The real message of Christmas -by Michael Smith
This Christmas as fear looms and time for listening is in short supply, Pope Benedict may offer some guidance in our search. Some time ago he put it simply and beautifully when he said: "Heaven does not belong to the geography of space but to the geography of the heart. And the heart of God stooped down to the stable." The events of the past year offer much scope for reflection. Many find the enormous and sudden change that has taken place hard to comprehend. From plenty, and even excess, we have moved rapidly to serious economic turmoil that is having a major negative impact on the lives of many. The voices - there were some - that kept saying it could not last were somewhat like St John the Baptist "a voice crying in the wilderness". About 15 years ago there was a major attack by currency traders on the Irish pound. One enterprising journalist sought a comment from both the Church of Ireland bishop of Meath at that time, Bishop Walton Empey, and myself. To his credit Bishop Empey's comments were more trenchant than mine. Both of us highlighted the lack of ethical and moral underpinning in financial trading. Profit seemed the only motivation - the welfare of people very much a secondary consideration.
The parable of Jesus about the house being built on sand is one we can easily identify with in these times. Self-interest and personal convenience are not the foundations that bring stability or hope. Truth about life, about its purpose and destiny manifested in the ever demanding search for the "definitive that is beyond the provisional" is central to the meaning of what we celebrate at Christmas.
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