My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
In the next few days, Christians around the whole world will celebrate the Nativity of the Lord’s birth. But for many of us, in the United States at least, our minds and hearts will also reflect on the massacre of the Holy Innocents. It is difficult for us to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace when we reflect on the evil and violence that was manifest in Newtown, Conn., at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
However, in the liturgical life of the Church, the Nativity of the Lord is followed the very next day by the celebration of the first martyr of the Church, St. Stephen. It seems as though the Church intentionally is connecting the wood of the stable with the wood of the Cross. The rocks upon which the Child Jesus had as a pillow were the stones thrown at His disciple, Stephen.
As people of faith, when we read the Sacred Scriptures, we are not simply reading a historical account of those events surrounding our Lord’s birth, but what we are reading are truths that are much deeper. It is the story of our faith.
In the beginning of Advent, there were several news stories with some outrageous headlines: “The Pope Cancels Christmas;” “Killjoy Pope Crushes Christmas Nativity Traditions;” and “The Pope Bans Christmas.”
These tabloid headlines were spurred by the new book by Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, titled, “The Infancy Narratives – Jesus of Nazareth.” The Pope, in his personal capacity as an academic, has written three books on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. This book deals with the infancy narratives and gives us some insight into the mind of Joseph Ratzinger, scholar, who has studied the Scriptures and the traditions of the Church his entire life. This latest work gives us a good starting point to reflect on what Christmas should mean to us in our lives.
The Holy Father poses two questions that prompted these headlines. The first was the statement that there is no biblical reference for any animals being present at the stable, or the cave. The Holy Father gives a beautiful description of the manger, the place where animals eat and where the newborn infant is placed, a type of altar of sacrifice, a prelude to the Sacrifice of the Cross. This seems to have been totally missed by the commentators.
Another cause of concern, which has been discussed by scholars for centuries, is the date of Jesus’ birth. Pope Benedict XVI gives his own opinion on this matter, but in the end, it is a matter of chronology and not a matter of faith.
Real Truth Lies in Faith
In the quest for the historical Jesus, historians and theologians have tried to pinpoint the exact facts surrounding the birth of Jesus. There are others, however, who consider the infancy narratives as a cleverly concocted myth based on several Old Testament references. They wish to dismiss the birth of the Messiah as a fabricated genealogy. The real truth lies in the faith of those who believe that Jesus Christ was born God and Man – the object of our Christmas faith. The Gospel reader is reminded that it was during the reign of Ceasar Augustus, at the time of the census, that our Lord was born. Undoubtedly, this was included to make clear that he who stands outside time and space enters in a real and historical way. However, the date that this historically occurred is open to dispute.
Those who look to reduce the Christmas event to a myth point to the angels and shepherds, who seem to come from nowhere. They question the place of Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem, the City of David, which could give proof to his royal genealogy. The truth of the Christmas event lies elsewhere. “Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth, Peace to people of good will” – here we find the real Christmas message! At the heart of the message is our embrace of the gift of God’s peace.
There is a necessary balance between the graciousness of God’s love for us and the necessity of our willingness to receive that love. At the banks of the Jordan, where our Lord was baptized, the Eternal Father announces to the world these words about Jesus: “This is My Son in Whom I am well pleased.” These are the same words that the Eternal Father pronounces at the Baptism of each one of us. We are His beloved children. He is pleased with us. He gives us His grace and promises His mercy for the rest of our lives.
This Christmas message of personal and worldwide peace is contained in the balance between our acceptance of God’s love, which is always available to us, and the difficulty we have in believing that we are loved by God. Christmas offers us the unique opportunity to recognize the love of the Father as He sends His Son Jesus to be born in humble circumstances, to be laid in a manger, to be loved by the Virgin Mother and Joseph, His protector. We are called upon ourselves to exhibit that same love for the newborn Savior because we do need to be saved from all the elements that keep us from recognizing God’s love in our lives and sharing it with others.
Christmas is the opportunity each year that we put out into the deep recesses of understanding our need to be saved. Whatever we need to be safe from; whatever sin, pain, suffering, anxiety; whatever it may be, it is the Savior Who comes to liberate us. This Christmastime is the occasion when we not only know that we are saved, but indeed, feel it.
Merry Christmas!