Although we may have read a passage from the Gospel many times, rereading it from another angle can help us nourish our Christian spirituality.
Those of the infancy narratives of the Gospel of Luke do not intend to be merely historical accounts, but are, above all, spiritual maps. Therefore, they should be read more from a spiritual perspective than from a historical one. The passage we have read says that ALL WERE AMAZED at what the shepherds said. Behind the birth of a poor child, like so many of the time, there was a promise of something different.
Admiring is essential for a living faith. Admiration allows us to escape routine and the numbness that lurks for the believer always. There are Christians who have settled into routine and not only do not want to be taken out of there, but if someone tries, they react sharply. This is how we arrive at today’s point where, in the Church, the routine is presented as the modern. Changing, adapting, finding new paths is something “old”. Immobilism is the option, and the changes proposed leave everything as it is.
How to keep admiration alive in the experience of faith?
· Admire that faith remains alive: because it continues to be a miracle that, after so many routines, tiredness, and abandonments, the beautiful face of Jesus still shines before us.
· Admire that we are called to follow Jesus: and, above all, admire that there are people who follow Jesus with enthusiasm. Perhaps you yourself. In a context of haste and noise, there are people who continue to believe with vigor.
· Admire that compassion arises: because beyond the multiple harms we do to each other, compassion still has appeal and many people are generous with their time to others, which is what we find most difficult.
We begin a new year. A time for good wishes and resolutions. Perhaps they won’t come true, but the first step is to make them with good will. If we keep the illusion and admiration alive, if we don’t lose the sparkle in our eyes, if we keep the child within us alive, we can make room for admiration and with it for a more vibrant faith. May we be one of those who are admired for what is said about Jesus.
And admiration becomes concrete when we speak of peace. Saint Francis rightly said to his brothers: “May the peace you preach first dwell in your hearts.” Add to your admiration for Jesus a collaboration, however small, for peace, and that admiration will be useful. If you abstain, believing that the problems of peace, the violence nearby, and the war far away, do not concern you, admiration will deflate like a punctured balloon. A good year of admiration, kindness, and compassion.
**Fidel Aizpurúa Donazar**
January 1, 2026
English version translated with AI