“When you count the blessings from the Almighty, don\'t forget to pray for those who cannot take part in this beautiful celebration."
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“When you count the blessings from the Almighty, don\'t forget to pray for those who cannot take part in this beautiful celebration."
That\'s one beautiful Christmas message that we can take away from the Serenata Flowers website. The fact is people are high-spirited in their activities, improving their economic conditions from time to time. But to this day, welfare and justice are not evenly distributed. The Gini ratio, a mirror of the level of social inequality, just becomes a number to quantify how large the gap is.
Even though we understand expecting the ratio to be 0.00 when everyone is equal is also impossible, but letting that ratio continue to increase also implies that human is increasingly ignorant of the fate of others, does not empathize with others’ suffering.
Back to the message to remember the destitute when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Savior, one thing we can learn from is that in this "most beautiful time of the year" when we burst into a religiously holy atmosphere. But at the same time don\'t forget our brothers that are less fortunate.
Let’s check the reality. Amid the hustle and bustle in life, sometimes in political struggle for power, in an effort to increase capital and assets, sometimes in elevating self-image, the empathy or mind that is sensitive to differences in life\'s fortune, decreases. Such fact is no longer a matter that disturbs conscience, but instead it is taken for granted. It is not something that needs to be discussed.
The test to develop a clear and loving heart is increasingly heavy.
From here actually the faith and religious commitment of the people is tested. The essence of Jesus\' teachings, which we commemorate in his birth, is passion. How come passion translate into uncaring? How come passion mean heartless? How come passion lead to discrimination? The test to develop a clear and loving heart is increasingly heavy.
Instead of being a loving person and doing good, people do the opposite act. The chairperson of the Indonesia Communion of Churches (PGI) Albertus Patty in the “Christmas Reflection” in this newspaper in 2018 alluded to a number of points which remains actual, including McLuhan’s "Global Village" which implies a world that is free to communicate and easy to build relations.
In fact, what exists today is a cracked world and is inhabited by cracked societies. There is distrust, discrimination, conflict and division, partly because of excessive lust for political power. In this chaotic, violent and uncivilized world, Jesus was born as a symbol of God\'s sincerity that cares for humans and the world. God declares himself not to be Deus otiosus (God who is doing nothing).
In addition to being the Savior, Jesus\' presence in the world is also a symbol of the fight against the worldly pathological culture, which makes people getting fascinated by wealth, becomes despotic by power, becomes savage because of lust and becomes fierce by exclusivism. On this Holy Day, let us abstain from the various sources of evil and bow solemnly to the presence of Jesus. Merry Christmas.