(JOHN 1, 1-14)
Who among us does not remember Christmas at home?--In my own childhood
home there was no Christmas tree, but a remarkably impressive solemnity
reigned above and upon all during Christmas. Sometimes I still wish
that I might become a child once more and celebrate Christmas at home
again, with father and mother, grandmother and all those dear ones.
That cannot be done, however, for all these beloved ones are having
Christmas in the mansions of Heaven--and I am no longer a child. But
about these Christmas memories, I want to say: "God, let me never,
never forget them!"
That was the joy without clearly conscious reasons. One was glad just
because it was Christmas, but was unable to go into any further details
about the reasons.
But now I am a child no more!--Are we as "grown-ups" to be satisfied
with the memory of our childhood Christmas, and by witnessing the
pleasure of the children--share a little of that Christmas sentiment
which envelops all?
Undoubtedly, many people will answer: Yes, that is all. Christmas
really is meant only for the children. Since we became experienced men
and women who have become acquainted with the vexations and worries of
life, we cannot thoroughly enjoy Christmas. To us, the law of life has
been proclaimed in the words: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken."
In the hard, wearying, suffering and struggling life of the world,
the unconscious joy, that is, the joy that knows of no reason, is not
enough. There is a craving for a joy that knows and understands the
spirit of Christmas if one is to be completely glad--that is true!
But what does the Gospel say:
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace
and truth."
That means, that the only begotten Son of God, who was with God and
who was Himself God, has descended and taken up his abode among
us---not only among the children! No, indeed, also among grown-up and
experienced men and women who must shoulder the burdens and heat of the
day.
The Christmas message is the message that tells us that _Jesus Christ,
with Heavenly power and with Heavenly love_, has taken up his abode
among all working, struggling and suffering people upon earth--not like
a haughty, indifferent onlooker at your work, your exertions, your
struggle as we might imagine the son of the big manufacturer going
into the shop looking at the toiling, perspiring workers with haughty,
indifferent scorn and with a shrug of the shoulder.
No, _Jesus Christ entered the life of mankind as a benevolent and
powerful participant in it_, so that you, when you look at your work
and wonder whether you will be able to finish it--at your suffering and
wonder whether you can keep on suffering--never shall reckon with your
own strength alone, but must include Jesus therein. He has gone into
your suffering, has taken up your fight and your work for the purpose
of suffering, fighting and working with you and becoming your Saviour.
Therefore, He says: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest." That means: _All you men and women
who labor and are heavy laden_.
But when I can grasp a little of this, then I enjoy Christmas--not
because of the memory of vanished days, but because of the
understanding of the fact that Christmas is meant just for me who have
experienced how much there is _to labor for, to fight against, and to
be saved from_, and how sorely I stand in need of a heavenly support of
strength and love, in my daily work and in my daily struggles.
Therefore, I now say: Christmas is meant for all us grown-up men and
women who take life seriously and who know what are its conditions. We
cannot dispense with Christmas, at all. We offer God our praise and our
gratitude for Christmas, and we do so _with the joy of understanding_.