Christmas

Greetings once again to our faithful readers of Columban Mission magazine. I am slowly settling into the role as Regional Director in Omaha. One of the delights I have is to write a letter for each magazine. This being December, we of course look forward to celebrating Christmas.

But we never just jump in with a party on December 25th. The Church in her wisdom invites us to prepare with the season of Advent, always four weeks before. This tradition of spending most of December living in darkness and looking forward to new life has very deep European roots, especially northern Europe where hours of sunlight are few, it is very cold, Yule logs burned for 12 days, the beer was ready to drink, cattle were slaughtered because there was not enough to feed them during the winter, etc. In Rome they celebrated the god Saturn when slaves and the poor were treated with food and gift. It was also a time to celebrate young people. And on December 25 they celebrated the infant god Mithra, who was believed to have been born of a rock. All of these traditions influenced in some way how we Christians celebrate Christmas.

But for us, apart from the celebrations, the feast was originally called the Nativity (Birth) and was not initially widely celebrated. Easter was the main celebration. With Christmas we tend to think of an innocent little baby being born in a stable surrounded by animals and shepherds and a star shining above. It’s very romantic. But as Christians had time to contemplate this birth, the feast became more profound and meaningful. The “Birth” is the feast of the Incarnation. That is, God becoming a human being just like us.

Can we learn compassion? Yes, we can. How? It is necessary to experience life from the other side, to “walk a mile in my shoes.”

The book of Exodus tells us that God’s name is “I AM.” That is a profound statement. This God was present with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and is present with Moses and will be present with all his children forever. This I AM God is vast, present everywhere, at all times, and everything exists in him. Yet, at Christmas, the Nativity, this all powerful, all possible God, in an act Christmasof infinite humility, becomes a mere human and enters this world with a beginning, a life, and an end like ours — death. This mystery is every bit as great as the mystery of the resurrection (Easter). It is really hard to imagine how it is possible. And God does this because He desires to experience from the inside what it means to be who we are. This experience gives God compassion. Jesus is the face of the compassion of God.

Can we learn compassion? Yes, we can. How? It is necessary to experience life from the other side, to “walk a mile in my shoes.” Those who are ready to point a finger at someone who does things wrong or seems ignorant or is on the outside trying to get in probably never had the struggles that this person has had. They just don’t understand or feel the pain of the other.

At this time of year, we celebrate that Jesus has joined us. He probably had all the childhood illnesses, had to work with His father and mother, was misunderstood and ridiculed, abused and spat upon, bullied. This Jesus KNOWS what it is to be one of us. And He never lost His love and concern that we all would be honest and kind and generous with each other. We can be sure of this because we know Him and experience Him. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for honoring us by being with us and for us and one of us. We know we can have faith in your compassion. Amen.