Heavily decked
Christmas trees, a bright star or even stars and lights adorning houses like a bride, cribs of all
shapes and sizes, the choicest of Christmas sweets, presents under the
Christmas tree wrapped attractively, Christmas carols inundating streets and
houses, a buffet of mouth-watering culinary delicacies… Sadly, this is the only
thing that Christmas has come to mean these days.
Before you roll your
eyes and decide to skip reading this piece, let me state that I am not against
these “exterior” ways of celebrating one of the most beautiful Christian
festivals. However, along with the exterior, we need to focus on the
“interior”. Christmas is a time when Christians celebrate the birth of Christ.
Christ, who despite being the Son of God chose to be born in a mere manger
devoid of decorations, fancy lighting, crackers or fireworks. But this did not
hinder the joy, gratitude and celebration of his parents Mary and Joseph,
because their interiors were already well decorated.
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What we could do as part of ‘renovating our interiors’ is
probably lend a helping hand to our neighbours, or a patient ear, or perhaps
even our time! And by neighbours, I do not literally mean the people who live
close to our physical proximity. Instead, have a look around you. Whoever you
find needing assistance, a friendly word or even a smile, is your neighbour!And
there is never a dearth of such people and instances.It’s also worth remembering
the words of Jesus himself who said, “It is more blessed to give than to
receive.”
To decorate our
interiors this Christmas (and hopefully every Christmas!) let us try opening
our hearts to others in very practical ways. Here are some examples that you
could use. When caught in traffic, we can try being patient and allow people
who are stuck to pass before us. Being nice to and smiling at waiters, shop
assistants and vendors could brighten their day. Taking time for someone who is
lonely, especially the aged and sick people, not forgetting the aged priests
and nuns is something very fulfilling to do. While Christmas is often
associated with joy and cheer, and it may be rightly thought of as such, we
also need to understand that Christmas could also be a painful time for some of
us. Mourning the loss of a loved one, financial difficulties, loneliness are
only a few of the difficulties some people will have to battle this festive
season. We could offer our assistance to them or get together with other members
in our communities and collectively do something that could make a difference
to their lives. Remember, no good deed is ever too small.
Common courtesies
like holding doors open for people, parking conscientiously and appropriately,
respecting others’ time and being punctual, putting people’s feelings before
ours go a long way. An important aspect of decorating is taking out the trash,
and by trash I mean grudges. Holding onto resentments only makes us bitter. Let
go of this trash and carpet our interiors with forgiveness, love and mercy. If
we see the little babe of Bethlehem in every other person, we will be able to
serve and treat those around us with love and compassion. Christmas is a time
when we ought to decorate the crib for Christ in our hearts! It is a time when
we need to place presents of love, service, patience and understanding at the
doorsteps of our neighbours. It is a time when we brighten the lives and
sweeten the days of others by our small kind deeds and fill the air with the tunes
of cheer and laughter.
If we do our bit in
decorating our interiors this way, then we will gradually begin to realise that
Christmas is everyday! May the babe in the manger bless us all. I hope and pray
you have a blessed Christmas and happy “interior decorating”!
(Anderson
Fernandes SJ is a Jesuit Deacon who serves as Administrator of Xavier Centre of
Historical Research, Porvorim)
