Genesis 15: 1-6,
21:1-3 + Hebrews 11: 8, 11-12, 17-19 + Luke 2:
22-40
Recorded at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Mustang, Oklahoma
Many people think of the Christmas mystery as a “moment” and focus solely on that one moment of the birth of the Savior. Most of the world thinks of Christmas only in this way, the celebration of the birth of a baby, who will become the Messiah. With this kind of mindset, Christmas is only one day to celebrate with family and friends, and then move on with the rest of one’s life.
For
Catholics, the celebration of the Incarnation—God taking our flesh in Christ
His Son—is more than a momentous birth. Rather it is a wonder-filled story of
the Son of God becoming fully human. This story takes time to tell and to
reflect upon, which is why the Church gifts us with the Christmas Season, a
sacred and joy-filled time stretching from Christmas Day until the celebration
of the Baptism of the Lord. The Christmas Season is between 2-3 weeks long—this
year it is 17 days.
For
the Son of God comes to save us by more than simply being born human.
He
comes to save us by becoming fully human. This is the deepest blessing of
Christmas—that the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity, the Divine Word
that existed before time, is born in order to become fully human! The Church in
her wisdom gives us the time and the space during the days of the Christmas
Season to ponder this supreme act of love—the Son of God growing and maturing,
like us, into a fully human person.
The
closing line of today’s Lukan Gospel passage states this truth clearly: “The child grew and became strong, filled
with wisdom and the favor of God was upon him.” This growing into his
humanity, this process of becoming fully human, takes place for the Son of God
in the best environment for this growth—in a family.
With
the loving assistance of Mary and Joseph, Jesus grows from a newborn baby to an
infant to a toddler to a child to an adolescent and then into an adult. His
growth---physically, intellectually, and spiritually—is facilitated by a
foster-father and mother who love him deeply, and by an extended family where
he learns how to relate to other human beings.
Jesus
grows physically and becomes strong by the providential love of his parents.
Ensuring
that their children have enough food to eat is a fundamental act of love, which
is why parents suffer deeply when they do not have the means to feed their
children. Joseph and Mary provide food for Jesus’ physical nourishment and growth,
and they prepare it with love.
But
Joseph and Mary also feed Jesus’ desire to learn, for he, like all children, is
curious about the world around him. Jesus becomes filled with wisdom, because his
parents and others pass along what they have learned. The child Jesus asks
questions and his parents help him find the answers.
Jesus
also grows into his humanity by having his spirit fed by Joseph and Mary.
His
parents help Jesus grow in relationship with heavenly Father by teaching him
how to pray. Jesus’ intimate image of God as “Abba” (Father) is the result of
his parents teaching him about God’s tender care and protection. Mary’s
trusting faith which brought about Jesus’ conception and birth (“Let it be done to me according to your word”)
enables her teach her son to pray, “Father,
your will be done.”
As
Joseph and Jesus work together in the carpenter workshop or out on the job,
Joseph
shares with Jesus the stories of Sacred Scripture, how the God of Israel had
saved His people from slavery in Egypt and exile in Babylon. How David defeated
Goliath and how Daniel survived being tossed into the lion’s den.
Joseph
and Mary take Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, not only as a newborn babe to
dedicate him to God, but also on numerous other important religious feasts of
the Jewish people, especially for the annual celebration of Passover.
Jesus’
parents had to make sacrifices in order to remain faithful to their religious
traditions.
For
the trip from Nazareth in Galilee up to Jerusalem is no easy matter, but an
arduous journey on foot that takes a number of days. Nourished by the sacred
texts of Scripture, engaging God daily in the interactive conversation called
prayer, and regularly worshipping God at the temple Jesus grows spiritually
strong.
Becoming
fully human, the Son of God grows, day by day, month by month, year by year—physically,
spiritually, intellectually—thus making holy our own growth into the fullness
of our humanity.
The
Son of God saves us by becoming fully part of the human family. The Son of God
redeems all humanity by becoming more than a member of a particular family in
Nazareth but by becoming fully part of the human family. He is born as Son of
Mary, and grows into a fully human being, in order to transform everything
human into a potential encounter with the Divine. The 2nd Person of
the Holy Trinity becomes fully part of the human family in order to make us see
there are no nations nor borders, only one human family, of which we are all
brothers and sisters in and through the One who is Fully Human, Christ Himself.
One
of the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching, called Solidarity, flows
from our belief that God has joined himself forever to humanity through Christ
Jesus. In fighting against injustice, our common humanity must be the starting
point, understood through radical interdependence.
Solidarity
means being vulnerable enough to get to know those who are suffering from
injustice, to see the dignity of others as intimately connected to my own
dignity. My dignity is wrapped up in your dignity being respected, and when
your dignity is attacked, mine is as well. Solidarity opens our heart to feel
the pain of the other and to allow that pain to change us, so that once we
recognize in the other a brother or sister, we have seen something that cannot
be unseen. Then we know in a very experiential way that we are in this
together, as members of one human family under God. This is what it means to
stand in solidarity with others.
Thus
solidarity is something more than charity, where we can distance ourselves from
the pain of others by giving them something (dollars or food or clothing).
Solidarity
is the gift of oneself, by choosing in love to stand alongside others, allowing
them to know me and me to know them.
How
the world would change if whites and blacks would sit down at the same table and
listen to each other describe their fears and struggles, their hopes and dreams.
How
much the world would change if native born Americans would sit down with immigrants
and tell the stories of how their grandparents or great-grandparents came to
this land and the hardships they endured to make this country a better place. And
then listen to modern-day immigrants share their own stories of the challenges
of making it to America and making a life here.
How
the world might change if Muslims and Christians would sit down at the same
table and Muslims share with Christians why they pray 5 times a day and Christians
share with Muslims why they believe Jesus from Nazareth is the Savior of the
World.
We
would recognize our common humanity, our shared dignity. We might even
recognize Christ dwelling in our midst, growing within us to maturity.
Fr.
Joseph A. Jacobi
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