Merry Christmas! Today, the Gospel reading recounts the birth of Christ, and we rejoice at God’s amazing gift of His Son.
Just recently I was listening to the radio in the car, and a Genesis song called “No Son of Mine” came on. Aside from a Christmas song about red shoes, I think this is perhaps one of the saddest songs I have ever heard.
In a nutshell, a young son leaves his parents’ home as soon as he can. It seems like some kind of fighting was going on, though we are not privy to the extent of it. The son then says that years passed and he began to see things differently, so he returned home to talk to his father. His father sat him down and looked him in the eye and told him “You’re no son of mine.” His father rejected him, and the son went away.
Apparently more years pass. Again the son misses his father and returns to him. And again his father sits him down and says, “You’re no son of mine.”
It’s truly a heartbreaking song, and those are not words that many parents would ever dream of uttering to a child. But even if those words were uttered to you at some point,or even if you just felt unloved by a parent, you can be assured that our Heavenly Father will never utter those words. The fact that He sent His Son to die for us is proof of that.
We are beloved sons and daughters of Christ. We are wanted. We are cherished. We are loved.
God loves us no matter what we do. And no matter how many times we leave God, we will never hear “You’re no son of mine” if we return, repent, and tell Him we love Him.
If we have forsaken God, we must know that He will never forsake us. God longs for the day when we will return to Him. He is waiting with open arms in the hopes that we will return.
So, on this glorious and wonderful day, if we have left God, let us return to Him. If we have been lukewarm about our faith, let us return to Him. If we have made it a habit to only go to church on Christmas and Easter, let us return home, for we are welcome and we are wanted.
And, when we return, we know that God will look us straight in the eye and lovingly say, “You are mine.”
Merry Christmas!
¡Feliz Navidad! Hoy, la lectura del Evangelio relata el nacimiento de Cristo, y nos regocijamos por el maravilloso regalo de Dios de Su Hijo.
Hace poco estaba escuchando la radio en el auto y sonó una canción de Génesis llamada “No Son of Mine” (No Eres Hijo Mío). Aparte de una canción navideña sobre zapatos rojos, creo que esta es quizás una de las canciones más tristes que he escuchado.
En pocas palabras, un hijo pequeño abandona la casa de sus padres tan pronto como puede. Parece que se estaba produciendo algún tipo de lucha, aunque no sabemos hasta qué punto. El hijo dice entonces que pasaron los años y empezó a ver las cosas de otra manera, por lo que regresó a casa para hablar con su padre. Su padre lo sentó y lo miró a los ojos y le dijo: “Tú no eres hijo mío”. Su padre lo rechazó, y el hijo se fue.
Aparentemente pasan más años. Nuevamente el hijo extraña a su padre y regresa a él. Y de nuevo su padre lo sienta y le dice: “Tú no eres hijo mío”.
Es realmente una canción desgarradora, y esas no son palabras que muchos padres soñarían con pronunciar a un niño. Pero incluso si esas palabras te fueron pronunciadas en algún momento, o incluso si simplemente no te sentiste amado por uno de sus padres, puedes estar seguro de que nuestro Padre Celestial nunca pronunciará esas palabras. El hecho de que envió a Su Hijo a morir por nosotros es prueba de ello.
Somos amados hijos e hijas de Cristo. Somos buscados. Somos queridos. Somos amados.
Dios nos ama sin importar lo que hagamos. Y no importa cuántas veces dejemos a Dios, nunca escucharemos “No eres hijo mío” si volvemos, nos arrepentimos y le decimos que lo amamos.
Si hemos abandonado a Dios, debemos saber que Él nunca nos abandonará. Dios anhela el día en que volvamos a Él. Está esperando con los brazos abiertos con la esperanza de que volvamos.
Entonces, en este día glorioso y maravilloso, si hemos dejado a Dios, volvamos a Él. Si hemos sido tibios en nuestra fe, volvamos a Él. Si nos hemos acostumbrado a ir a la iglesia solo en Navidad y Semana Santa, volvamos a casa, porque somos bienvenidos y queridos.
Y cuando regresemos, sabemos que Dios nos mirará directamente a los ojos y nos dirá con amor: “Eres mío”.
¡Feliz Navidad!
Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 19 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Thirteen of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the executive editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program—an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students. You can reach her at slochner0.wixsite.com/website.
Feature Image Credit: Angie Menes, cathopic.com/photo/7932-noche-gloriosa
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