Christmas celebrates the Word of God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ (cf. Jn. 1:14) and being born of the Virgin Mary. The Word of God was made flesh to dwell among us. His presence among us is not just external – just being in our midst – but internal as well. He is in each one of us and because of this every disciple lives in Him too. Theology calls this “mutual indwelling”. With this mutual indwelling, an intimate union exists between Jesus Christ and every disciple of His. On such grounds, St. Paul is able to assert very confidently and convincingly, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). His life is Christ’s life.
Taken to its logical conclusion, this mutual indwelling between Christ and His disciples draws them into an indivisible unity which He asserts through the metaphor of the vine and the branches (cf. Jn. 15:1-7). Evidently, Christ is the agent and driving force of this unity for all His disciples. It is He who has chosen all of them. In union with Him all disciples are brought into union with each other. This common union is what we call communion.
The communion of the disciples of Jesus, the Word made flesh, is what theology calls “the Church”. It exists at different levels – the family, the parish, the diocese and the universal Church. Communion has been our focus in the Archdiocese of Kuching. In order to foster it, we went down to the most basic unit of the Church, that is, the family. In a couple of weeks’ time, our five-year pastoral focus on the family will draw to its close. But this closure opens up to a new phase in which we take our focus on communion to the next level – which is the parish and the Archdiocese as a particular Church.
All this means we need to move on. The first step in this move is for families to open up and reach out to one another. This evidently touches on the parish which is a communion of the faithful with their families and eventually on the diocese which is a communion of parishes. Moving in order to reach out to others with love is what Christ commands His disciples to do. Love is the fruit He appoints them to “go out and bear” (Jn. 15:16). This is the mission He gives to them. If love is the fruit of mission, the communion of disciples is a pre-requisite for mission.
The citation from Jesus’ farewell discourse to His disciples that opens this message is the inspiration for what we in the Archdiocese of Kuching intend to do as a follow-up of our pastoral focus on the family. The Archdiocesan Pastoral Congress scheduled for August 18-22 2012 seeks to chart the direction for the Archdiocese in the years ahead. The same citation is the undergirding text for the theme of the Congress: “Church: Disciples of the Word in Communion for Mission”.
The road leading up to the Congress has been paved. It includes a substantial study of the Gospel of John and a presentation of the Congress’ theme. An important exercise on this road is the parish review of the five-year focus on the family. For this, evaluation by families of how much they have been impacted by the five-year pastoral focus will be sought. It is my hope that all families will be forthcoming in their contribution and all parishes will do a thorough job. Surely, we need to know where we are before we can be clear about where we are to head as a particular Church. I ask for prayers for God’s guidance through His Spirit to lead us on in our pastoral endeavour to build His kingdom for His glory.
Jesus Christ was born in very humble conditions – in a manger in Bethlehem, because “there was no room for them in the inn” (Lk. 2:7). He wants a room in our hearts and in our families. Let us make room for Him, even though we may be tempted to think that our sinfulness makes us unworthy to host Him. He came precisely to dwell in our midst – indeed, to dwell within us. He took this initiative to come to dwell within us precisely because of our sinfulness. Let us respond to His initiative and live in Him as He lives in us and, in our union with Him, be in communion with one another in the family, in the parish, in the Archdiocese. This communion will certainly bear the fruit of love.
Following His discourse on the vine and the branches, Jesus clarifies, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (Jn. 15:11). May this joy be ours in its fullness as we celebrate Christmas. To close, I wish every Catholic in the Archdiocese of Kuching and every reader of Today’s Catholic: A joyous Christmas and a blessed New Year 2012.
Archbishop John Ha
