Seeking the Face of Jesus

12-11-2016Weekly ReflectionFr. Brian Jazdzewski

Here is a thought from a contemporary author, found on the internet on a site called The Federalist. Her article iscalled, “Why Santa Claus Without Jesus Is Cultural Appropriation At Its Stupidest”:

It’s high time to stop searching for ways to be religious and inspire belief in the magical without actually havingGod in your life. Wanting the celebrations, the joy, and especially the presents without the faith misses thewhole point. Christmas isn’t about deals and the joy of giving and receiving gifts, it’s about God humblinghimself to be born as a baby for the benefit of all people. Saint Nick didn’t help the poor in his communitybecause he had some random desire to, he did it because of his faith in Christ. Santa, and his presents, are areminder of the love we show others because God loves us, and no amount of erasure will turn him into asecular figure. Holly Scheer is a writer and editor.

Most of us are aware, because we keep an eye on our religious calendar hanging in our homes, that we celebrated the annual feast day of Saint Nicholas on Tuesday past. And, our minds are informed enough to remember that the concept of Santa Claus is inspired by St. Nick. With that being said, most of us, in our own unique way, desire to give and receive during this time of year as we come together to celebrate one of the greatest God-moments in history, our God taking on human flesh through the miracle we call the Incarnation.

The fact of the Incarnation alone has caused people to be in awe and wonder about God for centuries. Consider again, the Christian faith is alone in professing belief in a God who has become one of us. There are countless other manifestations of God, only Christians believe God became man.

While we ponder that thought, I do believe many of us continue to wrestle with faith matters, perhaps more often than what we observe as evident by people's presence at worship. In other words, I believe that many of our brothers and sisters think about faith matters more than they are willing to outwardly admit. Then we couple those thoughts with the often occurring moments when we perceive an absence of God in historical or current events. Yet, in the midst of life, we continue to have a longing in our hearts to encounter God, somehow, somewhere.

Along the journey of life, often magnified during this time of year, we do our part to seek the face of Christ as an answer to our ponderings about His presence among us. We get excited to encounter a newborn, we are thankful when we find God favoring our lives, we stir deep within as we prepare for time together with loved ones. Sure, even in the midst of life's murky moments, we find God. Then, by extension, we do our part seek the face of Christ in everyone we meet, even in some challenging and difficult circumstances.

So, in the midst of the consumerism and commercialism, we make intentional time for Jesus. The days of Advent afford us the chance to intentionally prepare His way as we say, "Come, Lord Jesus." God's will is always to encounter us, often its our sins which prevent us from encountering God. There is ample time this Advent to prepare a special place for Jesus in our homes and in our hearts.

I recently visited a home at which I observed at least three images of Santa Claus kneeling at the crib of the infant Jesus. That image is a sobering thought for us because we can so easily become distracted by the shopping, traveling and other commitments. Are we pausing long enough to notice Jesus at the center of it all? Similarly, in the film, The Rise of the Guardians, North is the defender of Wonder. Consider, as we approach the miracle of Christmas, the wonders which God placed in our lives of the past, present and future. While we take time to seek the face of Christ, may Christ bless us abundantly!

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