The grace of God has been manifested

Homily

For this Christmas Eve MassFather Pierre Dione, invites us to a meditation under the theme: “The grace of God has been manifested“.

VSEvery Sunday, La Croix Africa takes up the commentary taken from the missal “Prions en Eglise Afrique”, published by Bayard Afrique.

Faced with threats of invasion hanging over Jerusalem, King Ahaz keeps a low profile and concedes to the Assyrian emperor to submit to him. But this vassalization of his king is not to the taste of the people whom God has chosen. The reproach mentioned here by the prophet is also an evocation of the annexation to which the northern provinces had been subject as early as 732. A radical change is however announced by Isaiah and which is to concern both the two kingdoms of south and north. God cannot abandon his people in this servitude attributable in part to the moral deviations of his king. But beyond the birth of Hezekiah, heir to the crown, we glimpse that of Christ, Savior of all humanity.

To Titus, whom Paul has made responsible for the community of Crete, the Apostle Paul addresses practical recommendations. In his Son Jesus, “The grace of God has been manifested. » All those who accede to divine filiation by baptism must seek to resemble him. It is a matter of lending ourselves to the radical transformation that God in his mercy came to bring about in our lives through the mystery of the incarnation of his only Son.

Saint Luke relates, for his part, in great detail, the chronology of the events that marked this holy night. This is the pivotal event in the history of mankind. The failures and errors of the kings who succeeded one another on the throne of David have sufficiently shown the limits of human powers and of those who embody them. The real king is born and it is a celestial messenger who declines his identity and his prestigious titles. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled. The contrast is striking but eloquent: the Love of the almighty and transcendent God is told to us under the sign of a vulnerable infant.

In this rich continent, slyly plundered, bruised and weakened by shaky economies and unstable political regimes, Christmas still brings a message of hope. The peace announced by the angels comes from this divine infant.

Christmas then commits the Africans who welcome it to believe in the effectiveness of this peace by working with God. Between the lines of this solemnity, we read that the enemy of peace is demobilizing fear, the psychosis which maintains inclinations for revenge and reflexes of hatred.

The Savior joins us in the opacity of our uncertainties to lead us to his light. May it shine in our families. Especially those disconcerted, even destabilized by multifaceted ailments and crises. May our hearts be this manger that receives God in a world that ignores him. We will thus know how to get rid of everything that prevents us from moving forward together to build a peaceful Africa.

Father Pierre Dione, Diocese of Kaolac (Senegal)