That first Christmas

 “Jesus, the Word made flesh, received from us a share in our human nature in order that we, in turn, might receive from Him the unfathomable gift of sharing in His divine nature. Our mutual sharing of gifts at Christmas symbolizes at the deepest level the mutual sharing of gifts between the Lord and all of us.” (Fr. Robert Egan, SJ)

Christmas is here in just a few days. We finally will celebrate the hour and moment that the Son of God was born of the pure Virgin Mary. Am I ready for Christ to be born in my soul? 

One way of getting ready is: with your spiritual imagination, contemplate the experience of the Holy Family in the first advent. Without God’s grace, preparing for this birth could have been a season of mania. It is Mary’s first baby—no past ‘history’ to know if the baby will come early or on time. Was she short of time to prepare the home for an infant because she was with her cousin Elizabeth for her first trimester (MT 1:18-24; LK 1:39, 56)? She, her mother Anne, and other female relatives must have been in a sewing, knitting and mending frenzy to get the materials needed for the new baby. Think about how people prepare for a home birth today vs. Mary’s ‘home birth”. Although no rags were needed to clean up a mess, she would still need many swaddling cloths, nappies, etc.   

Then the news comes of the census requiring this new family to leave for Bethlehem. Now they will be travelling a distance either with a newborn or with a pregnant Mary. What should they take with them? They can only take as much as Joseph and a donkey (already bearing Mary) can carry. 

This was the first advent, the waiting of Mary, Joseph, Anne & Joachim. And knowing how graced each of these saints were, they give us the model to live recollected in God and letting His Holy Spirit carry us through thick and thin like a leaf carried by the wind.  They lived with God physically present in Mary’s womb; we live with Him physically present in the Eucharist. 

So back to the question: Am I ready for Christ to be born in my soul? Perhaps readiness starts with gratitude. St. Ignatius teaches that ingratitude is the greatest sin. Thinking about that, it truly is at the root of all sinfulness. The scriptures give us two examples from which to learn ‘readiness’ by comparison: Zechariah and Mary. 

Imagine living in biblical times and the difficulty of raising children to live a long, healthy life, both spiritually and physically. Then an angel of God comes to you of all people, you alone, and tells you not only will you finally have a child (breaking the humiliation of bareness) but that child will live his life in the Hand of God. He will ‘bring you joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:14-17).  Wow! The heritage passed down through the oral traditions and the Torah will actually come to life in your own family! What greater gift could an angel be handing to him? Yet Zechariah’s reaction is to question it; perhaps try to figure it out, perhaps disbelief, perhaps confusion. We don’t know but the response illuminated his heart, a heart that was not yet ready to receive God. Is mine? Poor Zechariah. How often have I done similarly and God spared me the public humiliation of a muted mouth (although in hindsight I wish He would have muted me many times!). These few remaining days provide the opportunity to examen for our readiness. 

Then we have Mary’s example, one of heroic vulnerability. A quality that wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for her extreme humility.  Pride festers like a pesty abscess that won’t go away. In contrast, humility fosters virtues, the greatest of which is love. As we prepare for those ‘interesting’ dynamics that always occur at family gatherings, the first step to healing those relationships is humility. And that takes heroic vulnerability too. Trust in God and the love will grow. 

Preparing for those table conversations, it helps to recall the basics. All women since Eve have suffered the pangs of childbirth, except Mary. Mary remained a virgin after giving birth to Jesus because God does not need to pass through the birth canal in order to be born.  If Jesus can command human bodies and nature to walk through an angry mob, command the waters to hold him upright when He walks on it, and command a wall to let Him pass through, He can figure out childbirth. A straightforward explanation is provided here.

Ultimately,  the best gift we can give to others is ourselves. To that end, may you have a profound experience with the Christ child this Christmastide. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam 😊

(Image by Reuben Teo via Unsplash)