The Christmas mystery is too profound to be limited to a single celebration. The Church dedicates four distinct liturgies to this feast, full of Scriptures for us to ponder. Then she extends the Christmas celebration throughout a joyful Octave. In our prayer, in addition to reflecting on the Scriptures, we can also draw from the rich tradition of the Church and the insights of the Saints. In every generation, believers have marveled with delight at the mystery of God becoming man, the Word becoming flesh, the Incarnation. As a sign of our reverence and gratitude for this mystery, in all the Masses celebrated today, in churches all over the world, everyone will kneel at the words of the Creed, “… and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”
Isaiah prophesies that when the Messiah comes, the people will “break out together in song,” a song celebrating the day when “all the ends of the earth will behold / the salvation of our God.” Today’s Psalm also proclaims that the coming of the Lord will be an occasion for joyful singing: “Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; / break into song; sing praise!” There are many beautiful hymns which honor the mystery of the Incarnation. The Catechism quotes a beautiful ancient hymn which highlights how on Christmas Day we see a wonderful combination of what is divine and infinite with what is human and limited. “The Church never tires of singing the glory of this night:
The Virgin today brings into the world the Eternal
And the earth offers a cave to the Inaccessible.
The angels and shepherds praise him
And the Magi advance with the star,
For you are born for us,
Little Child, God eternal!” (CCC 525).
Jesus of Nazareth, whose birthday we celebrate today, is the “Little Child, God eternal!” We hardly know how to think of such a mystery! If we are not singing for joy, we are absorbed in wonder, in silent contemplation. The Letter to the Hebrews provides us with a description of whom we are contemplating. He is the Son of the Father, “the refulgence of his glory, / the very imprint of his being.” As we gaze at the helpless baby in Mary’s lap, we are seeing the glory of the Father. All the angels of God bow down before him in worship, and we are moved to do the same, like the shepherds, the Magi, and all who believe that this Child is God.
In some cultures, there is a beautiful tradition of approaching an image of the Child on Christmas morning to kiss his feet. Those who do not understand this practice think it is a form of idolatry, but in fact, we do not worship the image itself; rather, we use the image to show our love for the One it represents. “Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God … and contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled” (St. John Damascene, in CCC 1159). Our bowing before the manger is a fitting way of humbling ourselves before God who has humbled himself for our sake. It is also an effective way of teaching our children how to show reverence for God who has become man.
At the heart of today’s celebration is the revelation of God. Before Jesus was born, no one had ever seen God. Now he can be seen, for he has made himself visible. St. John captures the mystery of this revelation in the prologue of his Gospel: “The Word became flesh / and made his dwelling among us, / and we saw his glory, / the glory as of the Father’s only Son, / full of grace and truth.” O come, let us adore him!
How has my spiritual preparation during Advent helped me to make room for Jesus in my heart? What is my interior response as I ponder the birth of the Word of God, who became a little Child for my salvation? In what ways can I strive to be humbler and more childlike?
Excerpt from The Anawim Way, Volume 22, no. 1. More information about The Anawim Way may be found here.