Of the many gifts given at Christmas, the one our heart truly longs to give and to receive is love.  In every wrapped package, I desire to show in some outward expression my love for family and friends.  Sometimes the manic pace of the holiday season gets in the way of love and  good intentions are replaced by impatience and frustration.  It is beneficial to step back, slow down and reflect on what gift was really given on that first Christmas.

There is an old hymn written in the mid 1800’s that is entitled, “Love Came Down On Christmas.”  God is described as love and Jesus’ entrance into the world embodied God’s expression of love for humanity.  There are many names given to Jesus:  wonderful counselor, mighty God, prince of peace, the lion of Judah, the bright morning star, the Word,  Emmanuel (God with us) are only a few.  All these names give us a little different picture of the many qualities of Jesus.  But doesn’t “Love” encompass them all?

A close inspection of the Gospels, reveals Jesus repeatedly loving people where they were.  He touched the untouchables, He dined with the despised, and He associated with sinners.  His mission was to love the lost and bring them back to God.  He didn’t come to condemn but to save.  His coming to earth in human form was a huge sacrifice in itself but to die for us was beyond belief.  God loves us that much.  He is love magnified to a level we really can’t comprehend.

During Jesus’ ministry on earth, the only people He chastised were those who judged others and put huge burdens on them of laws they couldn’t uphold.  The law was more important to them than love and this was counter to Jesus’ mission.  He had no kind words for the religious leaders of his day. He called them vipers and white washed tombs.  They were pretty on the outside but dead inside.  Jesus had a way of seeing right through external trappings to who a person really was inside.  This eventually lead to his crucifixion.

So how are we to respond to this gift of love that came down on Christmas?  Jesus’ command was to love one another as He loved us.  This is sacrificial love that knows no boundaries.  We are called to love the unlovable, to love people who think differently or act differently than ourselves.  We are to love sinners as Jesus loved them because if we are honest with ourselves we all fall in this category.  We are not called to judge others.  This is Jesus’ job, not ours. This doesn’t mean we don’t stand up for justice when needed. However, when we stand up for an issue, we must ask ourselves, “Am I lifting people up or tearing them down”  with my words?  Telling the truth in love can be a difficult task.  If we drive people away from Jesus by our words, then we need to consider if we should hold our words out of love. As directed in a quote attributed to St. Francis, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.”  Our loving actions speak volumes more than our words ever will.

Jesus came down on Christmas as Love to show us how to love and to save us for love.  Let us carry on His mission to the world this Christmas in everything we do and say.