Not too long ago we were celebrating and enjoying the Christmas and New Year’s festivities with our loved ones and we did our best to communicate either by emails, cards or by telephone with those who are far away from us. Some of us did take a break in order to renew our personal energy. We have returned to work to deliver better leadership, to better understand our relationship with one another and appreciate our continuous support to our diverse communities within the Australian Defence Force that we are called to serve.

While we went through Christmas and the New Year’s festivities, did we ever take the time to ask ourselves: What difference would it make if the Christmas story were not true and that God had not come to be born, live and die as a human being? Did you know that the Christmas story is the key to what the world is all about, from beginning to end?

Up until the twentieth century, the human race seemed to have managed without the great mysteries of computers, mobile phones, microwaves, DVD players, iPods, and so on. The great mysteries of life and death were sufficient to keep human’s mind occupied. This time I do not want to talk about the mystery of death, we will leave that one for Easter. Instead, I want to reflect upon the mystery of life.

Just as a new computer, or video games console, mobile phones, iPod, they do come with instructions from the manufacturers, so our life comes with instructions we see in the world around us; some of them are pre-programmed, if you like, into human nature. But, just as some of us might try to set up a computer without reading the instructions, so too, all too often we try to run our lives without taking into account our Creator’s instructions. We do not read and study God’s words. As a consequence we find ourselves good at messing things up. We are not happy, we are confused, and we do not know where we are going. Through the ages, we have recognised that not all of us understand our purpose in life.

Men and women have always prayed, “O God, we are having some trouble with our life, can you tell us what we are supposed to do? And so, in steps with God’s technical support department, “at various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets.” Yes, Moses and the prophets have told us what we are supposed to do, but we are not so good at understanding the words they are saying, and in any case, even when we do understand them, we tend to ‘forget’ to put them into practice.

And so our prayer goes back to God once more, “Dear Lord, we are still having some trouble with our lives down here, can you tell us what we are supposed to do? At this, God who is infinitely patient, loving, accepting, and forgiving, takes a cosmic deep breath and says, “Let me show you.” God comes down, sits beside us, as it were, and shows us how to live our lives. In our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his dear Son Jesus Christ, our Redeemer… he is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of God’s nature.

This is exactly what Christmas is about: God saying, “Let me show you.”

God shows himself to us in the way we can relate to most clearly. The Word, God the Son, through whom all creation was made, and through whom we receive the gift of life, becomes a human being; hence, he becomes one of us. At Christmas, God says, “Let me show you myself”.

God shows us, in Jesus Christ, his love and mercy for us. He humbles himself to become a human being, born of the Virgin Mary, in order to save us from our sins. At Christmas, God says, “Let me show you how much I love you.” And God shows us in Jesus Christ what men and women should be like. “To all who accept the Word, he gave power to become children of God”. (John 1:1-14). If we accept Christ, the Son of God, we are given the power to be like him, to be adopted as sons and daughters of God. The life of Jesus Christ is a model of how to love and how to live. At Christmas, God says, “Let me show you how to live.” Indeed, “Let me show you what it means to live life to the full.”

Even with Jesus as our guide, it takes a lifetime to learn how to live. There are lessons to be learned every day as we grow in God’s love. Let us give thanks to God for the wonderful gift of his Son, and pray that, throughout this New Year, we may be attentive to all that he has shown us. Remember that he came to give us eternal life. Now let the Prince of Peace take charge and do trust him to show us the way to eternal life.

I hope and pray that all of you with your respective families had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and may its wonder come alive for you in brand new ways throughout this New Year 2012. Be still and gently open your heart to God and allow Him to work through you to bring you Peace, Love, Grace and above all, good health.

May God continue to pour his multiple blessings upon you and your loved ones. Have a great New Year 2012.

Be well and be blessed

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Pictures: Whilst snow is common on the mountains around Tarin Kot, it is very unusual for snow to fall, let alone settle on the town and Coalition Headquarters in the province. Soldiers and civilians from Australia, America, Slovakia, Singapore and Afghanistan,  found their “inner child” as the snow let them forget the dangerous work they do, at least for a while. Whilst the personnel of Combined Team Uruzgan, did not celebrate a white Christmas, they did get to celebrate a white Australia Day.

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Chaplain Yognanada Juste-Constant

Yogananda is the Coordinating Chaplain at 13  Squadron (City of Darwin), RAAF Base Darwin in the Northern Territory. He is married to Monica.