We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great
encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and
mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice.
Pope Paul VI, speech,
Dec. 23, 1965
The people of Israel longed for
salvation: they hoped that God would deliver them as he had from Egypt and
Babylon – he had done so in the past, he would do so in the future, but in a
way which they could neither expect nor fully understand. The prophesy of
Isaiah speaks of light shining in darkness – a time of hope, of new beginnings,
of comfort amidst tribulation. It is a light which will shine with the coming
of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, a light which the darkness cannot
overcome. His coming brings joy and peace, the promise is fulfilled. The promise
is fulfilled and yet humanity clings to greed, and lust and selfishness.
The world can seem deaf
to the message which was proclaimed over two thousand years ago – there was no
room in the inn, no comfort or luxury; but in a stable, surrounded by animals,
by shepherds, poor, hungry, shunned by ‘polite’ society, God comes to earth, he
meets humanity not in a blaze of glory and triumph, but as a vulnerable baby,
who needs a mother to feed him, who needs other to provide him with warmth and
security. The Word of God, through which everything was created, lies silent
and helpless. Here we see real love – open, vulnerable, all gift, holding back
nothing, but risking all to come among us, to heal our wounds, to save us, to
show us how to live.
All the tinsel, and
excess, all the consumerism, and even the ignorance and unbelief of the modern
world cannot cover up the sheer wonder of this night. ‘God does not give us
explanations; we do not comprehend the world, and we are not going to. It is
and it remains for us a confused mystery of bright and dark. God does not give
us explanations; he gives up a Son. Such is the spirit of the angel’s message
to the shepherds: “Peace upon earth, good will to men ... and this shall be the
sign unto you: ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a
manger.” A Son is better than an explanation. The explanation of our death
leaves us no less dead than we were; but a Son gives us a life, in which to
live.’ [Austin Farrer Said or Sung pp. 27, 28]
The Son
gives us a life in which to live, and gives us himself to us in bread and wine
so that we might share his divine life, so as the shepherds hurried to meet
him, let us too long for that divine encounter, let us long to be fed by him,
fed with him, so that we can share his life, life in all its fullness. It is
not something for us in purely spiritual terms, but rather to form our lives:
who we are and what we say and do.
When the
Holy Family came to Bethlehem there was no room for them. As we celebrate the
birth of Our Saviour we have to ask ourselves: Have we made room for Him
in our lives? Have we really? If we haven’t, then no fine words can make
up for it. We have to let our hearts and our lives be the stable in which the Christ
child can be born. We have to see him in the outcast, in the stranger, in the people
which the world shuns, and we have to welcome them, and in welcoming them to
welcome Him. This is how we live out His love in our lives. This is the meaning
of Christmas – this is the love which can transform the world, it is radical
and costly. It terrified the might of the Roman Empire, and showed human power
that it was as nothing compared to Divine Love. Soul by individual soul, for
the past two thousand years, the world has been changed by living out the love
shown to the world in this little vulnerable child. So let us receive the
greatest gift which has ever been given and share it with others, living it out
in our lives, regardless of the cost, so that the world may believe and sing the praise of God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, to whom be ascribed as is
most right and just all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and
forever.
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