Dec 24, 2008 18:55
One can hardly remember Christmas without remembering what it is like
to be a child. Everyone, even those not particularly religious, have
memories of being excited Christmas morning, of waking up early and
waiting for the parents to get up too. Being so excited to receive
some gift that would be the one thing that would fulfill all desires-
at least for a little while- for children can really appreciate a gift
much more than an adult can. I know as I got older, I became harder to
please and most things that I wanted I could easily go get for myself.
As a child though, if I didn't get that gift on my birthday or
Christmas then I was out of luck. Furthermore, when children receive a
toy they actually play with it and enjoy it. If I receive a toy, it
better be a video game or else I won't know what to do with it.
How appropriate it is that on this holiday we give to children
because this is the day we celebrate our Lord as a child. And being a
child, he took on everything that goes along with it. The hands that
shaped the universe were only able to reach as far as a crib. The mind
that knew the hearts of men still had to learn its alphabets. The will
with authority over all things had to be subjected to its parents.
Jesus retains his divinity, but had to humble himself more than we
could ever dream. At least we now have the Christian notion that
children are people too. In the ancient world, a child was less than a
second class citizen. If anything happened to his parents, he would be
left defenseless and surely die. Yet, as a child, Jesus could do more
for us to fulfill God's will than if he was not. Likewise, we see in
each child there is a potential for growth. Who will this young divine
person grow up to be?
In our first reading, we refer to him a "Wonder," a "Counselor" and a
"God-hero." This is the child of destiny that the whole world longs
for- that he may be the redeemer and save us from sin. He is a wonder
because he is the unique center of all human history. Even our years
are measured from the time of his birth. He is a counselor because he
intercedes for us to the Father. He is a God-hero because he saved us
at deep cost to himself. He is the forever father because he shares
his sonship with all humanity. And lastly, he is the prince of peace
because he brings the end of all conflict caused by sin. So, at this
very night, God's power and will to save his people are fully
realized. Yet, simultaneously, this is when he is in his most basic
form.
This God is the fulfillment of all our desires, but was at the same
time completely unexpected. We needed a savior who experienced the
whole human condition; who would fulfill God's justice; who would
conquer the world and who would make his people holy. Yet, what we
didn't expect was the way that God did it. If we made Jesus today in
our own image with modern sensibilities, he would probably look more
like Superman than Christ. After all, superman doesn't need humility,
he doesn't feel pain and he works 24/7 saving people from everything
that goes wrong while not expecting anyone to change. After all, if
the world really did get better, we would not need superman. Yes,
superman was born too. But, he came to this world in a rocket ship,
having super powers upon arriving. Once he completely arrived, he was
a self-sustaining ubermensch. Jesus, on the other hand, completely
depends on the his Father for everything. And because of this
dependence, he can teach us the true way of holiness and friendship
with God.
So, Christ became a little child literally in order to show us how to
be little children. The world when Jesus lived was anything but
childlike. The Roman empire, though less than a century old, had
conquered the known world and was already cracking from human failure.
The philosophies had grown stale. Religions were degrading themselves
into mystery cults. The ancients thought they saw it all; but
anguished over the hope for something more. This is the world Christ
came in to redeem. Likewise, in our times, we ourselves can be a
little jaded, and our religion can be routine and we can think that
all adventure and newness is over.
But, still, Christ tells us we must become like little children to
enter the kingdom of heaven. That means we should be thankful to God
for all the many gifts he gives us. We should humbly recognize our
dependence on God for all the good in our lives. We should come to the
liturgy with a spirit of wonder and awe. For a child lives with an
undivided heart. He cannot love and hate at the same time or have
mixed emotions. Instead, if things are going well, it's as if all
eternity will last this way. But, if things are not going so well,
it's as if doom misery and unfairness entered the world and refuses to
leave. A child never says, "I liked the movie, but it had it's flaws."
Nor does a child say, "I love you, now change." And so, we must be the
same way.
As you well know, Christmas is the season of giving. Christ gave his
divinity to humanity on this day. In return, I hope we can all give
him the gift of our humility. And just as a child is excited to
receive his gifts on Christmas day, I'm sure the child Jesus will be
equally ecstatic.