Christmas Vigil

Ts Matthew Holyson Monsang *

Christmas Carol by Bethany Baptist Church Namguilong, New Checkon on 23 December 2015 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

Today in a few hours, the entire world will be celebrating Christmas Day to commemorate the birth of the Child Jesus in the world to save His people from their sins. And in a few hours, the season of Advent shall come to its close. The weeks of waiting and praying shall be replaced with great joy and peace. People of all ages and nations shall raise their voices to sing praises and glories to the Lord.

During this great Feast, many broken families shall have reconciled and many separated friends shall have made peace. For the power of the Holy Spirit shall have transformed those souls, reminding them of the Good News, Baby Jesus has arrived. It is a wonderful gift of God to His people that He sent His only begotten Son to the world to save the entire humanity from their sins. For this, we should never forget why Jesus came into the world. He came to save you, I and all of us!

As we wait for the Salvation of God, we should be prepared. In a way that we pray and watch as Jesus had said to His disciples, "Watch and Pray" (Luke 21:36). When Jesus said "Watch and Pray" it basically meant for us to remain vigil. While, the word "vigil" which comes from the Latin word "vigilia" means "a watching" or "keeping watch."

When we pray and watch, we are preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord Jesus in three ways: (1) First of all, we are preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord as the Judge, either at death or at the end of this world, whichever may come first.

(2) Secondly, we are preparing ourselves to receive the physical presence of our Redeemer through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

(3) Thirdly, we are preparing ourselves for the coming of Christmas, the birthday anniversary of the Lord's coming into this world as God incarnate.

Indeed, it is difficult to examine when the Kingdom of the God will take place. Therefore, we need to be awake. "Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming" (Mt 24:42). So we need to be watchful and be prepared in the midst of violence, suffering, injustice, persecution and indifference. For this reason Jesus tells us to be vigilant.

The day, on which the Son of Man shall come, it shall be a day like in the days of Noah. (Mt. 24:37) The people will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the last minute. (Mt. 24:38) Nobody will know when the Lord shall return, for many it shall be too late. Friends and families will be separated; some will be saved, others will be lost.

If all knew how close the day of the Lord is, surely, they would have all be living holy lives in fear of the punishment that awaits the unfaithful. But this is not the case. Look around! Can it be said that all are ready? Can it be said that all are in a state of grace? Can it be said that all have recently received the Sacrament of Confession? Can it be said that all obey the first precept of the Church?

We do not know what will come first. Will it be Christmas Day to commemorate the coming of God through the incarnation of Jesus Christ? Will some of us die tonight in our sleep? Or will Jesus return tomorrow, that day being the last day of the world? Not knowing, "therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour" (Mt. 24:44).

With our spiritual belief and tradition, no doubt, tonight we are going to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. Therefore, let us be certain that we celebrate the real joy and happiness of our Lord's coming into this world to save us from our sins. Jesus, God incarnated, is the Word of God. He was with God in the beginning and He is God. All things were created through Him. Nothing that exists had its existence without Jesus.

What has come into the world through Jesus who is the Giver of life is eternal life, the eternal assurance of the beatific vision of God in His heavenly Kingdom.

Jesus came as the Light of all people, answering the hope of all by showing the way to eternal life, joy and peace.

When Jesus, the Light of God, came into the darkness of the world that was lost in sin, sin did not overcome Him. He who created all things, came into the world and the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own people and His people did not accept Him.

But, to all those who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the power to become children of God. For, being born again of water and Spirit (John 3:5). To make the celebration of the birth of Christ a spiritual and fruitful, we must unceasingly keep watching and praying. Thus, what we do during the hour of Christmas Eve would bring us closer to the salvation of God.

One of the most hurtful scene in the Nativity of the Lord was, Mary after giving birth to Baby Jesus, laid Him in a manger, because no room was available in the inn (Luke 2:7). How hard and difficult it might be for Joseph and Mary? The painful journey to Bethlehem, the nights of sleeping along the way, the days of riding uphill and down on the back of a donkey, giving birth at a dirty stable and the company of domestic animals and the cold night, she gave birth to the Son of God. How painful it must be for the Homily family?

Yet, God still love this sinful world. God who created heaven and earth sent His only begotten Son to the world to save His people from their sins. We must thank Him. Lord we thank you! Though Jesus was born in a very lowly manner, yet, the three wise men visited Him with gifts, that is, gold, frankincense and myrrh (Mt 2:11).

We buy gifts for our near and dear ones but what gifts do we buy for the Baby Jesus? Or if Joseph and Mary knock at our door, would there be room for them?

So, as we widely celebrate "Christmas" or "Christ Birthday" on 25th December, let us with curiosity receive the Baby Jesus in our hearts while He comes to meet us today. With this, I wish all the people of Manipur a prosperous Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, 2016. Let us also pray that people living in this land of Manipur may experience the love of God and continue to live in peace. If Christ is not born spiritually in our hearts, this Christmas is going to be a squander. Once again, May the Saviour of the world be born in our hearts. Merry Christmas!