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| No Xmas here. Christ is the real reason for the season |
I pass by Lola Esther nearly everyday as I go to work or somewhere in Makati. She is one of the familiar faces down the street where I live who have made Buendia her home. I don't mean to trumpet my causes but all I can say is that I try to give what I can and when my means allow it which is why I personally know her. One time, she surprised me with a bag of fruits -- an orange, some grapes -- as a gesture of gratitude. Then a few days ago, she told me she's getting her Christmas "bonus" gift from the baranggay, an entitlement for senior citizens of the city and that she wanted to give the whole amount to me. I was stunned. I told her she ought to keep the money and use it but she wouldn't have any of it. If this is not a lesson in true generosity, I don't know what is. How could a homeless woman who sleeps out on the street be this generous to a stranger like me?
It's a reminder that Christ-mas will always be a time to celebrate the birth of the great Giver, the Christ. Yeah, I maybe living from month to month, project to project, but there's a lot of reasons to be thankful. We often hear people saying (or griping) that Christmas is just for kids. In a way, that's true because wasn't it Jesus who said that unless we become like children at heart, we wouldn't enter the kingdom of heaven (and in a parallel way, that we can remember who the real celebrant is). But then again, strip away the commercialism attached to the season and the true meaning of the season is there for all to see.
It's a reminder that Christ-mas will always be a time to celebrate the birth of the great Giver, the Christ. Yeah, I maybe living from month to month, project to project, but there's a lot of reasons to be thankful. We often hear people saying (or griping) that Christmas is just for kids. In a way, that's true because wasn't it Jesus who said that unless we become like children at heart, we wouldn't enter the kingdom of heaven (and in a parallel way, that we can remember who the real celebrant is). But then again, strip away the commercialism attached to the season and the true meaning of the season is there for all to see.
Admittedly, this year was a very challenging journey among an already challenging past couple of years. Still, it offered so many lessons in living and faith, and in living out the faith. 2013 has been a year of transition faith-wise as I've made the Holy Bible the center of my life and faith, and in believing in having a relationship with God, not pinning my hopes on religion. I'm reading the Bible from the beginning, (Genesis) and barring the apocalypse happening anytime soon, I pray I will be able to read all the way to Revelation. I've read some parts especially those that deal with eschatology (Books of Daniel, Ezekiel, Revelation) and apocryphal Gospel (Books of Luke, Mark, Matthew and John) and with all the earth changes happening, you'll have to be blind not to acknowledge that indeed, we live in very interesting times with all these earth changes.
