Recently, I went to buy some second-hand electrical equipment on Facebook Marketplace. When I arrived at the address, I found Bilel and his brother sitting at a low table in their driveway drinking tea. After arranging the sale of the equipment, they invited me to sit with them and drink some lemon and ginger tea.
As we chatted, I revealed I was a Catholic priest, and they responded in kind, indicating they were devout Muslims. Rather than putting an end to our conversation, it opened a door to deeper dialogue.
It was a profound moment of grace as we shared our thoughts on the world and religion. We spoke about the dangers of fundamentalism and the beauty of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. We agreed wholeheartedly that true religion leads to love and peace, and that devotion to our own tradition should not lead us to close our minds and hearts to others because we are all brothers and sisters before God.
When we look around us, we see a fractured world where so many people are at war with one another and there is so much violence. Sadly, it’s a story that’s as old as Cain and Abel that continues to this day.
There has always been violence and brutality in the world. What makes our time in history so different is that we have immediate and continuous access to much of what is happening through the internet, social media and 24/7 reporting. It can leave us feeling overwhelmed, punch drunk and helpless.
That’s why Christmas and its themes of peace, goodwill, and welcome, is so important. Hope needs to be reborn in our hearts every year.
The infancy narratives found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke were written for Christians living in a world like ours that was often frightening and intimidating. They wanted to give us a vision, a light in the darkness, a star to steer our course by.
Matthew relates how Joseph is informed in a dream that Jesus is to be called Immanuel (God-with-us). This is one of the most important truths that Matthew wants to convey – Jesus is God-with-us in all our joys and sorrows.
Last year, the film entitled Mary told the story of Mary and Joseph in the form of a Hollywood blockbuster. It was certainly exaggerated but it rightly highlighted a basic truth that Matthew wanted to convey – even from his birth, Jesus’ life was in danger. The Magi quickly realised that Herod could not be trusted. How quickly their fears were realised when he ordered the brutal killing of all male children two years and under. Mary and Joseph became refugees and had to flee for their lives to a foreign land. In Egypt, they were confronted with the challenges of finding work and lodgings to set up a new home as a young family.
Luke’s infancy narrative is much more tranquil, but let’s not forget that even though Jesus is the Messiah, he is born in a manger because there is no room for him in the inn. This, too, is a story of vulnerability and God daring to share in our human reality.
When Jesus is presented in the Temple, Simeon is filled with the Spirit and proclaims him to be a light and hope for all humanity. At the same time, he warns Mary and Joseph that the road that lies ahead will not be easy, and that Jesus will encounter both acceptance and rejection. Not only that, a sword would pierce her heart also.
The book of Proverbs 29:18 reminds us that where there is no vision, the people perish. The birth of Jesus provides us a vision to plot our course so that we don’t drown in despair or give up hope in a better world for us all.
His birth should not ever be reduced to some saccharine sweet image. The deep beauty of the incarnation is it’s a love story where God enters our world not with a powerful coronation, but with all the vulnerability and helplessness of a newborn child.
The festive season is accompanied by so many emotions. It is a time when we speak of peace, joy, unity and goodwill. Images of happy families and joyous homecomings are the order of the day. For many people, that is their experience, despite the exhaustion that often accompanies the end-of-year gatherings and trying to visit both sides of our families.
For others, Christmas drives home the painful reality of divisions in families, unresolved hurts, not being able to be with loved ones, or the hurt of being estranged or loneliness.
Christmas is a time to hope for more: a better world, where relationships are healed and we can gather in peace, love and friendship.
If our hearts are open, there is always reason to hope and keep the vision alive. God has not given up on us, and we should not give up on each other.
Rev Dr Christopher J Monaghan CP is the President of the Yarra Theological Union, a College of the University of Divinity, Melbourne.
This article was originally published in the 2025 Advent & Christmas | Summer edition of the Catholic Outlook Magazine. You can read the digital version here or pick up a copy in your local parish.
