I wasn’t a cradle-Catholic. Growing up, Christmas for me was a time to give and receive presents, and spend time with family. See the nephews play with new toys. Enjoy a family Christmas dinner. There wasn’t much of Christ or church in the day. That religious stuff was what religious folk did. And that was OK with me, but wasn’t part of my experience.
Then, when I was a teenager, I was touched by an angel. An Angel who took this long haired hippy motorcyclist, who by the way also drove around in an old Volkswagen Beetle, It was purple with painted flowers all over it – An Angel who took this guy and introduced him into a much larger vision of life, a much larger vision of God, a much larger vision of faith. It was an event that so transformed my life that I never wanted the experience to end. And like Peter at the transfiguration, I wanted to build some tents and stay in that moment. But I couldn’t, so I did the next best thing. I married the angel.
That was almost 50 years ago. And as much as I was discovering God back then, I continue to discover God to this day. Each Day. Every Day.
I remember near the beginning of my journey asking, “why would God come to earth as a baby?” I mean, it makes for a cute story, but … really?? Not with power? Not like a cosmic miracle? Just a baby? to be born in a barn to a poor, teenage Mom ? Well, if you are looking for the complete answer in a six minute homily, I am afraid you will be disappointed. It has taken me half a century to wrap my head around it. I guess I am a slow learner. But in the course of those five decades of pondering, a few things have become clearer for me.
One of them is that, at a certain point in our evolution as a species, God chose to reveal Godself to us. At a certain point in our spiritual evolution we were ready to be given this insight into God, by God. As humans, we can only relate to creation and to our existence as humans. And that is true also of how we see God. And given our human nature to relate to God as we relate to other humans, how could God reveal to us God’s very nature? By becoming …. Human. Someone we can see, feel, touch, relate one-on-one to. Someone who not only understands what it is to be human but has fully experienced life as a human. Birth. Childhood. Adolescence. Adulthood. And death.
I guess God could have revealed God’s existence with a heavenly light show of cosmic proportions. well, for a second time. God did that already at the Big Bang. God could have lit up the sky with miracles of sight and sound. I am sure it would have had an impact to those who saw it. But I suspect the reaction would have been not so much one of Awe, but of fear. Human nature being what it is. And the impression we would have been left with is that God is so totally powerful, so totally transcendent, So totally OTHER, that how could you and I ever relate to God?
Not the same impact at all, is it? And not at all revealing the very essence of who God is. And so, God joins us. God joins us as a human to reveal to us just who God is. Reveals to us profound, life-changing insights That we would have never received another way. God revealed to us what unconditional love is all about. Revealed that our strength is in our meekness. Our care for the widows and orphans. Our feeding of the poor, clothing of the naked. Our releasing the bonds of those who are oppressed. Our best selves are revealed when we beat swords into plowshares. When we care for those who are in need.
John the evangelist, got it, in spades, when he said God is love, and where Love is, God is. He understood that love is not merely an attribute of God, a characteristic of God. Love is God’s very nature and essence. When we love, we reveal God. Because it was in that image you and I were created.
And that revelation is, for me, slow learner that I am, The reason for the incarnation. The reason God became human, The Reason for Christmas.
This year, this Christmas, the world has changed, and won’t be the same. For our family, and I suspect for yours as well, we celebrate this Christmas having gained a much deeper appreciation for the little things in life. Reading a story to our kids or grandkids. Watching our children as they interact with their children. Looking at clouds and sky and stars and trees And standing in awe at the beauty of creation. Trying to see in others what God sees in them. Laughing so hard, it hurts. And crying when our heart is moved. All of these things that make us human. All of these things that reflect the essence of our God. I suspect that Christmas 2020 will be as different for you as it will be for us.
But one thing won’t change, and that is the knowledge that there exists something beyond, a spiritual realm that we catch glimpses of now and then, and which entered humanity at Christmas
so that we might know the breadth of existence, and the depth of love.