Dedications

Born to heal and save us? Indeed was a question which plagued my mind when I saw a Church notice. It read that only those who are double vaccinated could attend Christmas Night Vigil. Double vaccinated to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Saviour & Healer? Double vaccinated to go to Church where millions go for healing, and now I have to go protected with a vaccine to ask for healing?

A saviour who was prophesied about his coming hundreds of years before he was born. Born is a stable with animals around him as he was delivered. What was he vaccinated with to protect him from animal borne diseases? On the contrary during his years of preaching he healed. Healed the sick, the blind, made the lame walk, cured lepers and even rose a dead man. On one occasion a paralysed man was lowered from the roof, as they could not get in to the place where Jesus was preaching and wanted Jesus to heal him. To the extent a Centurion once requested Jesus to heal his sick servant. When Jesus agreed to go to his house and heal the servant, the Centurion who was reluctant to have Jesus at his house told Jesus even a word from him was enough to heal his servant. Thus was the faith in Jesus in his times. What is happening now? Are we losing faith in Jesus or was Jesus and his miracles a hoax or a Hearsay?

The Catholic community already weak in faith with now only religious practice rituals, one of the fashion rituals is the Christmas Night Vigil. Fashion because it is a display of clothing finery and perfume aroma. Display of brands in jewellery and watches. Followed with lavishness of parties that followed. There was nothing like that when Christ was born. The first visitors were the shepherds who were grazing their sheep. All of them dressed in very modest poor clothes. In fact Christ was bundled in simple swaddling clothes. The smell around may have not been a pleasant one but in all probability could be stench of a stable. Smell which may have been doused later with the gifts or frankincense and myrrh gifted by the wise men. In such an unhygienic surrounding with no medical facilities or even warm water facility for a bath was Christ born into the world. Today we are fighting an invisible virus with warm water gargle and get double vaccinated with vaccines not yet proven to be effective, without which one cannot enter malls, public transport and now not even a Church? Where is Christ the Saviour? Where is Christ the Healer?

The problem is we are not vaccinated with the Blood of Christ. The blood that was shed to save us from our sins. Even today Christ can and will heal. Then if we want to poison our environment which is choking the world, what does one want a Christ to do? Should he clean the environment for us? Even if he did we would continue polluting? Even a Doctor cannot heal a patient if he refuses to do what is instructed by the Doctor? Are we following what Christ taught us to do? He feed a multitude of five thousand by multiplying 2 fish and 5 loaves which was carried by a boy when he attended to hear Christ sermon. Today we can do it too, but our selfishness is so much that we waste food. Billion tonnes of food go wasted uneaten every year. What more food do you want Christ to multiply and yet there is so many that go hungry to bed daily. Clothing wastage is filling landfills across the world and yet there are millions who cannot afford clothes. Christ preached without a collection box, healed without a fee and to the extent sacrificed his own life to save us. What more saving and healing are we wanting? Christ worked through his disciples after his death, resurrection and finally his ascension into the heaven. Who are his disciples today? It is not only the priests, nuns and the religious of the Church. It is you and me.

Today vocations to the religious life in the Catholic Church was dwindled worldwide. Why? Are the youth not ready to take up the challenge to be followers of Christ to heal and save? What are we the laity doing? Expecting miracles? What more miracles can God do with the way we are leading our lives? Goals of life narrowed to success, money, power and material possessions? Joke is we even pray to achieve this? After achieving then what? Greed takes over to compete with the ones who have more than us when the blessings given is through Christ to help the poor, feed the hungry, help the sick and homeless as we are made in God’s image to do God’s work, which Christ did during his time and he comes again this Christmas to reveal that he wants us to do it for him. The question is then do we want to heal and save? For many is do we want to be healed and saved?

May this Christmas we strive to heal and save the world

# posted by Sunny Fernandes @ 5:12 AM