Christmas is here! God has been incarnated and reveals his glory. The Inaccessible One has finally made himself known. Only when the glory of God is proclaimed from the heavens can the peace which the angels announced at Bethlehem spread on earth. In fact, the last stage of our journey speaks to us precisely about peace, a fruit of the Spirit that matures laboriously but which makes all the difference between a happy life and a restless one.
In today’s world, characterized by agitation, rushing around and the continual consumption of an avalanche of material goods, peace is a precious gift–one that can save a family in crisis, a religious community, a city, a country, the whole world. Peace is the remedy for many spiritual ills but it requires a shift of attention from self to others. Because of this, Christmas and peace are inseparable: God chooses to clothe himself with human nature, and human beings–even those “farthest away”–see in this the revelation of his infinite goodness and mercy toward us.
Let us strive to return to the behavior pointed out to us by this hidden God in his act of self-revelation. Let us move from the desire to call attention to ourselves and receive acclaim to the call to remain hidden, to the choice to renounce asserting our own ideas and defending ourselves from attacks and offenses.
The truth about ourselves emerges when we embrace hiddenness, just as the truth about God, the Savior of the world and the giver of peace, emerged when he embraced the manger.
Prayer
Lord, you are born in the midst of the battles
of those who want to conquer physical and intellectual territory.
You allow yourself to be discovered
in every living person.
Give us the courage
to put ourselves in the shoes of our neighbor.
Give us a simple heart that uproots pride
so as to reveal your glory and welcome peace.
Aiming for Hiddenness So as To Reveal God’s Glory
