Have you ever noticed how even the most serious of individuals can’t help but smile in the presence of a newborn baby? No matter the tension, the stress and the burdens we carry in this fast-paced world of ours, the smile, the giggle and the joy that bubble forth from an infant cause us to slow down, to pause and to notice – to let go, to let loose and to laugh.
Perhaps the sight of a newborn baby reminds us of the joy and simplicity we’ve long forgotten. Perhaps the sight rekindles in us a desire to dream, to dare, and to imagine the hope and promise of what we can yet become, no matter what lies in our past. Whatever the case, there’s nothing like the power of a newborn baby to stop us in our tracks, to melt our cold exteriors and to touch our hearts at their core.
Could this be the reason that when, in the fullness of time, God decided to let the Word, who was God and was with God from the very beginning, take on flesh, he entered our world in the form of an infant? This surely got the attention of many people, from simple shepherds to wise men to the most powerful of kings. And it’s the same infant Jesus who continues to attract and sustain our attention all these thousands of years later, and who draws us here today to celebrate once again the mystery by which God came to dwell among us.
Reflecting on this mystery of the Incarnation, its implications and its meaning, has filled many volumes. But, if we were to stop at simply marveling at God’s bold decision to become one like us, walking in our shoes and living in our skin, we would possibly miss the main point of the mystery – God became like us so that we might become like God! God did not only take on flesh in a newborn babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. No, the truth is that God deeply desires to take on flesh in each of us – right here, right now, today – so that through us, the presence of the Word made flesh may continue to be made known and made real in our world today, and we might know our identity and dignity as children of God.
God wants to make a home in our hearts so that we will share him with the world by the way we live our lives in conformity with that of Christ. By the way we love, forgive and reach out to others, we will draw others’ attention and lead them closer to Christ, just like a newborn babe commands the attention of all in the room.
The Word made flesh, whose birth we celebrate today, lived, suffered, was crucified and buried, then rose from the dead and returned to the Father – and yet he remains with us now in the bread that we break and share, in the face of the person next to us, and in our efforts to be and to bear his presence to others. We’ve already received the greatest gift of all.
As we celebrate Christmas during these difficult times, I pray that you will experience the warmth and brightness of the light of Christ through your family, relatives, friends, our beautiful parish family, even if we are unable to be together in person. May the light of Christ bring you joy, peace, and much needed hope.
Have a blessed Christmas,
Fr. Tom