Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle pointed out the obvious when he said that disaster victims understand the real meaning of Christmas.
“The survivors of recent disasters will teach us how to see the Child promised by God with fresh eyes of faith and hope,” the archbishop said in his Christmas message yesterday.
Tagle credited his message to a woman of Palo, Leyte whom he quoted as saying, “With the ruins all around us, this would probably be the first time I would understand and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.”
There is no small measure of sadness when one hears it, yet as we are reminded time and again, Christianity’s main actor, the reason for the season, didn’t enter the world with a royal entourage but came kicking and screaming like any other infant into the warm embrace of his earthly mother who stayed in a cave-like shelter with her husband surrounded by farm animals.
It took twin disasters of an earthquake and a supertyphoon to strip Christmas celebrations of its ostentation and let us discover the beauty of enforced simplicity. This should make us pause and wonder whether we’ve been so busy or jaded over the years that we find it difficult to stop, rest and be thankful- deeply, and with full consciousness – for blessings that have come our way.
Simply drawing breath and waking up to a new day is life’s gift. Everything else is abundance.
These are blessings which the Church and civil society groups are now clamoring for us to share with those who have lost everything. A Gawad Kalinga commercial made by Coke Philippines banners the theme, “This season gives a whole new meaning to the word giving.”
While United Nations Secretary General Bai Ki Moon appealed to the world not to allow Yolanda’s devastation be another “forgotten crisis,” it’s time for Filipinos and other countries around the globe to ramp up not only assistance but action to stop and mitigate climate change.
No amount of giving can stem the tide of greed of those who want more at the expense of others. Greed is the antithesis of this season which emphasizes giving with no thought of reward for one’s generosity.
One need not give everything he or she has. Charity still begins at home. Yet we can see how a little act of charity can take on a life of its own, moving forward, snowballing and stirring a groundswell of support and goodwill that makes a difference in the lives of survivors.
This season is not just about giving or gifts, it is about hope. We share a little of what we have to remind ourselves that our fates, and that of calamity victims, are linked.
As one family, we move forward.
Merry Christmas!