Clergy from Landsberg find these answers

The message of Christmas is not only the focus of the sermons in the Landsberg churches, but also at the nativity play on the afternoon of Christmas Eve in the town parish church. To the Holy Angels, which around 800 church visitors wanted to see. 26 girls and boys, dressed as Mary and Joseph, shepherds, soldiers, angels and sheep, reenacted scenes from the birth of Jesus. At the end of the service, the children passed on the Peace Light of Bethlehem to the believers. Our editorial team has summarized the content of the sermons, which also dealt with the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg.

City priest Gregory Herzel In his Christmas sermons in the Holy Angel Church and in St. Katharina, he referred to the “Christmas Festival Play – The Holy Night” by Enrico de Paruta with texts from Ludwig Thomas “The Holy Night”. The focus is on the craftsman Hansei. Herzel had seen the performance two weeks earlier in Munich. The song in the production touched his heart and put him in the Christmas spirit. In his sermon he said: “With many people in this world we are celebrating this Christmas Eve today, people from different nations and languages ​​are coming to the manger, lining up there to honor the baby Jesus, so that the heart will be happy.” A child is born. New life comes into the world. A reason for joy that should lift our hearts. The message is so simple, the event is so unique, because this is how God comes into the world. His love for us is so infinitely great.”

The craftsman Hansei only wants to see Jesus, doesn’t want to give any big gifts, doesn’t bring any valuable gifts, and doesn’t want to stay there for too long. “He expects happiness, salvation, joy, contentment just from the sight of the baby Jesus,” says parish priest Herzel. And we also made our way to the crèche. “We arrived today. We pray with the shepherds to the child in the manger. It can give us love, light and peace in our hearts. So we go back to our neighbor to open our hearts to them. So that today becomes Christmas in us and through us in this world.”

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“Christmas Eve is the evening of good wishes. “Wishes that we can put to good use,” said City priest Michael Zeitler in his sermon at the Christmas mass of the Assumption. But these wishes should not only be expressed once a year, but daily. “For Christmas reminds us that God wants to promise us something good.” You can hear that God wants to promise us something good at Christmas in the scriptures of this Holy Night. Isaiah announced to his stricken people the birth of a Savior – a Redeemer with whose coming all hardship and oppression would end. “This message evokes parallels with the suffering Syrian people, who had to wait a long time for salvation,” said Michael Zeitler.

“Gossip is the real poison of our coexistence”

The good care should be passed on to people. “But can we do that too or is it difficult for us?” Spreading good things – that’s not necessarily the first trait that comes to mind about our compatriots. We are much quicker at criticizing and nagging.” According to city priest Zeitler, this is also shown by social networks, which many would only use to get rid of all their envy and frustration. But gossip is much worse than all criticism and nagging. “How quickly a rumor is spread and a person is exposed.” Gossip is the real poison of our interactions.”

Of course, sometimes it’s not easy to say something positive to someone when you already have enough to worry about, says Michael Zeitler. There may be many reasons for this. “The perfidious attack in Magdeburg frightens us and leaves us disturbed.” The economic situation doesn’t exactly give cause for joy.” Christmas wants to be like a kind of training camp for positive thinking and speech. “A training camp that we have to go through every year so as not to lose our faith in a good future,” says Zeitler. Celebrating Christmas also means saying good things to each other.

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Pastor Thomas Lichteneber preached in the packed Christ Church in Landsberg about longing as the beginning of everything. The longing for trust and love was particularly noticeable at Christmas. The church offers such spaces of longing. Even at Christmas markets, people long for community and carefree hours with family and friends. That’s why the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg was particularly perfidious. “The terrible attack hit this longing for trust and security right in the heart and showed how fragile our world can be.”

Pastor Lichteneber asked the question of how one can sing “O you cheerful” in the face of a catastrophe. The answer: You can sing this song because a sentence later it says: “The world was lost, Christ was born.” Thomas Lichteneber encouraged those present not to suppress the suffering. “We Christians are people protesting against the darkness,” the clergyman continued. Faith in God does not protect us from pain and suffering, but it guides us through it and gives us the strength to make our world more peaceful and merciful.