Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith this week issued a message to all Sri Lankans for Christmas, which is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and a season of goodwill and generosity.
Below is his message in full:
Dear friends, as the month of December dawns, we are reminded of Christmas. And we can see that already the marketplace gets ready to welcome Christmas festivities, and lots of good things are exhibited in the showcases, and people get ready to celebrate it more in the external forum than in the internal forum.
We often tend to forget that the central figure in this celebration is none other than Jesus Christ. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, on that cold morning of winter, in Bethlehem. Therefore, it is basically a religious festival. It is not something merely commercial. There is nothing wrong in celebrating it even with the externals. But we must always remember that the festival of Christmas reminds us that God loves us intensely. And therefore, He wished to be born among us, to save us from sin, and from selfishness.
The essential message of Christmas is love. And this great message was brought to humanity by Jesus Christ, in and through His birth, His life, His death, and His resurrection. Therefore, Christmas is a festival of joy and happiness, but more interior and spiritual joy. It is a hope giving event, God becoming man, and giving hope and joy to humanity.
According to Pope Benedict the 16th, Christmas is the moment that changed the history of humanity. The spirit of Christmas is indeed something different than what we experienced in the marketplace, because Jesus Christ, deigned to be born in very humble and poor circumstances. We know that because the gospel stories in the Bible mentioned that. His parents, Mary and Joseph, went far from their hometown, to be registered in Bethlehem, because the governor of that time ordered a census. And they were therefore essentially migrants who migrated from their original place of habitation to an unknown city, even though it had historic links to their family.
The city was crowded, and there was no place for them in the inn. Jesus was to be born there, and they had no place to have this birth. Therefore, they had to use an abandoned grotto in Bethlehem, on the sides of the Bethlehem hill. And it was an event marred by extreme poverty and extreme nothingness. For Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Son of God, then, to be born in such humble circumstances, gives us a message that we as human beings today must be concerned about our brothers and sisters who are in dire need.
Mary and Joseph could not have found a place in the inn, where the rich were enjoying themselves. But they had to be happy in that lonely, poor grotto, where the animals used to come and graze and stay. Therefore, it is very important for us to understand that every celebration of Christmas must be a celebration of humbleness, and closeness, very much to the poor.
In the circumstances of today, especially in our own country, there are many people who have been affected by all kinds of difficulties they are undergoing, basically in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the disaster that it caused to the economy of this country. As a result of that, hundreds and hundreds of families have become poor. The difference between the poor and the middle class has vanished. Therefore, more and more families are suffering economic hardships and terrible difficulties.
In this situation, when we celebrate Christmas, we must be conscious about our responsibility towards the poor, among whom Jesus Christ deigned to be born. So in such humble circumstances, Christians especially, and all others too, must be concerned about all these people who are suffering. It is a moment of giving, not of taking; it is a moment of sharing. It is a moment of self-giving, a moment of sacrifice, joy that comes from sacrifice, joy that comes from self-giving, that Jesus Christ came to earth, to proclaim to us His love, the love of God for humanity, that he went to the extent of saving, dying on the cross to save humanity.
It is important therefore, at Christmas, to be concerned about the poor, especially in the present situation, let us be concerned, let us not waste, and let us not engage in frivolous enjoyments and pleasure. Because if we think Christmas is just to enjoy like that, the next day will be an empty experience of emptiness.
I wish all of you a very happy and holy Christmas, not a frivolous Christmas, but a Christmas of sharing, of love, of concern for the poor, and of willingness to give up something that you have a right to in order to make another person happy. May Christmas be a moment of brotherhood, sharing joy that comes from giving, and a moment of deep spiritual liberation for all of us. I wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas in the same light.
May God bless you.
Christmas greeting from Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith
23 Dec 2021
Christmas greeting from Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith
23 Dec 2021
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