The search must continue

Christmas night, which we have just experienced, is the night that brings nostalgic feelings to our hearts. It is not a nostalgic feeling arising from the poetic account of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem; it is neither a nostalgic feeling for our childhood celebrations of Christmas. It is my belief that, today, Christmas creates, albeit unconsciously, another nostalgic yearning. For when I look at the human heart, I see a heart full of love also replete with betrayals, a courageous heart hounded by fears, a sure heart which, at the same time, is assailed by doubts! In such moments, if we are to be true to ourselves, we have to accept that our heart is replete with a nostalgic longing – not that longing for our childhood but a nostalgic yearning for that which is good, true and beautiful.

This is the night of Christmas when God became man to dwell with man in order to help him fulfil his nostalgic longing! Man today has need for these words for I can see men who have lost God or else have repudiated God. The breeze of atheism can be felt around us. One needs to reflect on the way we are arguing about certain issues. There are those who blatantly declare God has no meaning in their life. Who repudiates God will, in time, repudiate man!

Christmas invites me to empathise with these brothers and sisters; I wish to pray for those who are labouring to believe in God but cannot penetrate the darkness; I hold in my heart those who, with great suffering, are seeking to assuage their nostalgic longing for God.

I want to tell those seeking God today they are not alone. For even we, who consider ourselves Christians trekking on our way of faith, have a long way to go. We also need to feel the urge to discover God. St Augustine cautions us he who says he knows God, has not met him yet.

This is no light statement indeed because even within our Christian community there are those who are too sure of their knowledge of God! Those who hold such a certainty may stand on the same level as the unbeliever. They might falsely argue they have no need to search for God. A Jew who survived the concentration camps makes a truly valid affirmation. He says man’s life is a constant search for God and true life is when man finds God. Therefore, our life should be an incessant search. We come to live a true life when we see God face to face. At this point, we would have achieved certainty.

During the night when Jesus was born, the search for God started. The shepherds left their flocks and came to the stable to adore the Child Jesus. The wise man (Maġi) – who we celebrate tomorrow – took up their journey in search of Jesus. Herod also took up the search for Him. On this night, we are all called upon to join the caravan of those seeking God. We all form part of the “caravan” which is the Church. Yet, we need to examine the real motives of our search for God. Herod was searching for God but for a heinous motive. He wanted to eliminate God.

Christmas night is not only the night when the nostalgic search for God started. It is also the night when God, in his nostalgic search for man, became flesh. Indeed, we meet God not because we are searching for Him but because He is seeking us. We are free to open our door and invite Him in to dwell with us.

Thus, Christmas night reminds us of the nostalgic yearning of man for God. This night is the night when we celebrate the nostalgic yearning of God for man. Augustine of Hippo declared to Ambrose he was searching for the truth. Ambrose corrected him by saying it was not Augustine who was searching for the Truth but it was Truth that was searching him out to seize him. This is indeed a strong statement.

This Holy night, when we come up to the child Jesus lying in the manger looking for answers to the tensions burning in the depth of our hearts, gives us the opportunity to realise it is God who desires to seize you and me in order to give us true life.

Let us therefore rejoice. Indeed we must not rejoice alone. We need to share our joy with others. We need to share it even with those who seem far away from God, even with those who openly declare that do not care about God, living a lifestyle which objectively is in contrast with God’s will! You must be the heralds of this as it is in this way we can truly rejoice in Christmas. Our nostalgic yearning will thus be satiated because we have come to know the grace of God that has made its dwelling among us and, in turn, we have become heralds of this good news. After meeting Jesus, the shepherds of Bethlehem went out to proclaim that which they had seen and heard.

Do not give up on your search for God. Do not resist Jesus Christ who is searching for you. Open up to God and God will, in turn, help you to break thorough the resistance put up by others. This is my sincere wish for all men and women of goodwill.