The Meaning of Christmas

'Tis the Season!  Well, since everyone is passing around messages about the meaning of Christmas, I thought I would add my own.  Not because it is my own, but because it is a meaning that is not proclaimed very often in today's world.  Christmas, for many, is Jesus' Birthday and as corny as that may sound it is true.  Christmas is the season for giving, which is also true - just as God gave us his beloved Son because he loved us, we are inspired to give what is most valuable to us to those whom we love.  And Christmas is also the time of year where we sense the need, or at least the attraction to give to those "less fortunate than ourselves."  Something we can only do by becoming "poor with the poor."  Just as Jesus lowered himself to take on our broken humanity, in order to give us a share in his Divinity.  He became poor so that by His poverty we might become rich.

The air is thick with the Spirit of Christmas.  Just this morning I was reminded of a song that we sang a couple of Advents ago in Laredo, "Love, the Guest, Is On His Way."  So when I saw "Christmas Cleaning" written on the schedule this morning, I was less annoyed than I would usually be.   Even with all the preparations, and services we provide for one another, the goal of Christmas is to receive someone, "The Guest" - Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.  And Jesus comes to us through everyone we meet, but at Christmas he wants to come to us as a Child.  Puer natus est nobis!  Et filius datus nobis!  A child is born for us!  A son is given us!  Rings out the ancient Latin text of the Christmas Midnight Mass.  God becomes a baby, the Creator is born of his creature, the one who governs the universe entrusts himself to the care of a young virgin.  What kind of crazy stunt is that?  What is God trying to do?  Why does the All-powerful One become the most fragile and vulnerable of creatures?

This is the mystery of love.  The innocent gaze of a child, a child who has yet to experience any hurt or rejection gives himself completely to anyone who will accept him.  The eyes of a baby do not judge, they do not compare or hold you to any standards, the pure and simple gaze of a baby lifts your heart and mind and is a source of joy.  This is how God wants us to be able to receive Him at Christmas, as a gift, as an unexpected source of joy.

The meaning of Christmas, and indeed the meaning of all Christian feasts and celebrations, is first contemplative.  Before we change what we do, we must change how we see things.  That is why we say that the Christian life is contemplative before it is anything else.  What does that mean?  It means that our faith, which is a gift, allows us to look at things from God's point of view.  Faith should give us a deeper perspective on life.  The purpose of faith is not just to get saved, we are saved by grace.  Faith is the knowledge of Jesus, faith is knowing Christ.  And this knowledge, of who He is and of what he has done, changes the way a Christian sees the world.  Christ had human eyes so that we too may see the world from God's perspective.

God's joy is knowing God.  And when God knows himself, it is completely different from our own self-knowledge.  When God gazes upon himself, it is like us when we see someone we love.  God is his own alter-ego, and our pride makes us wish we were like Him.  But our fulfillment will never be face to face with our navel.  It is face to face with another, and ultimately, with "The Other."  This is why Jesus, why the Word of God, became flesh.  To teach us the loving face to face with God.  So let us contemplate the "Divine Babe," the Word made Flesh, the Light born of Light before the world was formed.

This Christmas, let us receive the gift of God.  Let us enjoy the gift of a new perspective, and fix our gaze on the "Tiny little baby" whose eyes reveal the light of God.

Merry Christmas!

Chapter closing on lone Laredo bookstore - Retail - msnbc.com

Chapter closing on lone Laredo bookstore - Retail - msnbc.com

This is extremely sad. This is depressing, and this is an obvious sign that SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT. I understand that books are becoming less and less where we get our information. But this is just too disturbing.