The Never-Ending Search for Christ

The story of Christmas is an endless tale of humanity’s unending search for Christ.

According to biblical accounts of Christ’s birth, the shepherds “went with haste” to look for the Babe “wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger” (Luke 2:16). They found Him with Mary, His mother, and Joseph, His foster father.

The Magi from the East also looked for Him “who is to be the King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:1-12) and found Him. Then they offered Him gifts symbolic of His divinity, kingship, and humanity (namely, gold, frankincense, and myrrh). The biblical searchers for Christ discovered Him who in later years would admonish His followers to “seek and you shall find.”

Modern-Day Searchers

But modern-day searchers – known as Christians – continue to retell that first Christmas story. In their daily lives, even in their religious activities, like attending Mass and prayer meetings, they are still looking for Christ.

Why is it so hard to find Christ in this world? Why is it so hard to find Him in every mundane pursuit and in life’s sorrows and pains? We know for a fact that He was born in a manger and lived a poor and humble life. Christians who invoke His name are still yearning for wealth and power, and out of pride, bicker over who is the richest and the most powerful among themselves!

Christians themselves know that Christ’s mission was to lead the way to eternal salvation through sacrifice. But alas, knowledge is totally different from practice. His followers (Catholics and other Christians) are sometimes obsessed with the ambition of conquering the world and all its glory through a life of ease and comfort.

The rich want to add more to their wealth, the powerful want to stay on in power and perpetuate a worldly dynasty. (In Philippine politics, we call these “political dynasties” in which every member of those families vying for elective posts gets elected to public office whenever election season comes.) Those wielding authority and influence over others want to hold on to the key of power as if they were the only ones entitled to be called “sons of God.”

A Story That Has No Ending

Most of the oppressors, the abusers, the ambitious, and the proud proclaim themselves to be Christians and lead in the celebration of Christmas. This is the reason the Christmas story has not yet ended because Christians are still searching for Him and His peace.

The shepherds searched and found Him because they stooped to gain entrance into the stable where the Christ Child lay, a sign of humility. Similarly, the Magi set out, looked for and found Him because they also stooped to get to the place where He was born.

Until Christians learn to stoop – to be humble, to live a simple life, to be their brothers’ keepers – they may not find Christ the way the shepherds and the Magi did.

The ending to the story of Christmas, then, is to be written in the private and public lives, as well as in the hearts, of Christians celebrating Christmas.