[stephenkhoo]

REFLECTING THE LIGHT OF CHRIST IN TRUTH AND LOVE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 JOHN 1:5-2:2; PSALMS 123:2-5,7-8; MATTHEW 2:13-18

Christmas is the celebration of Christ, the light of the world. The Christmas lights signify that Christ has come to give light to a world of darkness. This is what St John says, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” Indeed, Christ’s coming is to reveal to us the truth and the love of God.

With the incarnation, He reveals to us the love of God who gave His only begotten Son because He loved the world so much. (cf Jn 3:16 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] ) The kenosis of Christ in assuming our humanity even unto death manifests a love and mercy beyond all telling. He reveals to us our true dignity as adopted sons and daughters of God when He gives us the Holy Spirit. But He also reveals to us our true state, which is that of a sinner, wounded and broken, of which He has come to heal and restore through the waters of baptism. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is therefore not just truth in words but in love. His life shows us how to live and love authentically, in selfless giving, in humble service and unconditional love. His forgiveness on the cross shows us the depth and unlimited mercy of God.

Consequently, today we are called to walk in the light, which is to walk in truth and love. St John made it clear that Christmas is not a sentimental event in which we just gaze at the innocent baby Jesus in the crib. It is not enough to celebrate Christmas in a sentimental way, the beautiful lights, the nice and romantic dinners, the soothing music, the giving and receiving of gifts and just being with our loved ones. This is part of the Christmas celebration but it is not enough to live nostalgically in the past. Rather, Christmas is an invitation to live the life of Christ. St John wrote, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Christmas requires us to live in the light by walking in truth and in love.

However, it is not as simple as we think because living in truth and love is not always welcomed. Not all want to see the light. There are enemies of the light. This is symbolized in King Herod. When he heard of the infant king, he felt threatened. He was not concerned about who this king was or what he would do. He was obsessed with power and would do anything to hold on to his power. He would not tolerate any competitor. Indeed, historians say that King Herod in his reign killed many people without mercy, including the infants, so long as they were perceived to be a threat to him and his throne. He sought to extinguish the truth, through lies, deceit and trickery. But when these failed, he resorted to murder. This explains how the infants were killed. However, to be fair, we cannot over exaggerate the number of infants killed because Bethlehem was a small town. Historians are of the opinion that about a dozen or so would have been slaughtered. Regardless whether it was 30 or 3000, the truth remains that killing is evil and cannot be condoned.

Today, we are still confronted daily by enemies of the light. They choose to live in darkness. Those who advocate relativism say that the truth cannot be found so we can only live in darkness. Those who reject God, they too are saying that there is nothing beyond this life. There is no creator, there is no God. We do not know where we come from, or who we are and where we are going. Life is just on this earth. We had better get the best out of it, enjoy as much as we can, for tomorrow we die and then we are no more. Life is meaningless; it has no purpose, no direction, no goal, no future. This explains why atheism always ends in annihilation.

The enemies of truth often disguise themselves as champions of love when it is love without truth. Whilst the world cannot agree on truth, all are champions of love. But how can one champion love without truth? This is the real dilemma of life. The world advocates abortion, killing of human embryos, euthanasia, all in the name of love. Is love only for self? Can one love himself selfishly and call that love? Love is just the opposite of selfishness. So when we murder a child so that our lives will not be inconvenienced, can we call that love? When we terminate the life of elderly people, we claim that we are doing it out of love, when in fact it is the lack of love and patience to look after them that we want them to exit this world so that we can be free from the burden of caring for them. How could we call it love when we make use of each other physically and sexually without commitment and without sincerity? People in the world confuse sexual pleasures with love. Pleasure is for self, love is for the other. Indeed, we can go on and on. Just reflect how often we do many things for selfish reasons in the name of love. St John warns us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Again, he reiterated, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” This is the real tragedy of the world. They are committing sins against charity and justice, masking them under the guise of love.

St John therefore urges us who have received the light of Christ to witness to the light by living a life of love based on truth. In saying this, he is not saying that a Christian is without sin and imperfections. If that were so, then none of us would have qualified to be a Christian. What is important is that we seek and purify ourselves in truth and love each day. Only those who are living a complacent Christian life with no regard for their growth in holiness and virtues, in their relationship with God and their fellowmen, are condemned. So walking in the truth is a life-long process as we need to grow to become more like Christ through our relationship with Him.

No one arrives at unconditional love overnight but time is needed for purification through mistakes, quarrels, frictions and, most of all, through forgiveness. Couples, especially, must remember that true love is not accomplished in a day. The beginning of a married life is but a long life of martyrdom in purifying the romantic love in courtship. For this reason, the Church insists on the indissolubility of marriage so that the couple can persevere in their relationship, especially in bad times. Without that commitment, then we will always live in fear that we will be rejected if we are not good enough for the other person. If that were the case, then love is not unconditional and total. Indeed, with our children, regardless of whether they are good or bad, smart or otherwise, we love them for life unto death. Parents’ love for their children is unconditional and total. They never stop loving them. So, too, in any relationship, even with friends. We need time to build up that relationship through trials and mistakes.

What is true of human relationship is true of our relationship with God as well. Jesus knows our weaknesses and therefore when He demands that we walk in the light in truth and love, He knows that we will fail because of our sinful nature. For this reason, He comes to cleanse us from our sins and heal our brokenness. St John says, that “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” So all we need to do is to confess our sins because the Lord is all mercy and forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We can be confident that God who became man and knows what it is like to be tempted and to suffer injustice will have compassion on us. St John wrote, “if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” In other words, as human beings, so long as we are searching and seeking to walk in the light in truth and love, and even when we fail, the Lord understands us. It does not matter how long we take to purify ourselves in love, what is important is that we do not give up on ourselves when we fail, and more importantly that we not give up on our loved ones and friends and colleagues. We must offer forgiveness instead.

As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents, let us imitate their examples. Although innocent, they died for Christ because they died for truth and love. Like Jesus, they did not sin but the injustices of men killed them. We, too, whenever we experience injustices and helplessness, or when we are cheated and taken advantage of, let us continue to rely on God’s mercy and justice instead of seeking revenge. Let our innocent suffering reveal the love of God to them. Just as the innocent death of Christ on the cross saved humanity, we can use unjust sufferings for the redemption of our enemies and for our own growth in holiness.

The psalmist assures us that the Lord will look after us. He is on our side and will defend us. “Our life, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the fowler. If the Lord had not been on our side when men rose up against us, then would they have swallowed us alive when their anger was kindled. Then would the waters have engulfed us, the torrent gone over us; over our head would have swept the raging waters. Indeed the snare has been broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Let us surrender all our weaknesses and helplessness to the Lord as we struggle to walk in the light. In this way, we too will radiate His light to others.