The glorious feast of Christmas is finally here, and what a
mysterious blessing it is. For the
Eternal Word of God becomes a human being--as helpless a babe as was ever born—with
a manger for His crib. Angels sing in His honor. The lowly shepherds and the foreign wise men
worship Him. A young virgin becomes a
mother, not simply of a Son, but of the Son of God. And kings
tremble, for this baby brings to earth a Kingdom not of this world.
The good news of Christmas is that Jesus Christ is born
this day, not to judge or to destroy us, but to save and bless us. He is the Second Adam in Whom the diseased decay
of the first Adam is healed. By becoming
one of us, He brings us into the life of God.
We are made holy, we are fulfilled, we are raised to life eternal in
Him.
Our Lord brings His great joy to the world humbly and
peaceably. He does not arrive in the
earthly splendor of a king, with the military power of a conquering general, or
in the material comfort of the rich. Instead, He takes the lowest, most
vulnerable place for Himself: born in a
cave used as a barn to a family that lived under the oppression of the Roman
Empire and the cruelty of Herod. Soon
Joseph would take the Virgin Mary and the young Jesus to Egypt by night,
fleeing for their lives from a wicked, murderous king. What a difficult, lowly way to come into a dark and dangerous world,
not unlike how refugee children are born in parts of the Middle East, Africa,
and other war-torn regions to this very day.
But when we pause to consider the glory of our Lord’s Incarnation,
we should not be surprised at all. For
what does it mean for the Immortal One to put on mortality? What does it mean for the One Who spoke the
world into existence to become part of that creation? What does it mean for the King of the
universe to become subject to the kings of the world? It means humility and selfless, suffering
love beyond our understanding. For our
Lord, God, and Savior is not a rational concept to be defined, but a Person Who
shares His life with us. So that we
could enter into His life, He entered into ours, sanctifying every bit of what
it means to be a human being, literally
from the womb to the tomb that could not contain Him.
The wise men show us how to respond to the unbelievably
good news that God has become a human being:
they worship Him. Let us follow
their example this Christmas season by worshipping Him as we open ourselves to
the glorious transformation that the Incarnate Son of God brings. For Christ is born, and the peace and joy of
God’s kingdom are ours even as we live and breathe in the world as we know
it. Christ is born, and we encounter Him
in every human being, especially the poor, needy, and outcast. Christ is born, and we participate in the eternal
life for which we were created in God’s image and likeness.
Yes, this wonderful news really is true. And the only limits on the blessing of
Christmas are those that we place on ourselves.
For the One Who comes as a humble, meek, peaceable baby in a manger
never forces us or anyone else. He is
the Mystery of Love made flesh for our salvation. If we accept Him, we must become participants
in the deified humanity that the God-Man Jesus Christ has brought to the
world. We must live in this world in
ways that reflect the deep truth of the Incarnation. We must become living icons of the good news
of this season.
So this Christmas, let us be like Mary the Theotokos who
received Him with joy, like the elder Joseph His steadfast protector, and like
that strange combination of lowly shepherds and Persian astrologers who first
worshipped Him. Let us welcome Him into
our life and live accordingly, for now nothing but our own refusal can separate
us from His love. That, my brothers and
sisters, is the good news of Christmas.
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
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