Christmas Sparks Day 18 The Season of Hope
If you ask which is the best time of the year, I would say Christmas, because it gives us a great hope. Every day of December starts with a golden dawn of hope. Waiting for the arrival of the Saviour is a beautiful experience. The rainy season is over, but summer has not arrived yet. Cool nights, mild days; a time when flowers bloom everyday. Butterflies flying all over to suck the nectar of flowers is a feast for the eyes.
I grew up around agriculture. December is the season of harvest. Ripe peppercorns, coffee plants with their branches deep red; rubber trees filled with milk-like latex; tubers such as tapioca and ginger ready for plucking. With jackfruits and mangoes in bloom, the lovely days of fruiting and harvesting were a time of celebration for the farmers, evoking high expectations and joy.
Searching for grass, making the crib and stars would begin on the initial days of the Christmas vacation.
‘Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today, in the city of David, a Savior has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord’ (Luke 2:10-11). After attending the Holy Mass on Christmas Eve at the church in the city, I met a young man as I was walking out. He stood before me with uncertainty, as if to ask ‘Don’t you know me?’ But then explained that we had met at a Jesus Youth programme. ‘My mother is not well, she’s at the medical college here. My younger siblings and I came today to celebrate Christmas, but I don’t know how we’ll make it special.’ The young man’s tear-filled words pierced my heart. It was as if all the stars had aligned to create a sense of despair.
Christmas, a time of joy and celebration for everyone, seemed to be a distant dream for this young man. What kind of experience was Christmas bringing to him? As the bells rang out and the fireworks lit up the sky, I knew that Jesus had to be born in the hearts of this young man, his siblings, and their mother as well.
As I made some decisions, I realised that Jesus was born in my heart.
Sunny kokkappillil
