Wenceslaus Anthony
The birth of Jesus not only signified hope but guaranteed and specified it.
The Bible says (Gospel of Matthew 1:21): “She will bear a son; and you shall give him the name of Jesus (Saviour), for He will save His people from their sins.”
This was the reason for His birth on earth.
American Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “The salvation that is promised by the name “Jesus” is not a social salvation, but a spiritual one. He would not save people necessarily from their poverty, but He would save them from their sins.”
Beautiful Prayer
Jesus taught us a beautiful prayer: “Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
God has a purpose for each of us which can only be fulfilled if we allowed God to work in our lives.
The world has given us great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela, who were instrumental in reaching the Love of God through the poor and the oppressed.
But I think the real challenge they accepted was to convert the rich, the powerful and the oppressors to bring peace, freedom, love and human dignity.
Preserving values
We also face the challenge of preserving human values, dignity, the sacred institution of marriage between man and woman, the value of family life, and realisation that we are only human and all that we undertake is only for the manifestation of the Glory of God.
One aspect that emerged in my life as I interacted with people of different faiths and communities was that God loves each of us and wants to pour His abundant Love.
People want to be loved.
As Christian believers, we say we must be open to the Holy Spirit (the Power from above) to enable God to work within us.
As we are about to celebrate the birthday of Jesus, what matters in life is not what one does or how much one does but how faithfully it is done.
Truth will finally prevail even if one has to pay a heavy price for it just as Jesus paid the price on the Cross.
His message while dying on the Cross was, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
We must surrender the past and the future in the hands of God; and live fully in the present acknowledging God who loves us immensely by praising and thanking Him.
Wenceslaus Anthony, our Friend and Columnist, wrote this for our Christmas Special in 2007. Ten years later, on July 23, 2017, he left us for a better world.
