"Do not be afraid!"
"You who already possess the priceless treasure of faith,
you who are still searching for God,
and you as well who are tormented by doubt:
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Do not be afraid to receive Christ and to accept his authority!
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The absolute, yet also sweet and gentle authority of the Lord answers both to the deepest depths of man, and to the highest aspirations of his intellect, will and heart. It does not speak with the language of force, but through charity and through truth.
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Do not be afraid! Open, rather shatter open the door to Christ!
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Do not be afraid! Christ knows ”what is inside the human heart.” Only he knows!
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Nowadays man is often unaware of what is going on inside him, in the depths of his soul, and of his heart. And thus he often becomes unsure of the meaning of his life on earth. He is taken over by doubt, which then becomes despair. Allow, then – I beg you, I implore you, with humility and trust – allow Christ to speak to the human being. Only he has the words of life – indeed, of eternal life!
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God who is infinite, inscrutable and ineffable, has become near to us in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, born of the Virgin Mary in the stable at Bethlehem."
These fragments are taken from John Paul II's first public address after his election (October 1978). The call is as valid as ever; indeed, it is eternal - but perhaps it sounds even more poignant to the modern man.
It is also a call on which we can meditate just now, the day before the Birth; when the child Christ invites us to open ourselves to him, and thus to become ready to receive him as he is: humble, poor, and vulnerable - and also the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
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