In the birth of Jesus we come to fully know our God

Advent 4 / Solemnity of Christmas    

Our Gospel this Fourth Sunday of Advent is the beautiful telling of the Annunciation story which heralds the Archangel Gabriel’s proclamation to the Virgin Mary, ““Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you . . . you have found favor with God!” (Luke 1:28,30c). Gabriel reveals God’s wonderful plan to this faithful young woman; “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:31-32). Mary, a true exemplar of humble courage, then accepts the plan that her God lays out for her, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). And with that, the great miracle of the Incarnation, the Word become flesh, proceeds according to God’s plan, and the revelation of Jesus’ eventual birth is laid out for us in our liturgical celebrations of Christmas.

The celebration of our Savior’s birth has acquired a long and rich tradition. Part of this tradition is manifest in the fact that the Church does not assign only one set of prayers and scripture readings for the Masses on Christmas, but rather four different sets. The gospel readings provided for these four different Christmas Masses – the Vigil Mass, the Mass during the Night, the Mass at Dawn, and the Mass during the Day – each illuminates a particular facet of the “tidings of great joy” that graced humanity the day that Jesus was born.

The Gospel chosen for the Vigil Mass is St. Matthew’s account of the genealogy and birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-25). Sometimes regarded only as the dull incantation of a series of so-and-so begot so-and-so’s, the genealogy actually provides a complex and fertile setting in which to situate the Savior’s birth. The list of Jesus’ ancestors is not intended so much to provide an exact family history, but rather to demonstrate that Jesus is the long-awaited fulfillment of God’s promises and actions from the beginning of creation.

Included in this list are holy people and scoundrels, women and men, Jews and gentiles, the famous and the obscure – a genuine cross-section of those who would be called and blessed by the awaited Messiah. The genealogy highlights the fact that the coming of Jesus was not only a radically new event in the history of salvation, but also the fulfillment of a long-held set of hopes and dreams for the betterment of the world.

In Jesus, not only the promises made to Abraham and David (to have descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky and to rule over God’s people for ever), but also the promises made to every person who ever trusted in their God would be fulfilled in a way more wonderful than anyone could have ever imagined.

At the conclusion of the genealogy, Matthew presents his account of the birth of Jesus. In Matthew’s account, Joseph is very much the key subject. His fears about Mary’s pregnancy are allayed by an angel in a dream, and he is instructed to name the child “Jesus,” a name which means “God saves” – an important clue as to the identity and mission of the baby.

The Gospel chosen for the Mass during the Night is St. Luke’s well-known proclamation of the savior’s birth: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus … ” (Luke 2:1-14). In this text we learn so many things about the Messiah. First, his birth in Bethlehem, the ancestral city of King David, further reinforces the hope that the child will be the eternal heir to David’s throne.

Next, the poverty of his birth – the setting of the cave or stable, his placement in the manger (feedbox for the animals), being wrapped in ragged bands of cloth – all emphasize that the Son of God has truly become one with his people – and the lowliest of his people too!

This child’s majesty will be shown in his love for his Father and people, not in the pomp of his lifestyle. But lest we forget that this is truly the Divine Son of the Eternal Father, the skies are filled with angels proclaiming this child to be the “savior … Christ the Lord!” (Luke 2:11) and singing “Glory to God in the highest … ” (Luke 2:14).

The Gospel for the Mass at Dawn is the continuation of St. Luke’s presentation of the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:15-20). In this scene the glory of the angelic choirs is replaced by the coming of the shepherds to witness the child’s birth. In this story the shepherds represent the common folk – all who work day by day to support their families and build a better life for themselves and their communities.

These are the people who are not particularly famous or influential over large groups of people – this child in the manger came for them as well. God’s love would not be restricted to the powerful but would be lavished on each and every human being – an extension of the good news of the Messiah’s coming that could scarcely have been imagined before Jesus.

In this Gospel reading we also get a glimpse of the depth of Mary and Joseph’s love for the child. We learn that Mary “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Because we know this story so well, we can easily lose sight of the human drama that was involved. Mary and Joseph’s love and care for the child amidst all the tumult of his birth and life is a testimony to how pleasing to God the love of parents is for their children. In Mary and Joseph all parents are raised up and united with the Lord for their goodness to their offspring.

 

Finally, the Gospel assigned to the Mass during the Day proclaims the fullness of the divine majesty that surrounds Jesus. Taken from the exalted Preface of St. John’s Gospel (John 1:1-18), this text reveals that the child in the manger is none other than God’s Word made flesh, the eternal Son of the Father. And it is this fact that makes the rest of the story so important – this is not simply the story of a young boy born in lowly circumstances that made good, nor of a man who was able to weave together a compelling human philosophy – in this child in the manger we see our God’s fullest revelation to his people.

We acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, as our most complete picture of what our God is like – a God who shows himself to be the fulfillment of humanity’s most noble hopes and dreams, a God who reaches out to the mighty and to the lowly, a God who sent his Son to draw all humanity into the embrace of his love. It is the coming and the presence of such a God made manifest in Jesus that we gather to celebrate this Christmas.

And, in this time of Eucharistic Revival, we rejoice that it is this Jesus who becomes present to us – body, blood, soul, and divinity – in the Eucharist at every Mass. May we resolve to come and adore him this Christmas to be sure, but on each and every Sunday when he deigns to come anew among his beloved people – us!

Msgr. Fell is a Scripture scholar and director, diocesan Office for Priest Personnel.