For Unto Us A Child Is Born - EDITORIAL

Everywhere in the world today children have become unbelievably vulnerable. How could we become more sensitive and committed to their plight? What does the birth of Christ, who was a child once upon a time, tell us about our children and their future?  

Amongst other things, Christmas is not only about a certain child who was born a long time ago, but also about children from all places and all times. Jesus’s birth was the birth which had no economic or social stability. It was the birth of vulnerability, uncertainty and fragility par excellence, as from birth to death, he was homeless, penniless, powerless, rootless and vulnerable. True power lies, paradoxically, in our powerlessness and in our helplessness. True spiritual growth and maturity lies in our constant insecurities in their multifaceted manifestations. Tough circumstances under which we are born can make us great and profound, if we know how to transcend them creatively.

Every child is a child from God and of God. There is no birth ever that is not desired, nourished, acknowledged and blessed by God. Each child is a direct blessing from God and therefore the living God is actively and actually present at every birth of a child. Children are marvelous miracles through and through, and God is the author of every single miracle in this world. Every single birth furthers the ongoing mystery of the universe. The whole universe is one grand birth and each human birth sings, praises and glorifies the grandeur of the universe and the majesty of its Creator. The whole emerging and evolving universe is one great, grand and gradual song of praise. Each child is a song, a hymn, a melody and a symphony too in the Divine orchestra. 

Every birth contains a spark of the Divine Incarnation. Every child carries within oneself a spark of the Divinity. There is a whisper of God in every child. Jesus speaks to us gently and intimately in and through every child and one needs the eye of faith to understand this reality. Every cry of a child is a mystical and musical whisper. Every tear manifests the love of Christ in a microcosmic manner. By being born into this universe, Jesus embraces, accepts and affirms every other birth; every child is, without any exception, accepted, affirmed, loved and cared for by Jesus without conditions, restrictions, limitations 
and reservations.

Christ lives and is active ceaselessly and tirelessly in every child. Christ continues to live in every child and every child lives in Christ too. Not to live in Christ is not live fully. Every child is also a potential Christ. Jesus too had a childhood in solidarity with all children, born and unborn, in the world. Children are the future mothers and fathers of humanity. Whoever abuses a child ceases to be a Christian for child abusers are the enemies of Christ and therefore the enemies of humanity. 
Children have one true friend in Jesus and therefore every child must befriend Jesus in order to really enjoy one’s childhood. When one becomes Jesus’s best friend, one also becomes one’s best friend. When one becomes one’s best friend, one also becomes the best friend of others. Jesus is much closer to us than we are to ourselves. Jesus is also a child who understands and empathises with every other child.  

Every child is adorable and admirable. Every child is a carrier and container of the divine mystery. Every child too reflects the glory, power, grandeur, beauty and majesty of God. God became a child in Jesus in order to redeem us from our childish ways. 
With Jesus’s birth the whole human race is also born once again. The birth of Jesus is the birth of the new humanity, no more and no less. Our birth is not only biological but also theological and spiritual. Every birth has a theological dimension. Every birth is extraordinary, precious and unique. No birth is ordinary or uninteresting. Every new birth is the birthing of a new dimension of this universe. Every newly born baby enhances the meaning of this universe. Every time a child is born the universe is also born again and anew and transformed. The birthing of a child is the rebirth of the universe. 

At this Christmas we should be determined to give birth to a new life. Those who do not want to change their life-styles are not really qualified to celebrate Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of the true disciples of Christ. To celebrate Christmas without sharing in its true spirit is to betray it. To celebrate Christmas is to be Christ-like through and through. Christmas also means the making of a Christ out of a child and appreciating children in Christ.