A Christmas message

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Christmas can be a great confusion, and perhaps above all to explain to our children what really should be done. It 's like a mix of secular and religious reasons this time of year, it would be difficult to distinguish between the two, and know where to begin and the other begins?

I read once manufactured by a Japanese manufacturer, a series of Santa Claus chocolate a year and tried to cash the fervor of ChristmasWest. In this case, however, Santa Claus and each put a small crucifix chocolate, shows a very real level of confusion between the identity of Jesus and Santa Claus. We, the West more vulnerable to the same confusion, I think. Maybe not often make Santa Claus in Jesus, but I tend to Jesus to Santa Claus.

"He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows that when you're awake, knows when you've been bad or good, so good for the love of God." About Usspeak here, Jesus or Santa? It is not always easy to say!

This is even more evident in the way we see the crib. He sits down, the Sagrada Familia, the halo in each head still mulling over the child - do not cry wet diapers, it takes no effort, no sign of true humanity, we shall see. This is actually the birth of Santa!

The real Christmas story is read in the Gospels is the story of a difficult birth. Mothers of us who hadbirth is difficult to appreciate this more than the rest of us, but for all of us, even if it is never present at birth, must understand that this was a difficult birth.

All births are difficult. People die at birth. What we know and have a good twenty-first century, people do everything possible to reduce the risk and pain during childbirth. We have medical personnel present at all times. We can ensure that the delivery takes place in a comfortable and safe. And we make sure thatpain relief are available. At least we have a pile of leaves and hot water!

We are in the 21st century are very civilized these things. We want our women to look at birth and to minimize risks, and were, in fact, people in the first century, the same thing! However, Mary, to my knowledge, I had nothing and no one at hand to turn on the light. In reality, the image of Mary the haemorrhage and birth on the floor of the stable of Bethlehem is only compatible with the clumsyJoseph (and perhaps a pastor) is to be a brutal.

Maria was a refugee of the species in his house and moved his family, not to win the sympathy of the local population in the comfort of the minimum allowable Bethlehem enough, apparently.

I often wonder what it was that the people of Bethlehem as insensitive to the needs of pregnant women, destitute women forward, and show a culture that attaches great importanceTo welcome visitors?

E 'was Something About Mary (or perhaps Joseph) that part? It was truly the experience of the census, with all the stress and crowding, who was with him that the left can not cope with the strain on his physical or emotional? Or is it the result of years of harsh occupation of Roman power to occupy the city, once open and spacious become a ghetto of fear and people's interest there?

WeNo one knows the full story of the situation, such as the birth of Mary, where a single animal should have, without forcing the support and medical care should be the duty of every mother, but we know it must be hard to hard labor. We know they are survivors, and we know that Jesus is the child survived, but must have been a difficult birth.

So you can always ask, you should celebrate with us the story of banners and carols and gifts and the lightcolored balls, if the underlying reality that we remember, it was so difficult and ugly, and smells? And the answer is "Yes, it is" - quite appropriate. the story of a difficult and painful birth - - do not celebrate Christmas story of pain and difficulty, as such, but the fact that among all the pains and difficulties, God was upon us!

Bethlehem this Christmas morning was a painful and difficult place to be, but God was there! VaiBethlehem today and will be difficult and painful for the locals and work on another brutal occupation, but God is always there! Go to the most painful and brutal for our world - through Afghanistan, Iraq and Darfur and Burma - and see that God is always there and away from pain and disinfection of the brutality, but simply because in the middle for his exceptional !

This is theGood News, we celebrate Christmas - there is the deepening of the dark, not a corner of our world as brutal and inhumane, that Christ himself is not there. Yes, what our faith tells us, our experience confirms that there is a valley of darkness, so deep, and without experience of isolation and pain that is so terrible that they are not there with us!

This is the good news of Christmas - that God is with us, not with us in a distant, warm, fuzzythe road and we wanted the best guarantee of the sky, but with us in a very concrete way to enter our chaos in this age of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the blood and suffering of Mary, the birth of Baby Jesus.