Christmas is an ageless reminder for all to maintain the inviolability of the reciprocity of the Love of God which has been bequeathed to humanity in perpetuity. God practicalized this Love by sending his beloved Son to the world so that all who believe will have eternal life; “ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16).
2. Humanity, must therefore, have regard for God with almost priority by being mindful of the maintenance of the inviolability of the reciprocity of God's inestimable Love for the world and its peoples. There are very many acceptable ways men and women of all conditions and states of life can be mindful in maintaining the inviolability of the reciprocity of God's Love for humanity. Yet, in our days, so many men and women tend to abandon these acceptable ways. They now prefer to follow their own worldly ways that have no bearing on believing in God's only begotten Son. This is now mostly the case at Christmas and Easter especially. By so doing many men and women now continue to undermine the inviolability of the reciprocity of the Love of God which they have duty and obligation to maintain so that they may not perish.
3. At Christmas, as at Easter, more than ever before, the faithful are supposed to attend and participate actively in the celebration of the Holy Mass and receive the Holy Eucharist which is the Body and Blood of the only Son of God in whom one must believe if one wishes to be saved ( John 3:16). The contrary is, however, the case in our days. In our days, many people leave their places or work and residence for their towns and villages, which is good. Unbelievably, these people willfully refuse and fail to attend any of the Holy Masses celebrated on Christmas night, day and season. These set of people who are supposed to be more spiritually conscious and be close to God by visiting their own home parish priest whom they have neither seen nor contacted for the past one or more years, cleverly avoid both attending church's celebrations and visiting their parish priests throughout their staying at home during Christmas. These people allow worldly cares such as family, club, economic, political and other meetings and celebrations to totally swallow them to the point of no return. They could, if they were so disposed, arrange and attend to these meetings, gatherings, celebrations and others without neglecting means of the Salvation of their souls.
4. The Bible teaches us that “from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John1:16). While it is not my intention to be unnecessarily judgmental, I am obliged as the shepherd of God's Holy people, to point out the locations of many bottomless pits into which many of our faithful now knowingly and willfully fall. At Christmas the faithful are supposed to be overwhelmed, more than ever before, with the love of God being celebrated. yet, instead of that being the case many weak faithful come home at Christmas to worship idols and organize trips to homes of native or witch doctors “to find out” about the evils they believe are likely to befall them the coming year and how they could be helped by these idols and native or witch doctors. These kind of behaviour insults the love of God and makes those concerned fall away from the fullness of the grace of God to the damnation of the devil and his agents. Christian faithful especially and indeed all men and women must retrace their steps, discover the path that leads to God in Christ more at this period of Christmas instead of turning Christmas holiday into an opportunity to turn against God and his Love.
5. One of the popular Christmas hymn: “O come let us adore him” invites all to come, worship and adore Christ the eternal love of God with a difference. To us priests and consecrated persons among the faithful of Christ must therefore be more available, ready and willing to invite the faithful to a closer knowledge of God in Christ Jesus by a special concern for how the members of our flock are faring, first, spiritually and then otherwise. We must commit ourselves to doing this most passionately without any hesitation or hindrance because our calling has made it incumbent upon us to act just in the affirmative not on the contrary.
6. The salvation of God is for all mankind (Luke 3:6) to bring this salvation to all mankind, humanity has the duty an obligation to “prepare the way of the lord, make straight his paths”(Luke 3:4). Hence, we must not fail to call upon our politicians, now that the 2011 elections are very close at hand, to endeavour to play politics, with absolute love of God and man on their hearts and minds so the straight and level play fields are put in place by those whose duty it is to plan and organize elections for the politicians as well as the electorate whose duty it is to elect candidates of their choices. It must be made clear in the minds of both politicians and electorate that electoral frauds in any forms cannot constitute any well intentioned manifestoes for bringing good governance, freedom and salvation to the people.
7. Christmas which is the celebration of eternal love of God calls for sharing our possessions with those who do not have (Luke 3:11); it calls for abandonment of armed robbery, abduction and kidnapping, assassination and other forms of evil (Luke 3:13-14); it calls for proper repentance, accepting and believing in Jesus Christ, (Luke 3:3)
The greatest and most acceptable sacrifice that can ever be made is the offering of love without any limit and condition. This is the only way a man can perfectly maintain the inviolability of the reciprocity of the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
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