Here is the text of the reflection I shared with the community that gathered to celebrate the greatest of Christmas gifts.
Tonight (today) we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. When children celebrate birthdays, there should always be a party. There should always be friends around, and some food, and perhaps some games – in general, an opportunity to spend some time together having fun. When adults celebrate birthdays, there should also be time for all of this but adults sometimes get serious much too quickly and forget that there should always be great joy in celebrating a birthday. The more introspective adult will take time to consider the year that has passed, complete with its joys and struggles, its blessings and its challenges, and then perhaps ponder a few hopes and dreams for the year that lies ahead. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let’s take a moment, just a moment to consider what’s gone on in the history of God’s people, and perhaps venture a few musings about what might lie ahead.
For many centuries, the prophets had foretold the coming of the Messiah, the Savior, but when we think of the savior, the images we conjure are nothing like what actually took place. Normally, at least in those days, people didn’t travel very far; in fact, it would have been considered quite normal for a young couple to give birth to their newborn child right in their own home, but Joseph and Mary were not at home when Jesus was born. They were traveling because the Roman governor had called for a census, and commanded that every Jew should go to the place where his ancestors had been born in order to be registered. Since Joseph was from the House of David, he and his intended wife had to travel to Bethlehem, the homeland of David. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. She gave birth … wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger. Joseph and Mary were not rich folk. Joseph was a carpenter, who earned a modest living. Traveling would have taken up much of his financial resources, and even if there was room for them in one of the Inns, I’m not sure he would have been able to afford it. Mary made the child as comfortable as possible, wrapping it in bands of cloth in order to protect it from the chill of the night air, and since they could not find a room anywhere, the next best thing was the warmth of a stable. At least they could count on the animals to provide some warmth, but a manger is not the most dignified bed in which to lay the head of the Lord of all creation, is it?
When Prince George, the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was born a few months ago, the first to be informed about his birth were his parents and the rest of the British Royal family; then elaborate measures were undertaken to communicate the news to all the world. When Jesus was born, the first to hear about it, other than his parents, were shepherds, among the lowest on the totem pole from a cultural standpoint. The news of prince George's birth was undertaken by various means of modern technology; the news of Jesus’ birth was communicated through angel song. When prince Goerge was born, dignitaries sent congratulatory notes from all the corners of the world; when Jesus was born, the shepherds came in person to find Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
The birthday we celebrate tonight (today) had very humble beginnings, but the one who we celebrate is more worthy of praise than any other mortal. The one who is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace came into the world as a helpless, vulnerable child and this is why we must stop tonight (today) to allow our hearts to be drawn to the crèche. There is nothing like a newborn child to melt the defenses of even the most hardened exterior, to disarm even the most skeptical bystander, to attract attention. God made himself vulnerable so that we too might learn how to kneel in the presence of such an innocent child, to make ourselves vulnerable, to dare to fall in love again.
Out of love for us, Christ gave himself for us in order that we might be a people of his own who are eager to do good deeds. So you see, God is smarter than all of us. If he chose to appear among us as an adult, we may not have paid any attention to him, so instead he appeared in the form of a newborn child. This child has captured our hearts, continues to teach us how to love, and shares with us the gift of being eager to do good for others out of love for them.
Merry Christmas!
Joyeux Noel!
Buon Natale!
Looking backward … looking forward
Tonight (today) we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. When children celebrate birthdays, there should always be a party. There should always be friends around, and some food, and perhaps some games – in general, an opportunity to spend some time together having fun. When adults celebrate birthdays, there should also be time for all of this but adults sometimes get serious much too quickly and forget that there should always be great joy in celebrating a birthday. The more introspective adult will take time to consider the year that has passed, complete with its joys and struggles, its blessings and its challenges, and then perhaps ponder a few hopes and dreams for the year that lies ahead. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let’s take a moment, just a moment to consider what’s gone on in the history of God’s people, and perhaps venture a few musings about what might lie ahead.
For many centuries, the prophets had foretold the coming of the Messiah, the Savior, but when we think of the savior, the images we conjure are nothing like what actually took place. Normally, at least in those days, people didn’t travel very far; in fact, it would have been considered quite normal for a young couple to give birth to their newborn child right in their own home, but Joseph and Mary were not at home when Jesus was born. They were traveling because the Roman governor had called for a census, and commanded that every Jew should go to the place where his ancestors had been born in order to be registered. Since Joseph was from the House of David, he and his intended wife had to travel to Bethlehem, the homeland of David. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. She gave birth … wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger. Joseph and Mary were not rich folk. Joseph was a carpenter, who earned a modest living. Traveling would have taken up much of his financial resources, and even if there was room for them in one of the Inns, I’m not sure he would have been able to afford it. Mary made the child as comfortable as possible, wrapping it in bands of cloth in order to protect it from the chill of the night air, and since they could not find a room anywhere, the next best thing was the warmth of a stable. At least they could count on the animals to provide some warmth, but a manger is not the most dignified bed in which to lay the head of the Lord of all creation, is it?
When Prince George, the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was born a few months ago, the first to be informed about his birth were his parents and the rest of the British Royal family; then elaborate measures were undertaken to communicate the news to all the world. When Jesus was born, the first to hear about it, other than his parents, were shepherds, among the lowest on the totem pole from a cultural standpoint. The news of prince George's birth was undertaken by various means of modern technology; the news of Jesus’ birth was communicated through angel song. When prince Goerge was born, dignitaries sent congratulatory notes from all the corners of the world; when Jesus was born, the shepherds came in person to find Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
The birthday we celebrate tonight (today) had very humble beginnings, but the one who we celebrate is more worthy of praise than any other mortal. The one who is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace came into the world as a helpless, vulnerable child and this is why we must stop tonight (today) to allow our hearts to be drawn to the crèche. There is nothing like a newborn child to melt the defenses of even the most hardened exterior, to disarm even the most skeptical bystander, to attract attention. God made himself vulnerable so that we too might learn how to kneel in the presence of such an innocent child, to make ourselves vulnerable, to dare to fall in love again.
Out of love for us, Christ gave himself for us in order that we might be a people of his own who are eager to do good deeds. So you see, God is smarter than all of us. If he chose to appear among us as an adult, we may not have paid any attention to him, so instead he appeared in the form of a newborn child. This child has captured our hearts, continues to teach us how to love, and shares with us the gift of being eager to do good for others out of love for them.
Merry Christmas!
Joyeux Noel!
Buon Natale!
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