The Christmas Message

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. Even when I was in India, where Christmas wasn't so commercialized, somehow the Christmas spirit finds me. I become more loving, there's a lot more smiling, carol humming(I don't sing), all the channels have Christmas movies playing and then there's Baking!! Woo-Hoo!! The smell of freshly baked cakes and cookies!! It's something, especially when your Mom and maid are doing all the work and you enjoy the fruits of their labor. And the Christmas tree and the decorations!! And of course the Advent fast, and going to church. When it's Christmas I never wanted to study, I just wanted to smile and walk around the house. But of course, I never had that luxury.

This year Christmas will be very different, not because it's going to be in a different country, but because I'll be away from my family. Or at least most of my family :( . But. But. But. I'm not going to brood on it!! I'll be seeing them all soon enough!

Coming back to the present, this last weekend marked the beginning of a string of Christmas parties with a birthday party thrown in (where I met my coworker from TCS, Bangalore!! Small world!). I have been listening to Christmas carols on the way to work, before going to bed and almost every waking moment. And then there's all the baking I did along with my Mom-in-Law!! Paul helped by eating all the defects :). We made three different kinds of cookies, fruit cakes and fudge-nut brownies!! Some of each, along with a bottle of home made plum jam and candy went into pretty red and green cane baskets that we wrapped in cellophane sheets and finished off with a pretty red, green and gold checkered christmassy bow!! We made fifteen of them!! One for each one of the families who'll be attending the Christmas shing-ding at Mom & Dad's. And of course we decorated the Christmas tree!!



Out of all the things that happened last weekend, to me the most important of all events was Paul's speech. Yesssss!! He gave a lil speech at the 'Indian Christian Fellowship' Christmas dinner. His talk was titled 'The Christmas Message'. He said it very well too!! There's a lot I can say about the true Christmas spirit, but it's all very well summarized in his speech. So I decided to include his speech here, warts and all!!

The Christmas Message

-Paul Alappat

Christmas is one of my most favorite times of the year. I love getting to spend the time with my family, singing Christmas carols, seeing all the houses decorated with lights, but most importantly, getting to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus's birth marked a new beginning for mankind, the Christmas season for us can be a time of new beginnings. It can be a chance for us to reflect on our relationship with God and with others. Have we been faithful disciples of Christ? What areas in our lives do we need to focus on improving?

My experience in India comes as a sharp contrast to my experience here in the US. It really hit me yesterday when I spent most of the day driving from one shop to another buying things, returning things, and exchanging things. Traffic was terrible and the lines were way too long. As I sat in my car, stuck in pre-Christmas traffic, it really hit me how different the Christmas season is here from India. Personally, I don't get the same sense of spiritual preparation as I do in India.

I've had the opportunity to spend several of my last Christmas's in India and it’s always been an amazing experience. Not just because I get to spend time with my relatives or eat great food, but the weeks leading up to Christmas seem quite different to me. In India, I feel there's much more focus on preparing ourselves spiritually for the birth of Jesus in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Preparation involved, not just setting up a Christmas tree and nativity scene sculptures, but also sacrificing something we love until Christmas, as an offering to God and so that we would enjoy it more on Christmas day. Preparation also involved saying extra prayers so that our hearts would be fit for infant Jesus to enter it. Come Christmas morning, we would attend mass early in the morning, and settle down to a great a Christmas feast with our family. Not one single present was exchanged.

If I were in the US, after mass meant opening all our Christmas presents and noting down who gave us what so that we could thank them later. If I got a gift I didn't like, I'd spend the next day in traffic trying to find the right store to return or exchange it. I think we spend days several days giving gifts, but not nearly as long thinking about our relationship with Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I love giving and receiving gifts, but I don't want that to be the focus of my Christmas season.

This year, my friends and I are doing something different. Traditionally, we'd all go shopping and buy gifts for each other and choose a day to exchange them. We decided that this was just a waste of time, energy and money. We all have everything we need, but we recognized that some of our brothers and sisters don't have some of the comforts we take for granted. So, we've decided instead of buying gifts for each other, we're going to sponsor an underprivileged family with little kids so that we can help brighten up their Christmas season. I feel that by helping those less fortunate, I am helping to spread God's love and compassion to others. So this Christmas if you find yourself wondering what gift to get someone, consider making a donation to a charity in their name. There are plenty of opportunities even here in ICF for you to help those in need. Use the time you save by not shopping for gifts for prayer or creating joyful memories with your families.

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak with you this evening, I would like to just close by wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

PS: After this speech, Paul got struck off many people's Christmas gift list!! It's all for charity they said :) Uh-Oh, the downside of preaching....