The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
This is truly remarkable. The people of Israel had long been awaiting a Messiah by the time that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. But how could they know that the Messiah would be both human and divine? This must have been far beyond their expectations. In our gospel reading from Luke today we have the wonderful story of the prophetess Anna, a holy woman who spent her life in the temple. After Simeon’s reception of Jesus and his parents, it is Anna that stepped forward as a sort of evangelist, a prophetess who began sharing the good news about the redemption of Jerusalem that was to come through this child, who, like all other human beings, was born of a woman – real flesh and blood. In 1 John, St. John is eager to emphasize that Jesus was not simply spirit, but a real and concrete man who walked the earth. In today’s selection, we see that this has implications. To know that Jesus is real and to know that Jesus was God in human flesh born in Bethlehem and crucified in Jerusalem – is to know that our lives have to change. The nativity story and all that comes after it confront and challenge us because they are real. “The world and its enticement are passing away, but whoever does the will of God remains forever” (1 Jn 2:17). There is much that can distract us from Jesus; we might be drawn to think of Jesus and the whole Christian faith as a kind of a vague, far off notion. We are especially vulnerable to this because we spend much of our time thinking about our life on earth (paying the mortgage, getting groceries, finding a job, raising kids) and so little of our time thinking about our life in heaven, where we will spend eternity. But we learn from Christmas that this is all for real, and if we do the will of God, we will have eternal life. This is certainly a cause for rejoicing, and this is why Christmas is such a season of joy. Our God has come for us! He has taken on human flesh! And he has made it possible for us to join him in heaven at the end of our lives. As Christmas continues, let us remember that this is for real! - Maria Morrow
Jesus can sometimes seem far away from us, a kind of abstract concept, or a spiritual being. Even at Christmas time, it is possible to get caught up in the sentimental notions of Christianity and forget that what Christmas means is that God was here on earth, in the flesh. Jesus is not some warm, fuzzy feeling, nor is Jesus some kind of Spirit of Christmas past. No, Jesus is for real. Real God who took on real human flesh.