The Silence of Christmas

Sunday Gospel Reflection
Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
John 1:1-18 | December 25, 2022

The Silence of Christmas
Christian Laurence E. Aquino
Ministry of Lectors and Commentators

A lot has been said about Christmas. It has been the subject of countless reflections of individuals and homilies by priests. When I was tasked to write the reflection for the fourth Sunday of the month, which happens to fall on Christmas Day, I was quite worried as to what I would be writing. Then in the emptiness of the laptop screen at which I was staring, there was just silence.

“Hindi ba siya uuwi? So mag-isa siya sa pasko? Kawawa naman.”

I heard this question/comment from a person dear to me when I told her that one of my friends will be spending Christmas alone. This made me recall my experience in 2020 when I spent Christmas alone, in isolation, because I got COVID. And if there was one thing I realized from that experience, it was that spending Christmas alone is not so bad. It perhaps came as a religious experience to me. A Christmas that was silent, away from the pompous festivities of Christmas parties, reunions, and gatherings. Just being there, in solitude.

Since then, I learned to value silence more, especially with the dominating commercialized concept of Christmas. Our hands are always full preparing for our noche buena, thinking of and shopping gifts for our loved ones, organizing year-end events, getting stuck in traffic to buy stuff because of the holiday rush, among others. This is not to say that these celebrations should be avoided. Rather, these should point us to the reason we celebrate this season. We can only appreciate this when we stop our personal businesses and reflect.

If I am asked how I prefer to celebrate Christmas, of course I’d prefer to celebrate it with my loved ones, but when I have to spend it again in solitude, then it’s still yet another opportunity to be silent. And in silence, we learn to listen and commune with the Word that became flesh.

Jesus, in many instances in the Gospels, preferred to pray in solitude (Matthew 14:13, Matthew 14:23, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12) before and/or after exercising his ministry. It is my prayer that we don’t see celebrating Christmas in a silent way (e.g., in solitude) as a pitiful thing, rather we see it as an opportunity to be with Jesus, and to be always in communion with the Father. Christmas is for everyone, because even in our solitude, we are never alone.

Christmas is and should be about silence, but a profound one, like the silence during the first Christmas when Mary delivered her Son. A silence that is in awe of the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger. A silence that makes us listen to the humble cries of the child Jesus. A blessed Christmas to all!

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