As I prepared to write this Christmas greeting, our fifth floor of the East Asian Pastoral Institute where I live in Manila began to rock and sway. The tremor lasted seconds, but it was enough to remind me that the Philippines not only receives 10 to 20 tropical storms a year, but also lies on the “Ring of Fire”, the Pacific Ocean’s volcano and earthquake belt. This year, the Filipino people have once again experienced more than their share of earthquakes and typhoons. This Christmas many in Visayas will be spending Christmas in makeshift quarters, their homes destroyed by the Bohol earthquake or Typhoon Haiyan.
Yet in the days coming up to Christmas, the churches are full as people gather for the Simbang Gabi masses, a Filipino Christmas tradition. The typhoon victims gather in their damaged churches; they come together as a community because even in their dire circumstances they have hope. Hope in the promise of God that he will always be with his people, the hope that the Christ child brought to the world. A child who also was homeless when he was born, but whose birth brought the promise of new life.
We are perhaps more familiar with Luke’s version of the Christmas story, which is about Mary’s acceptance of the initiative of God. Matthew’s story however has no angelic announcement, no embrace of expectant mothers, no unwelcoming innkeeper. Matthew focuses on Joseph who is to name Jesus as the one who saves and through whom Jesus is able to be the “Son of David”. Matthew tells of the extraordinary courage of Joseph faced with an excruciating decision, given the scandal of Mary’s condition.
Matthew wrote his Gospel for a world that was every bit as messed up and conflicted as ours is today. Matthew opens his Gospel announcing that despite the mess, “God is with us”. His Gospel closes with the promise of Jesus that he will always be with us. God is present in our messy world today as much as he was present in the arms of Mary and Joseph.
Mary, says Pope Francis, demonstrates for us “the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness”. In Mary, he says, “we find an interplay of justice and tenderness, contemplation and concern for others”. Wherever we celebrate Christmas this year, let us remember that “God is with us”. At Christmas we can “be with” those we love, even if they are distant from us. At Christmas too we can find practical ways in prayer and action to “be with” those who suffer through disasters and wars, and to renew our commitment to live in peace with all and strive for a world in which all can live in peace.
Mark Raper SJ
President, Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific
December 22, 2013