Birth of Baby Jesus amidst unwanted Babies

A REFLECTION: ON THE BIRTH OF THE BABY JESUS AMIDST UNWANTED BABIES

When you think of Christmas what comes to your mind first?

            For a secularist mindset what associates them with Christmas would probably be- the Christmas gifts, Christmas parties, new clothes, decorations etc., a more religious minded person would associate Christmas with, the babe born in a manger, the infant that the Shepherd’s ran to see, the new born child that the Magi travelled hundreds of miles to worship, the one of whom the heavenly choirs sang ‘Glory to God in the highest.’

            Dear friends, today I would like to share with you some insights as to what the birth of Christ, would want to say to man’s craving for convenience. Hitler’s regime was rife with doing away with the life of “unwanted” people; all those scourged by illness, old age, “another” race, and other unwanted characteristics. They were to be terminated in a gas chamber with scientific precision. Today, we see the same scenario, but it has become a world wide phenomenon with a different name. The only difference is that Hitler was one man; now we have doctors, scientists, and the so called “forward thinking” people replacing Hitler- they all want the right to choose who is to live and who is to die.

            This Christmas season, the Christ child challenges us to think about the most unwanted group of human beings- The unborn children. The story of Christmas is the story of the unwanted infant. There was no room for him in the inn; he knows how it feels to be unwanted. Here was the greatest miracle in the world- God becoming man to save humankind- and human beings had no room for him because he didn’t appear as the awesome God that he is, but as a poor defenseless, voiceless baby. Christ could have come as a fully grown man, but in his wisdom, Christ chose to bless every stage of life, by being formed in the womb of the Blessed Virgin.

            When a couple wants to abort their baby because the child has a chance of being born with a heart defect or because the child is born of wedlock, how many of us speak up against it or offer a solution? When newspapers carry stories of ill people requiring money, the whole city shows it has a heart and contributes generously. However, when it comes to an unborn child, people generally look the other way. How can we talk of bringing about social justice and love, when the most basic human right- the right to life-is being negated by courts and doctors who decide at what stage of human development life can be terminated? Who has made us an authority on when human life begins? If anyone still has a doubt as to what the church or the Bible has to say about the unborn life of a child, look up Psalm 139, which says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb…”

            On Christmas day, many parishes and Religious institutions will have nativity scenes showing all kinds of things from mass communication to poverty, to communal harmony, but where is the child? The Christ child and his vision, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10: 7-10). Why is this lacking from our Nativity scenes? Why is it that we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, but forget all those unborn children, who are put to death everyday because of convenience? Is the silent scream for justice to be ignored by us? How can we stand before the crib of Jesus, when we know that every hour there are people who need our help and offer themselves without any alternative, but abortion? While people collect funds to build new churches, the true temple of the Holy spirit- the human person is being persecuted daily around the world in what was once the safest haven for human life- the mother’s womb.

            Many of us religious may tend to think that the issue of abortion does not affect us directly. But the fact is it does. As religious we have vowed to be agents of God’s love peace and joy. I think if we turn a blind eye to abortion like many others in the world, we have failed to be His agents of love peace and joy. As we celebrate the birth of child Jesus let us give a thought, to how we can be agents of God’s love justice and peace. Let us make an effort to discourage the malady called, “CONVENIENCE” and get rid of it ourselves. In a special way let us pray for the innocent victims of the “Convenience Seekers” especially the thousands of unwanted babies’ aborted every day. May the Christ child inspire us to see him in every human life, especially the life of the defenseless unborn children.

Adapted from the article, “The Story of Unwanted Baby” The Examiner, Lydia Davidson, Dec. 20^th, 2008. Vol.159, no. 51, p. 30.