that we create a family, a home, a society, and a nation with harmony, where people live together, build one another, and offer hope for the future.

I pray for each one of you and wish you a happy Christmas and a happy New Year. May God Almighty, the One who gave us Jesus the Savior—He said, “God so loved the world, that He gave”—may this Jesus be the embrace, the joy, and the peace of your life today, during this season, and in the New Year. Amen.