God of the ‘little ones’ becoming a ‘little one’

Bro.Gihan Dushmantha Senadeera OMI

We are in the season of Advent, when we prepare our hearts in a special way to welcome the King of Peace historically born 2,000 years ago. At the same time Advent reminds us of the same King who is expected to come in glory at the end of world to judge us according to our deeds of love.

His coming among us either historical or eschatological, must make us joyful and not guilty or frightened provided we are prepared. His historical birth was a definitive action which generated joy in and within the world, especially in the hearts of the poor, the marginalised, the exploited, the sick, the prisoners and those condemned by the society as ‘sinners’.

He became one of us that He convinces us, the ‘little ones’ of the love of God and better understand our human nature, being human in the fullest sense of the word. It doesn’t mean to say that God as the Creator was unable to understand the hearts, thoughts and feeling of human beings, but through the Incarnation of Jesus, God was able to better communicate to His beloved people His love and care for them!

On the part of God, it was His free choice of love that made Him to become human, it was His love for humanity and it was pure love without any ulterior motives. It was His action-seeking-love that made him to become one of us and not love-seeking-action.

According to Psalm Number 8, the human person was His highest creation second only to angels in glory and honour. But in the same psalm, the psalmist reminds the man and woman how really they are when compared to the majesty of God.

This shows that God’s love for us is gratuitous; we don’t really deserve such love. The greatness of the Love of God comes from His act of coming down to the level of man and woman so as to save them through His Son Jesus Christ.

Necessity to become human

The necessity of God becoming human can be better understood through a story that I heard once. There was a certain man who was a Christian and yet was not convinced of the fact of God becoming human to save humanity through the mystery of Incarnation. His wife and children were devout Christians. It was Christmas eve.

He didn’t even want to attend the Christmas midnight Mass. So, he dropped his wife and children at the Church and came back home and settled-down on a chair and was watching television. He heard a sound of something banging against the glass of the window of the living room.

As he went close to the window he saw a group of wild ducks who were trying to come in being attracted by the burning lights to escape from heavy snow fall.

Suddenly the idea struck him to get the wild ducks to his farm that was in the back yard of his property, for he already had some ducks in his farm. He tried all possible means to get them inside the house, he threw food at them, and opened the door wide, yet none of the ducks came in because of fear.

Then he went out and was trying to chase them inside but instead of going in, they ran away from the house. Now both the man and the ducks were tired. Then the man got a fine idea: he went to his farm and brought out his ducks.

As the wild ducks saw the domestic ducks they came close to them, and behold, within few minutes they became friendly with each other. It was very cold outside and the domestic ducks didn’t stay out for a long time. As they made their way back into the farm, to the surprise of the man, the wild ducks followed them.

The man got hold of the wild ducks this way. Coming back to the living room, where he was watching TV, he began to realise the meaning of God coming among human beings as a human. As the wild ducks responded only to ducks and not to him, in spite of his multiple attempts, so, he came to the conclusion that God had to necessarily become human to save us. He realised that Jesus was God Himself. His heart was filled with gratitude to God for choosing to come down among us to save us.

Action-seeing-love

This reality of God becoming human has its implications on us, His ‘little ones’. For Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (Jn 13;34). How are we to love one another as He loved us?

What was the kind of love He had? According to my understanding His was an action-seeking-love; it was not a love-seeking-action. Jesus loved so much that His love was always manifested through His actions, the very actions of love that finally led Him to the crucifixion.

That love didn’t seek anything in return and that’s why I call it as action-seeking-love and not love-seeking-action as most of us would do. For Jesus, love was not merely a feeling, for Him love was only action. This reminds us that love is not real love unless it is expressed through actions. But when we act out of love there is definitely going to be resistance, opposition and criticism and ‘crucifixion’.

It’s our readiness and daring for repercussions of our acts of love, which is going to make our love selfless like unto the selfless love of Christ.

That is what is going to be pleasing in the sight of God. Jesus’ action was not a love-seeking one.

When He acted out of His love it was not to seek cheap popularity, fame and name, and to win the hearts of people to set them against those who opposed the truth to which He was bearing witness.

Thus, we are challenged by Christ to constantly check our inner motives when we do something for the other. I need to ask this question from my own self: “Am I doing this action as a result of my love towards others?” Or else “Am I doing this action to get the love (attention, good name, fame, position) of others?”

Most of our leaders in secular society today are love-seekers and not action-seekers. But as Christians we are not to imitate them. For we are to imitate only Christ our Master for whom the action-seeking-love was the rule of life.

During this season of Advent how are we to act out of love? How are we to serve Christ and imitate the love He has shown? We are to serve Christ through His poor. According to the Gospel of Mathew (25:31-46), we are to seek His presence in the sick, the poor, the hungry, the strangers and the marginalised.

Our actions must not be merely limited to providing them with material things, but to help them to stand on their own with freedom and dignity.

As Christians we are all called to stand against any political, social, cultural or religious force that make people, poor, hungry, sick and any that make them estranged, dehumanised or enslaved.

Every man/woman is called by their Creator to fulfill him/herself freely, creatively and responsibly before God and society.

Therefore, it is our bounden responsibility to enhance everyone with due freedom and dignity to realise his/her full humanity.

In the end, we will be judged on the basis of love we have shown to Christ in His poor. In this time of Advent let’s be mindful of the presence of Christ Himself in His ‘little ones’ for whom He chose to be a ‘little one’ and try our best to serve Him through His ‘little ones’.

Courtesy: The Messenger