In his speech, Pope Francis recalled that a census was held at the time of Jesus’ birth.
He noted that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem they were busy with the numbers of the referendum, people came and went, talked about this and that, they did not give Jesus a place to stay, with only Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the three kings. Let us learn from them, said the Pope.
While the emperor was counting the inhabitants of the world, God entered the world almost hidden; while the ruler tried to rise among the greats of history, the King of history chose the path of smallness. None of the powerful noticed him, only a few shepherds who lived on the fringes of society
said Pope Francis.
On Christmas Eve, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the prince of peace, Jesus
it is rejected by the losing logic of war, with the roar of weapons that even today prevent it from finding a place in the world
– the head of the church quoted the part of Luke’s Gospel concerning the birth of Jesus.
The Pope believed that in history dictated by people, the world is looking for power and glory, everything is measured by success and results, with numbers, exactly like during a census. We live in an obsession with performance, he added.
God does not perform, not with force from above, but from below, with love
he added.
The Pope believed that people often worship a pagan god:
he is imagined as a powerful lord who supports worldly success and the idolization of consumption.
He helps a god who is distant and abusive, who he thinks behaves well and gets angry with the bad. He fashioned a god into a man who is only useful to solve our problems, get us out of trouble, and help his own over others.
On the other hand, the real God “does not use a magic wand, is not the god of everything and instant commercial passwords, does not save us at the push of a button, but is close to us to change reality from within”
Pope Francis explained.
He emphasized that Christmas is not a celebration of the mixture of honey-glazed emotions and worldly comforts, the manger covers the face of God, which is nothing but mercy, compassion, and love.
