Christmas Addresses The Address-less

Whom is Christmas addressing? Whom did it address then, 2000 years back? Bobby Jose Kattikad says that Christmas addresses vulnerabilities and the vulnerable: the weak, the wounded, the humiliated, and so on. He had no space in the inn. He is born in a cattle shed which is an address-less space; he creates it into a new address. God creates a new space where all would find space and peace; shepherds, angels, kings, and many more find space and peace there. The angle sings, “glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all people.”

People poured into the manger. We are saying thee kings from the count of gifts, but early chronicles say that there must have been many wise people who came to the manger. Footfall is important. How many come to my house? How many come to my organisation? One of the factors that indicate the health of a home is to see how many people come to that house. Even animals and birds visit a house where there is kindness and generosity. To some houses even the carol-singing children would dislike going.

Anonymous quiet giving is a special quality of Christmas. Santa Claus comes in and hides gifts for all. With Christ ‘who’ is giving is not very important. Charity, even in the church, has become a show business. When giving is done to parade ones generosity, it boosts the ego of the giver; but it hurts the self-respect of those receiving. Christmas is a season of anonymous quiet giving. Jesus later would say, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3). Santa Claus anonymously makes others life happy and beautiful.

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