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TURA: Christmas was celebrated across the Garo Hills region with church leaders emphasising on the importance of peace and hope in a world witnessing conflict as they called upon believers to use the power of prayer to spread love and forgiveness and receive God’s gift of salvation.
Thousands of Christians across the length and breadth of Garo Hills attended church service on Christmas eve and Christmas Day to celebrate the birth of Lord Jesus Christ.
In their sermon during service, speakers spoke of the love God has for the people of this world and how he sent his only son Jesus Christ to this world to die for our sins.
Service at the Tura Baptist Church on Christmas Day was led by Reverend Wetterfield R Marak who in his sermon said that the time has come to receive God’s gift of salvation. Reading from the holy scriptures-book of Luke, Reverend Wetterfield Marak narrated the prophecy of the holy man Simeon of Jerusalem to whom the holy spirit revealed that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Simeon was led by the holy spirit into the temple courts where he saw with his own eyes the child Jesus and taking him in his arms praised God, saying: For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people.
At the Catholic Church Sacred Heart Shrine in Tura, Rev. Fr Theodore T Sangma led the devotees in offering prayer and joy to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
“Christmas is a time of love and forgiveness. Christmas should not be celebrated just on this day because if you have love and forgiveness every day of your life then you are celebrating Christmas always. Remember we must always have Jesus in our hearts,” said Fr. Theodore while giving his homily.
He also expressed concern about the materialism that has crept into Christmas celebrations over the years thereby diluting its essence and very spirit.
The sight of beggars braving a cold winter night on the streets awaiting alms from passerby on a day they ought to have been with their families celebrating love and joy is a blemish on the Christian spirit of Garo society, mentioned Fr Theodore.
He said that families and clan have always played a very important role in Garo culture but the sight of so many old and infirm being abandoned on the streets with no one to care for them is a worrying scenario about the direction we are heading in, felt Father Theodore as he called upon Christian families to always stay together and pray together.