You celebrate Christmas all year. You are glad that Christ came into the world, bowing to Him, singing carols, receiving Communion, gathering with your family... The Lord, the Savior, comes to the earth. Actually, he came 2 1000 years ago. This news, even the most godly of us, has been so common that we barely consider it at all. True, godly ministers remind us of the importance of the Birth of Jesus all year, but have you always wondered what would have happened to the world, what destiny would have been for you had Christ not been born? If the planet were inactive waiting for the Messiah?
The Holy Church does not ask us this question during Christmas itself, but in its centuries-old wisdom tries to remind us of this terrifying imagination during the Advent period, erstwhile we look forward to the Lord's coming and erstwhile we ask during the Roorat Mass:
Let us on earth's bows, the Savior of Heaven's clouds!
The planet through the sins of the unfortunate, He called at night deep.
After all, this was the case – the planet was unhappy by its sins and plunged into deep darkness. If that's not enough, the Church besides reminds us, singing:
When there was a curse from God, the Czart reigned, death and fear, A dense offense
They closed the gates of salvation.
We sing it all year, any of us even a fewer times a week. possibly this year’s Advent or Christmas period is simply a good time for us to consider these words more carefully? What do you mean there was a spell, death and fear? What does it mean that the gates of salvation were closed? And above all – why this situation has changed. Why do sins today, even the heaviest ones, not necessarily, if we profoundly regret them, gotta close our way to Heaven?
The answer to the last question is simple: for Christ, the Lord, the Savior, was born in the planet of the Redeemer! So, the logic suggests that if he had not been born, the planet would inactive be in darkness, the prince of darkness would inactive be triumphant, and by saying goodbye to his most holy even loved ones, no of us would dare even think that they might be in Heaven...
But erstwhile we depart from the wisdom contained in 2 verses of 1 song only, we must remember that God, who loved each of us, gave us his beloved boy for a circumstantial purpose. And that was the decision that changed the planet beyond recognition.
For what would the planet look like if Christ were not born?
First, the holders of the cognition of the only actual God to this day would be representatives of only 1 nation—chosen. That would be religion. de facto a tribal to which the representatives of another nations, Gentiles, would not have the right. They could only observe it from the courtyards of the temple.
Secondly, the most fundamental effect of Christ's absence in past would be the absence of redemption of sins. It was through the birth, death and resurrection of Christ that the sacrifice for the sins of mankind was made. If Christ had not been born, we would have remained in the condition of first sin. We would not have access to the grace of salvation.
Thirdly, there would be no sacraments, which we know as channels of grace. Without Christ's birth, there would not be a Eucharist, a sacrament of penance, or another sacraments that play a key function in the spiritual life of Catholics. The Eucharist, being the Body and Blood of Christ, is recognized as the “source and summit” of Christian life. If Christ had not been born, it would not have been possible to share in His sacrifice in a sacramental way. For example, without the sacrament of repentance, mankind would not have access to forgiveness of sins, which would mean permanent separation of man from God. But the sacraments are not only a origin of grace, but besides give us the certainty of God's presence in everyday life. Can you imagine your life without sacraments?
Fourthly, our Lord Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God. In him, the Creator showed his love, mercy, and plan to save mankind. Jesus said of himself: I am the way, the fact and the life. No 1 comes to the Father but through me. (J 14.6). This revelation showed people that God is not a distant and harsh judge, but a loving Father who desires a close relation with all man. Had Christ not come into the world, mankind would not have access to this full Revelation. Man's relation with God would inactive be based on uncertainty and fear, and the fullness of fact about God's mercy and love would stay beyond our reach.
Fifth, we must remember that 1 of the central elements of Jesus' teaching was the fresh moral principle, based on love for God and for neighbor. In the Old Testament, morality was frequently based on detailed laws that regulated the regular lives of the Israelites. Christ, as the Church emphasizes, came not to endure the law, but to fulfil it in a spirit of love and mercy. It is hard to imagine what the planet present would be like without Christian morality, mercy, charity, forgiveness. Or isn't that hard to imagine? possibly it is adequate to wink your eyes and remember what the planet created in the context of Christendom was like? What did Nazism look like, like communism and another atheistic or pagan political systems?
Sixth, without Christmas... There would be no church. It was Christ who established the Church as his Mystical Body on earth. The Church serves not only as a spiritual community, but besides as a teacher and guide on the way to Heaven. The Church is besides a place where a man can find spiritual, moral and intellectual support. For centuries the Catholic Church has shaped morality, culture, art and science, influencing full societies. If Christ had not been born, there would not be this institution that leads mankind to a deeper cognition of God and His Love.
Seventhly, it was Christ who brought us closer, and we can say that he was actually realising the hope of eternal life. He opened the gates of Heaven for mankind. If he had not been born, man would not have that hope. Teaching the Church emphasizes that without Christ there would be no resurrection of bodies, and life after death would be uncertain. Christ brought mankind hope of everlasting life in God’s presence. His birth assured us that life does not end with death, and that all man has the chance to attain eternal happiness in God.
It is worth considering all this in the days of waiting or celebrating Christmas: what did Jesus Christ bring to the world—all of us, but besides to each individual; what did he offer you?
Let us remember this, welcoming the Savior from the long-deserved, so many thousands of years of appearance, for which the kings and prophets had been waiting, and which on that peculiar night had just been revealed to us...
Krystian Kratiuk
