Homily of HE. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher Secretary for Relations with States

Your Excellency, Mister VicePresident,

Distinguished Authorities,

Your Grace Mons. Stephen Ameyu, Archbishop of Juba,

Dear Priests, men, and women Religious,

Dear brothers and sisters,

 Madang ta!

In less than two days, we will be celebrating the solemnity of Christmas. The Christmas event, although celebrated every year, is never the same. On one hand, we repeat the sacred liturgy, which unites us to the divine mystery of the Incarnation, of God made man, who has taken upon himself the consequences of our sins and brokenness. At the same time, the celebration of Christmas suggests to us a constant and real presence placed at the centre of our life as a source of grace and strength to live well and fulfill our identity as disciples of the Lord who is born for us.

I have 3 points to make this morning:

Christmas and our limits;

Christmas as a celebration of diversity;

Christmas is a celebration of those who live with Christ.

1. Christmas as a celebration of limits. The creator becomes a creature. According to a particular Jewish tradition on the creation of the cosmos, God limits himself so as to leave a space “outside himself’, so that other creatures can exist independently of him; it is an existential space in which God is both transcendent and immanent with all creation. It means that in order to give life, to make others exist, God is in a certain way, forced to limit himself. God not only limited his omnipotence to give life, but "despite being of divine nature, he did not consider his equality with God a jealous treasure, but emptied himself, assuming the condition of a servant” (Phil 2:6-7).

For our redemption and for the salvation of all humanity, God sets another limit, he becomes man, but not just any man, he assumes the condition of a servant and as if that were not enough he accepts death for himself. The man who died on the cross is the same child who, due to his frailty was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the stable in Bethlehem, and who lived his entire life without using that omnipotence that he could dispose of, but which would not lead to life.

Then, how does God manifest his omnipotence? Not taking, but giving himself and not commanding others, but offering all of himself in service of others. God shows us that true power, lived from the perspective of love is precisely the ability to limit oneself, to set a limit. Without a limit, if we do not place this love of God on the horizon of our choices and our actions, we would never act for life.

In modern society, the rule of law assumes a fundamental role in the participation in the social life of all citizens. In South Sudan, as in other countries of the world, the principle of self-determination of the peoples and the independence obtained in 2011 made it possible for citizens to have a democratic society. Democracy means precisely this, participation and enjoyment by all the people of the common good.

2. Christmas as a celebration of diversity.

The child Jesus, who is born like any other child in the city of Bethlehem, is a man like all others, but at the same time different and unique. As John the Evangelist reminds us in his Prologue, the world did not welcome him because it did not know him. There is a generalized difficulty throughout the world in accepting those who are different from us. What is different is seen as a threat, as a risk that could endanger the world we have built for ourselves. However, the world is not ours, we are only passing through and we have all received freely from God. In God’s plan, diversity is what guarantees the richness and beauty of the whole of creation, where everything lives and multiplies according to its own species.

As Pope Francis recalled during his trip to Iraq earlier this year, religious, cultural, and ethnic diversity (...) is a precious resource to draw on, not an obstacle to be eliminated. (...) Differences, instead of giving rise to conflicts, must cooperate in harmony in civil life. Fraternal coexistence needs patient and sincere dialogue, protected by justice and respect for law. It is not an easy task: it requires effort and commitment on the part of everyone to overcome rivalries and conflicts, and to speak to each other starting from the deepest identity we have, that of children of the one God and Creator (cf. Ecumenical Council Vat. II, Declaration Nostra aetate, 5).

The African continent enjoys a tremendous richness in diversity of peoples, cultures, and traditions. This richness is an expression of the creativity of the Holy Spirit and must be valued not flattened. Every single individual expresses the paternal love of God the Creator. Yes, God has a plan for every man and woman who is born, but strife is a result of the inability to welcome those who are different from us and does not give this project of God the possibility of coming to fruition. The welcome and the acceptance of those who are different is the basic condition for the achievement of peace. There are no nations, or peoples, favored in the eyes of God, but as we read in the book of Revelation, “ They sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the book and open its seals, because you were sacrificed and you have bought from God, with your blood, persons of every tribe, language, people and nation... ” (Rev 5:9).

The Kingdom of God that Jesus came to show us with his birth amongst us is the Kingdom in which there is room for everyone. It is time for everyone to be committed to welcoming the message of God, or rather God himself. God has become our neighbor and does not differentiate. Too long Cain continues to kill Abel by creating spirals of violence to the detriment of the weakest, the poor, the orphans, and the widows who yes, are God’s favorites.

The incarnation of the Son of God opens the doors to a new dialogue between God and humanity, a dialogue based on the recognition of each other. God recognizes us as limited creatures, like sheep without a shepherd, and has compassion for us. God sees us and relates to us in a new way, not with threat, but with love and acceptance. We enter into dialogue with a God who no longer frightens us by his power; a God whom we must serve and revere for obligations in order to deserve to enter his kingdom. Rather, we enter into a new dialogue where we welcome his love and his Word made flesh, where we learn to welcome a God who came to serve us and not to is served, giving the example of every power on earth.

3. Christmas as a celebration of those who live with Christ. This is the role of the Church. The mission that the Church lives in the time of Advent and Christmas is the testimony of a life lived with Christ. The mystery of the incarnation is linked to that of the resurrection in which human nature is definitively assimilated to divine nature.

From Christmas to the Resurrection, the whole mystery of humanity is at stake. The Church must be the first witnesses of Christmas, that is, the coming of Christ, which is an experience of every day, a real, living, and true experience. Where the Eucharist is celebrated, Christmas is always celebrated, the mystery of his coming, of his passion and death of the Son of God is renewed and his resurrection is contemplated. Our itinerant Church must know how to face the challenges that the world poses to it by becoming a real sign of Christ in the midst of His people.

Just as the liturgy has its roots in the historical events in the life of Jesus, the liturgy maintains its vital force as those who celebrate it, continue to live it in their daily lives. Remembering the birth of Christ, therefore, becomes a real celebration only for those who already live with Christ and whose life already reflects the kingdom of God in our midst. Finding no place in the world, Jesus was born in the humility of a stable and was visited not by the great, but by the shepherds who lived outside the city walls, by the least, by those who were marginalized. So be it for the Church today.

The Church after Christmas, or the Church that lives with Christ, for Christ, and in Christ, is a Church on the move, animated by the apostolic zeal of all her bishops, priests, religious, catechists, and laypeople. After the celebration of Christmas, the whole Church is called to live the same words that she proclaims during that holy night, and to truly become a living, moving Church that walks with Jesus: praying, serving, healing and loving.

The Church in Juba and in South Sudan, the bride of Christ, mother of the faithful, renewing the coming of Jesus with the Christmas celebration must continue to be a sign of brotherly love that goes beyond time and space. As Pope Francis reminds us in “All brothers” we must live a love that is beyond physical distance. Like God who becomes man and “crosses the infinite space” to come to us, so the Church crosses those existential spaces that separate every man and woman. Christ the Lord is the only one who knows how to convert the heart of all. Christmas invites us to be faithful to this fraternal love, which goes as far as love for the enemy, and so we are all called to promote peace and reconciliation.

Have a Blessed Christmas!

Lyongong na Natale!