Joy of Christmas

How can we experience the true joy that Christmas is supposed to bring into our life? Can we really have a Christmas that is merry and bright by holding parties and putting up Christmas lights? Up to now perhaps these questions keep on coming up during this time of the year because so far we have not really found satisfactory answers by the manner we celebrate the occasion. I do not pretend to have the magic formula myself but I can definitely say that the round of parties and the glitter of the tinsels keep me cheerful and aglow only until I wake up the morning after with a hangover. So I thought maybe there is more to Christmas than merely commemorating the time and place of its happening some 2005 years ago as in a birthday celebration like what we are doing now.

To be sure, nobody could really describe with accuracy and precision the kind of feeling we have when we are supposed to experience true happiness in our life. C. S. Lewis, the noted Christian apologist could only describe joy as "an unsatisfied desire that is in itself more desirable than any other satisfaction" because it goes beyond mere pleasurable experiences especially on Christmas time.

But I am almost certain that many of us have somehow experienced that indescribable feeling somewhere, sometime in our life without us being aware of it or paying too much attention to it. This feeling usually comes to us during those moments when we must have seen that spark of great light in the midst of darkness enveloping our world.

A few rainy nights ago, I didn’t expect to encounter the usual street children dangerously roaming the busy thoroughfare until I heard a tap at my car window and saw two big sad eyes of a 5 year old girl peering at me, wet all over and shivering. The thought that she must have been hopping from one vehicle to another without success drove me to open my window and hand over a few coins. As she received the petty sum I vividly saw her face light up with a smile and her eyes sparkle with joy that I don’t remember having seen before in my life. Later, the same kind of smiling faces of sick babies and toddlers greeted me at the National Children’s Hospital as members of our Rotary Club of Cubao West undertook their annual project of spreading Christmas cheer. Such joyful faces in the midst of poverty, suffering and pain radiated a special glow that was as heart tugging as it was unforgettable and indescribable.

Likewise hard to describe and to forget was my experience at a home for the aged. Seeing our group visiting them during this time of the year brought tearful, toothless smiles on their wrinkled faces as they strive to express their gratitude for still being remembered even once a year. Their supreme effort of attempting to stand up despite their tired and weary bodies weighed down by long years of life well spent, just to hug us for a few moments brought tears of sheer joy all around the place, an indelible experience that seemed to be so unworldly.

Equally heartwarming were the few hours spent inside the Quezon City Jail as part of the outreach program of our group called the Preso Foundation. The place was congested, the facilities unbearable and the food almost unfit for human consumption. An inmate even complained to me that they have yet to catch some sleep as it was raining the whole night before. But what struck and amazed me no end was that even in such a deplorable place of utter deprivation, these unfortunate detainees could still manage to organize a Christmas party and have a Christmas program where they took turns in joyfully singing Christmas Carols. The air behind the bars was one of inexplicable joy radiating from the faces of thousands of inmates who project a feeling of durable hope anchored on deep faith in the loving mercy of a forgiving God.

More affecting and poignant are those beaming and glowing faces of the members of families as they welcome with tight and warm embraces the returning fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons or daughters forced by economic circumstance to be separated for so many years of working abroad to support the family. Such reunions and other family gatherings exude an entirely different and somewhat extraordinary feeling of happiness that is so infectious and compelling. Just watching them is enough to light up our life especially during this time of the year.

But the most special and extraordinary experience for me and my wife was Christmas 2002 when we visited our daughter Joyce who was then gravely ill of cancer. We entered her room in a somber mood. But what we saw completely overwhelmed us with inexplicable feeling of happiness. We saw her smiling face amidst excruciating pain and suffering, cheering us up with a "Merry Christmas". That scene was one splendid moment endlessly recurring in us as it transcended our purely human comprehension. In her most agonizing affliction, she was still concerned about us and our feelings.

There are indeed moments in our life that could be the "Joy" of Christmas – joy with a capital "J". It is not merely pleasure but, as C.S. Lewis explained, "a deep experience of the transcendent, the genuine glimpse of the eternal" no matter how fleeting it may be. We may experience them not only during Christmas but anytime of the year, during our lifetime.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!