Joint Christmas message from bishops says our world needs unity now more than ever
IT’S 800 years this year since Francis of Assisi arranged the first crib in Greccio, central Italy. The idea took off and, since then, the crib has appeared in all shapes and sizes.
The simplicity of the nativity scene attracts millions around the world to spend a moment in silence before the figures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the animals and the three Kings from the Orient.
In the silence, they speak words of peace, good will and tenderness to us.
Perhaps this year, we need to hear them utter the word unity to us as we contemplate the crib.
There are so many divisions in our world – divisions of countries and regions at war, the divisions of our planet at breaking point due to our lack of care for our common home, the divisions of rich and poor, the divisions that can creep in when we meet those who are others/strangers, be they migrants, refugees, or people of different political persuasions.
Our world needs unity. Note, however, unity is not the same as union. Too often in Ireland our politics got into troubled waters because of static unions that didn’t work. Unity is about relationships – how we are there for one another in our diversity and harmony.
This isn’t just some general sense of friendliness, though that itself is good. There’s more to it. Christians believe that our reciprocal relationships are to be the place and form of an authentic encounter with God.
Sadly, we haven’t always borne witness to that. In our Western world that often wants to exclude a certain image of a distant law-giver God, Christmas is the time to remember how God wants to be among us in our relationships.
If we want to offer our contribution to peace this Christmas, let’s be attentive to unity in our relationships. And that starts with those nearest to us. We can easily fall into the temptation of taking our loved ones for granted.
It is important to see each other with new eyes each day, discovering the positive in each other. And then, in looking around, note how many people we meet during the day – not just physically but also through social media, television and in our work place and neighbourhood.
In each case, we’re invited to rectify any prejudices we harbour within us and see others with the eyes of love. Christmas indeed is a time to liberate our heart.
Carl Gustav Jung once wrote that “the meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
As we look at the nativity scene, we recognise how Mary, Joseph and the shepherds were transformed by the coming of Jesus.
May that be our wish both for ourselves and others this Christmas.