By Dr. Bernardo M. Villegas
(This article was first published in Universitas in December 1998.)
Last October 14, upon arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from a European road show, I knew I couldn’t be anywhere else except Manila when I heard Christmas carols being played as the passengers waited for their check-in baggage to appear in one of the carousels. Especially among the ubiquitous overseas workers returning to visit their relatives, I could sense an unmistakable feeling of joy in being home for Christmas. Especially for them, Christmas comes early in October. A simple thing like Nat King Cole singing My Little Christmas Tree could do wonders in cheering up these overworked heroes. Joy to the World could do even more. Simple songs, simple joys, simple lives.
I thought to myself that simplicity will have to be a major theme in the coming Christmas festivities. The whole of East Asia is reeling from a deep recession. Indonesia will experience a decline in its gross domestic product (GDP) of at least 15 percent; Thailand and Korea with a minus seven percent each; Hong Kong and Japan with a minus two percent each. The Philippines will be lucky to post a minimal growth of a positive 1.5 percent. Such a slowdown will make it hard for many families to have any extra income for lavish celebrations this Christmas. Even those fortunate to have relatives working abroad should be careful to save enough for such priority items as tuition fees, school supplies, and other expenses related to the education of their children; or for amortization of their housing loans. It is prudent to assume that the whole of 1999 will still be a difficult year for the entire East Asia region because some of the troubled economies have not yet reached bottom.
There will, of course, be the usual Christmas decors in commercial districts and shopping malls to give the appropriate festive atmosphere. Christmas songs, lanterns, cards (especially those with religious themes) and delicacies don’t have to cost a lot of money. In every home, a simple belen or nativity scene and a Christmas tree will go a long way to help create the cheerful mood of Christmas. Again, these do not require large expenditures, especially if they are creatively recycled from previous yuletide seasons.
The lack of material affluence during this year’s Christmas celebration may actually be a blessing in disguise. We may be reminded to focus more on the deeper, spiritual meaning of Christmas. Thirty-five years ago, Blessed Josemaría Escrivá, Founder of Opus Dei, began a homily on December 24, 1963 with the following observations: “This day shall light shine upon us; for the Lord is born to us. This is the great announcement which moves Christians today. Through them it is addressed to all mankind. God is here. This truth should fill our lives, and every Christmas should be for us a new and special meeting with God, when we allow his light and grace to enter deep into our soul.”
Let the relative absence of the usual ostentatious and extravagant trimmings be an occasion for us to spend more time during the Christmas holidays reflecting on the lessons the Christ Child wanted to teach us by being born in a manger almost 2,000 years ago. Together with Blessed Escrivá, let us meditate often on the humility of the God-Man: “Every time Christmas comes around, I love to look at the representations of the child Jesus. Statues and pictures which show a God who lowered himself remind me that God is calling us. The Almighty wants us to know that he is defenseless, that he needs men’s help. From the cradle at Bethlehem, Christ tells you and me that he needs us. He urges us to live a Christian life to the full—a life of self-sacrifice, work, and joy.”
“We will never have genuine joy if we do not really try to imitate Jesus. Like him we must be humble. I repeat: Do you see where God’s greatness is hidden? In a manger, in swaddling clothes, in a stable. The redemptive power of our lives can only work through humility. We must stop thinking about ourselves and feel the responsibility to help others.”
Humility is especially needed in today’s circumstances, when the great East Asian economic machine seems to have broken down. Less than two years ago, even Filipinos—the erstwhile “sick men of Asia”—were getting caught in the self-congratulatory feeling that East Asia was the center of the economic universe. There was arrogant talk of Asian values being superior to those of the West. We were invulnerable. We will lead the whole world to the Pacific Century of the next millennium. Today, our leaders are more sober in their pronouncements. We have been humbled by the events that started in Thailand on July 2, 1997.
Our having been brought down to earth can help us open our eyes to some important lessons from the first Christmas. In another homily delivered on Christmas Day in 1970, Blessed Escrivá specified these lessons: “At Christmas, our thoughts turn to the different events and circumstances surrounding the birth of the Son of God. As we contemplate the stable in Bethlehem or the home of the holy family in Nazareth, Mary, Joseph, and the child Jesus occupy a special place in our hearts. What does the simple, admirable life of the Holy Family tell us? What can we learn from it?”
“I would like particularly to comment on one of the many considerations that we might make on this theme. As we read in holy Scripture, the birth of Jesus means the beginning of the fullness of time. It was the moment God chose to show the extent of his love for men, by giving us his own Son. And God’s will is fulfilled in the simplest, most ordinary circumstances; a woman who gives birth, a family, a home. The power of God and his splendor come to us through a human reality to which they are joined. Since that moment, Christians have known that, with God’s grace, they can and should sanctify everything that is good in their human lives. There is no human situation, no matter how trivial and ordinary it may seem, which cannot be a meeting place with Christ and a step forward on our journey toward the kingdom of heaven.”
May Christmas 1998 be for us a unique opportunity to learn all these lessons from Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, whose Holy Family is the model of every human family, especially the Christian family. The earlier we start celebrating Christmas in a spirit of humility and simplicity, the more joyous will the coming Season be. Merry Christmas to all.
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