Why do you celebrate Christmas? One man posted on his webpage that he does not celebrate Christmas because he cannot comprehend why a God who is supposed to love us would allow us to experience suffering. He wrote, either God is impotent to stop suffering or God is evil for allowing suffering to happen.
But God is not evil for allowing suffering to happen, anymore than parents who gave life to their children are evil for bringing them into a world where they will experience suffering. Many parents chose to bring a child into the world out of love. We know that when we are in love, the person whom we love and who loves us in return “give us life.” And when couples love one another, it is natural for them to share their joy and their love by giving life to a child. Regrettably, life has its sorrows, but also its joy. Loving parents will not simply give life to their children and then abandon them to themselves. Rather, they will feed, nurture, teach and encourage their children through the ups and downs of life.
Similarly, God gave us life because God is love and that is the nature of love, life giving. When humanity chose to go its own way and was lost, God sent prophets to teach us, and finally He came Himself. The angel who appeared to the shepherds announced the following: “I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you” (Luke 2:10-11). Jesus said He did not come to condemn the world but to save the world (John 3:17).
So that is why the Church celebrates Christmas. Because God was not content to be up in heaven seeing us wallow in our misery, but God came among us to show us the way, and to show us His love. Even through suffering, God, the Good Shepherd promised that He will always be with us and see us through (Psalm 23:4). In all honesty, it has been through suffering that I have grown in wisdom and learned what matters most in life. I have learned also through suffering, who my true friends are. And God has been a friend. He may not be like a Genie who will magically make my problems disappear, but God has always stood by me and seen me through the most difficult times. That is why I celebrate Christmas, God’s gift of Himself to us.
What about you? I certainly pray that you find meaning in this Season of Love, and that you are surrounded by people who love you, both from this life, and from the heavenly realm. Because we believe in the Communion of Saints, we believe that those who have gone before us in faith will not stop caring about us but will continue to love us from on high. On behalf of my brother priests, religious and staff at St. Brendan, we wish you all a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Fr. Dan
