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An Advent reflection on the names “Jesus” and “Emmanuel”

06 Saturday Dec 2025

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In the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel an angel of the Lord comes to Joseph in a dream after Joseph had decided to “dismiss” Mary quietly.  The angel has a mission, to convince this good and righteous man to take Mary, pregnant with child, as his wife because the child is conceived of the Holy Spirit.  The angel instructs Joseph to name the child Jesus, a name which means, “God saves”.  The child will save his people from their sins.  The angel then quotes the prophet Isaiah as witness, “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel”, which means, “God is with us.” 

The angel succeeds in his mission.

The names carry depth and weight, a significance that both answers the yearning of Joseph’s heart (the honest heart of a good and righteous man) and gives courage to do the right thing. 

The name “Jesus” means, “God saves” and specifically he saves, “people from their sins”.  The messiah is long expected and yearned for and many people in Israel were looking for his coming but most thought in earthly terms – the messiah would be an earthly king ruling by might and power.  The messiah would defeat all of Israel’s enemies and would establish the kingdom in peace and security.  But God is about something so much more than all of humanity could imagine.  God’s Anointed One would not merely be an earthly king but, rather the eternal king, priest and prophet who would overcome the great wound of sin itself, that which fundamentally separates us from God.  Jesus will save the people from their sins and will heal the great separation. 

Joseph and Mary, two faith-filled Jews, were the first to hear the great promise of the gospel.  How it must have called forth wonder and inflamed their hearts with joy! 

How does God save?  “Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”  This is the incarnation; God saves by being with us.  As we are lost, as we are separated from God, God comes to us.  God enters into the darkness caused by our sin.  Jesus is born that we would live.  God saves us by being with us.

Here is an invitation to prayer in preparation for the celebration of Christmas and in preparation for our Lord’s return in glory.  Reflect on the name “Jesus”.  What are the sins I cling to?  What are the sins I need to be saved from?  There are no pedestals here.  How do I need Jesus as Lord and Savior?  Reflect on the name “Emmanuel”.  How is God with me, right now, in the season of life I find myself in.  Can I recognize and find comfort and encouragement in God’s abiding presence?  Can I welcome God into where I am now and indeed trust that God wants relationship with me? 

A final thought to this exercise of the holding together of the names in which we realize that God saves us by being with us.  From the angel’s proclamation to Joseph in the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel, we look to the end of the Book of Revelation.  By doing this we find that the image of the heavenly Jerusalem fulfills the proclamation of the angel.  In Revelations 21:1-4 we read,

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals.  He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes.  Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”

God himself will be with them…  Death will be no more…

“Jesus” – God saves.  “Emmanuel” – God is with us. 

God saves us by being with us. 

Come, Lord Jesus! 

The King who sings the new song – The Feast of Christ the King

23 Sunday Nov 2025

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In his writings, St. Augustine never used the title, “Christ the King” (today’s feast was not established until 1925) but Augustine often wrote of the kingship of Christ and the Kingdom of God. 

In his sermon of Psalm 32, St. Augustine reflects on what it means to sing to God a new song.  “Rid yourself of what is old and worn out, for you know a new song.  A new man, a new covenant – a new song.  This new song does not belong to the old man.  Only the new man learns it: the man restored from his fallen condition through the grace of God, and now sharing in the new covenant, that is, the kingdom of heaven.  To it all our love now aspires and sings a new song.  Let us sing a new song not with our lips but with our lives.” 

To be a Christian is to be freed from the old and worn-out ways of sin and know the newness of life found in Christ.  To be a Christian is to sing a new song – the new song of our life in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus knew this song.  Jesus lived this song.  Jesus is the new man – man as God intended – obedient to the Father and in full relationship with the Father, the man never broken and never isolated by sin.

Sin always tries to disrupt our song with God.  Sin always tries to introduce disharmony and discord.  What we hear in today’s gospel is an echo of the disharmony evil tried to introduce at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Luke’s gospel.  The rulers sneer and say, “…let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.”  The soldiers jeer and say, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.”  At the beginning of our Lord’s ministry, after fasting in the desert, the Devil comes to Jesus saying, “If you are the Son of God…”

Sin and the devil do not want us to ever sing the new song and it will do whatever it can to introduce disharmony and discord into this song.  Disharmony that seeks to make us doubt God’s love and discord that seeks to make us doubt our and everyone’s dignity as a child of God. 

Jesus never allowed this disharmony and discord to enter his song, even to the cross.  Because he sang this new song, now we – in him – can also sing it.  The one thief who simply asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom was caught up into this new song and how beautiful his own song must have been and continues to be as he abides with Jesus in Paradise. 

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King – the King who sings the new song and who invites us into the song.  How do we best sing this new song and give honor to the king?  By our lives – by continually welcoming God and his mercy, by serving as Jesus served, by seeking to be truthful and humble just as Jesus was.  To follow Jesus is to learn this new song and to sing it in the uniqueness of our own life.

The Father, “delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…”  The Father has brought us into the true harmony of the song of his Son, now we also sing this song of Christ our King. 

All Souls and the Four Final Things

01 Saturday Nov 2025

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Once, when I was pastor at St. Mary’s Church in Athens, TN, I had a graveside service at a local cemetery. It was a nice, clear day and a beautiful setting with trees and mountains in the backdrop. I finished the church’s rite and then the funeral director began to say some words. One thing this funeral home offered families (at a price) was a little ceremony where a group of homing pigeons was released. The pigeons (representing the already deceased members of the departed’s family) were trained to remain circling until a final pigeon was released (representing the newly deceased). The final pigeon was trained to join the others and all together would fly off into the sky. With the flock of pigeons circling, the funeral director said some words of comfort and then released the final pigeon. We all watched as the pigeon flew into the sky, saw the circling flock and bee-lined it in the opposite direction! Behind me, I heard someone say, “Well, he never did really care much for his family!”

In our Catholic tradition there is the concept of the four final things – death, judgement, heaven and hell. As the story reminds us and as the readings also remind us, we will all die one day. This is a truth and how we face death matters. We can pretend it will never happen (and many choose this route) or we can acknowledge death, not in our own strength but rather by trusting in God. “The souls of the just are in the hand of God,” proclaims the Book of Wisdom. The “hope of immortality” has been given and this is what we hold on to. In the resurrection of Christ there is now a greater horizon beyond the grave – the person of faith sees this greater horizon and lives by this greater horizon even now.

There is and will be judgement. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, writes, “We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.” The invitation is given to newness of life in Christ. Judgement will be made on how much we haveaccepted this invitation and, through Christ, grown beyond sin. In Christ, it is always possible to move beyond sin. Don’t believe the lie. Forgiveness, healing and freedom are always possible in Jesus.

Heaven and the possibility of Hell are real. “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” I believe that one of the most beautiful liturgies that the Church has is the funeral Mass. In the funeral Mass we commend our loved one into the mercy of God. This is as far as we can go. Final judgement belongs to God alone.

Purgatory is a teaching of the Church. I recently heard someone refer to purgatory as the mudroom needed before we can enter into the full warmth and welcome of heaven. The focus of purgatory is not pain and punishment but purgation, being cleansed of sin, in preparation for full entrance into the Kingdom of God. The thought that we can help those in purgatory by our prayers is a testament to our deep faith in the resurrection of Christ. In the resurrection of Jesus, death has lost its power as the final and ultimate separation. In the power of the resurrection, our prayers can now assist even those who have died and who look toward the mercy of God.

Here is an interesting note – the Church has been given the authority to publicly proclaim that a certain person, known for his or her heroic faith and virtue, is in heaven. This is the canonization process where a saint is proclaimed. The Church has never in a public and teaching way proclaimed that any certain person is in Hell – that final separation from God. The Church has acknowledged that certain people have excommunicated themselves from the Church, removed themselves from the body of believers (ex-communio) by persisting in erroneous beliefs and practice but that is from the Church. Ultimate final judgement belongs to God alone. Sometimes the wisdom of the Church is demonstrated by what she does not or will not say just as much as by what she teaches and proclaims.

The four final things are real and how we live our life today, in awareness of those things, matters.

Faith – 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

09 Saturday Aug 2025

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In Michelangelo’s famous painting, “The Creation of Adam,” there is a small detail worth mentioning. When God, supported by angels in heaven, extends his index finger toward Adam, it is fully extended. Adam, formed from the earth, also reaches out, but his index finger is slightly bent at the last joint. There is a space between God’s finger and man’s finger. Through this small detail, the artist teaches us that God is always there, seeking us, wanting to have a relationship with us. We, humanity, must make the decision to seek God. Until we make that decision, our finger will remain slightly bent leaving empty space. The gap that is created is our doing.

Abraham is considered the father of faith. In this Sunday’s passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, we are told that “by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance… By faith he lived as a stranger in the promised land… By faith he received the power to be the father of many… because he considered the one who had made the promise to be faithful.” Abraham made the decision to trust God. Abraham decided to give himself completely to God because he believed that God was trustworthy.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites us to enter into the dynamic of faith. The invitation is given when he says: “Gird yourselves, light your lamps, and be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding, ready to open the door immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.” This vigilance is faith: it is believing that the master who promised to return is trustworthy.

Today’s readings show us two aspects of faith. The first is that faith is never a “once and done” thing. Faith is a constant decision for all of us. By faith, Abraham set out on his journey. By faith, Abraham sojourned. By faith, Abraham received the power to beget. By faith, Abraham was even willing to enter into the heartbreak of the sacrifice of his son, but God did not require that heartbreak of Abraham even as God accepted it for himself in the death of his son on the cross out of love for us. Faith is a constant decision for each of us.

The second dynamic is found in the strange scene where the master blesses the servants he finds watching for his return, seating them at the table and serving them himself. When we enter into a moment or encounter of faith, whether it is trusting that God is with us or reaching out to another person in charity, we will receive blessings. I am not referring here to the lie known as the “prosperity gospel.” I am not saying that if we have faith, we will win the lottery. When we choose to have faith, we receive true blessings that neither rust nor moth can destroy – friendship with God, true life, peace, and joy.

Jesus continually invites us to faith. The choice to believe and trust, to extend our finger, is ours to make.

Learn a lesson from the Redwood Tree – 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

03 Sunday Aug 2025

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I just returned from vacation where I visited three national parks: Redwood and Lassen Volcanic Parks in north California and Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.  The Redwood trees are the tallest trees on the planet and as you hike through groves of Redwoods or stand at the base of a tree, your eyes are continually pulled upwards.  The beauty of this park allows a visitor to witness this continual growth and striving towards the sky.  What is interesting to note about these trees that can reach around 350 ft in height though is that they actually have (in comparison to their height) a very shallow root system.  

The root system of a redwood tree is maybe around ten to thirteen feet deep.  This makes a redwood tree on its own very vulnerable to falling in high winds or heavy rains.  What keeps the trees secure in heavy storms though is how far the root system spreads horizontally (sixty to a hundred feet) and the fact that the root system of one tree intertwines with the roots of the other surrounding trees.  Through the intertwining of roots these gigantic trees actually support one another, and by doing so, they – together – withstand strong storms. 

Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, encourages us to “seek what is above, where Christ is seated…”.  The apostle wants us to strive upwards.  “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”  But the apostle also knows that in order to truly strive upwards we need to be attentive to our roots and make sure they are strong.  This is why he goes on to write, “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion and desire, and the greed that is idolatry.  Stop lying to one another…” 

It might seem paradoxical but Paul is inviting us to strengthen our “roots” – that which truly supports us – in order that we might authentically seek that which is above.  The earthly parts within us that Paul writes about: “immorality, impurity, passion, desire, greed, lying” lead to sins the end results of which are isolation.  These sins turn us in on ourselves and away from one another.  To go back to the analogy of the Redwood tree.  On our own, we are very vulnerable to being overcome by the storms of life but when our roots are strong and they intertwine with the roots of others then we find strength in the face of a storm.  Sins that isolate us, sins that turn us away from one another, sins that block true and authentic relationship must be put to death.  Only by doing so can we truly grow, only by doing so can we truly strive for that which is above.  We do not achieve the high reality of the Kingdom of God by ignoring our roots.  We achieve that which is above by strengthening our roots through connecting with one another authentically and honestly in faith and in true Christian community.  We have to let go of the sins that turn us in on ourselves. 

One of the greatest things that the Church gives our world today is “church”.  True and authentic Christian community grounds us, strengthens us and empowers us to strive for that which is above.  True Christian community is not groupthink nor is it merely another faction based on a particular worldly ideology or politic.  True Christian community is – to make use of an image our Lord gives us in today’s gospel – made up of limited persons with various viewpoints striving to be “rich in what matters to God”. 

We can learn a lesson from the Redwood tree.  Connected with one another, in Christ, we are made strong.  Put to death those sins that isolate in order to authentically live in relationship with others – by this we gain the momentum to withstand the storms of life and even to strive for that which is above.       

Easter: Living forward into forever

19 Saturday Apr 2025

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Fr. Greg Boyle is a Jesuit priest and the founder of Homeboy Industries – the largest gang intervention ministry in the world.  I recently listened to an interview with Fr. Boyle and in the course of the interview he offered a wonderful insight; “None of us are going to live forever,” he said, “but, in Christ, we are invited to live in the forever.” 

This truth – Jesus is risen! – is the heart of Easter.  The invitation given to us to live in the forever – in baptism we have died with Christ in the hope of rising with him – comes from the heart of Easter.  And this invitation has already begun in our lives.  We are already living in the resurrection today.  We are already invited by the risen Jesus to live now in the forever. 

We need to be clear on what is meant by “resurrection”.  In the resurrection, Jesus “does not come back to life, to his old life, like Lazarus, to die all over again sometime later.  No, in the resurrection, Jesus comes forward to life in a new world, to new life according to the Spirit” (The Mystery of Easter by Raniero Cantalamessa, p. 41). 

The resurrection moves forward – the tomb is emptied – we live into the forever now. 

When sin is forgiven, we live into the forever.  When resentment is let go of in order to understand, we live into the forever.  When friendship is chosen rather than prejudice, we live into the forever.  When we choose to learn the ways of peace and forget the ways of violence, we live into the forever.  When we reach out in care and charity rather than falling back into fear, we live forward into the forever.  When we choose that which is true and good over fleeting illusion, we live forward into the forever.  When we choose to build community rather than to succumb to division, we live forward into the forever.  When we cultivate hope rather than despair, we live forward into the forever. 

That first Easter morning; the women, Peter and John all saw that the tomb was emptied.  The reactions were amazement, wonder and belief.  The tomb is emptied and left behind because Jesus in the resurrection is living forward into the forever. 

Easter – throughout history – has been celebrated in all situations: war, social upheaval, economic uncertainty, pandemics, when the Church is in peace and when the Church is being persecuted.  Easter continues because Easter is not bound by the tombs of this world.  Easter is celebrated today and it will be celebrated next year and all the years after that. 

The tomb is emptied and left behind by Jesus.

Jesus is risen and now, in Christ, we also live forward into forever. 

Jesus is risen!  He is risen, indeed! 

Learning Righteousness this Holy Week

13 Sunday Apr 2025

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In Luke’s account of the passion, we are told – in our translation – that the centurion on witnessing the death of Jesus, glorifies God and says, “This man was innocent beyond doubt.”  A number of Scripture scholars argue that this is a poor translation of the original Greek.  The more accurate translation has the centurion saying, “This man was righteous beyond doubt.”  Why is this important?  A person can be innocent of a particular crime but not innocent in other aspects of life.  “Righteousness” on the other hand implies that the whole of one’s life has been actively lived in right relationship with God. 

This righteousness is witnessed in the very last words that Jesus proclaims before his death – “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”  In Hebrew tradition, it is held that these are the words a righteous person should say right before death.  “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”  Living in right relationship with God, even to the very moment of handing one’s spirit over to God in faith and trust. 

Finally, the righteousness of Christ is witnessed by the crowd of people themselves.   Luke tells us that the people went home “beating their breasts”.  This is not the chest thump of triumph.  “Beating one’s breast” is the sign of repentance.  No longer lost in the spectacle, no longer caught up in the madness of violence, the people recognize what has truly happened – a righteous man has been unjustly murdered before their eyes.  They return home repentant of the tragedy that just occurred and their part in it. 

Jesus is the righteous one, the one who obeyed his Father’s will, the one who lived his whole life in right relationship with the Father.  As we prepare to enter into Holy Week, it is worthwhile reflecting on the true righteousness of Jesus and, through that reflection, learning what it truly means to be righteous before God. 

Here are some words from our tradition to aid us in this reflection.  The words are from a contemporary translation written by David Fleming, S.J. of the “Principle  and Foundation”.  Reflecting on the great love of God and how that love is revealed to us every day, the prayer says,

In everyday life then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some responsibility.  We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one.  For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a more loving response to our life forever with God.  Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening life in me.

Jesus is the Righteous One – the centurion, the crowd and the Hebrew tradition witness it.  As we walk these days of Holy Week, it is worthwhile to pray and ask, “Jesus, help me to be righteous.  Teach me how to live in right relationship with God.”   

Messiah and Servant of God – the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

12 Sunday Jan 2025

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If you feel that this has been a short Christmas season you are not wrong.  Sometimes the calendar affords another Sunday during the days of Christmas but not this year.  The season ends with today’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord but even during the days between the Feast of the Epiphany and today’s feast, the Church (reflected in the weekday Mass readings) begins to turn its gaze away from the manger scene and the wonder of the incarnation and towards the adult Jesus as he begins his public ministry.  Today, we gaze upon Jesus who accepts his mission from the Father.

In his book, “The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus” Cardinal Raneiro Cantalamessa notes that something unique was accomplished in the very life of Jesus on that day by the Jordan river.    Cantalamessa points out that it is at this point in his “growth in wisdom and grace” that his mission becomes apparent to Jesus in “clear and concrete terms”. Jesus is to be the Servant of God.

In the reading from Isaiah (Is. 42:1-4, 6-7) we hear it said, “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit…”  In today’s gospel, the voice of the Father is heard saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  In the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father, Jesus – who is both the eternal Word made Flesh and fully human – is able to say “yes” to his mission from the Father.  Jesus was to assume the role of the Servant of Yahweh. 

In the time of Jesus there was (as we heard in the gospel) a growing expectation of the coming of the Christ, the Messiah – often spoken and thought of in earthly terms of power and authority.  But also in the thought of Israel (reflected in Isaiah and the other prophets) there began to emerge the image of the “servant of Yahweh” who would accomplish God’s will by suffering, by self-abasement, by being held in contempt, by sacrifice. 

Cantalamessa writes, “It is at this moment (that day on the banks of the Jordan river), therefore, insofar as it is given for us to know, that the fusion occurs in Jesus’ consciousness – in his human consciousness – of the two figures of the Messiah and the Servant of God…”  Jesus is Messiah but he will fulfill his mission as Messiah by being the Servant of God. 

During the days of Christmas, we have been invited to gaze upon the infant Christ and reflect upon the wonder of the incarnation.  On today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord we are invited to gaze upon Jesus who begins his mission by being anointed with the Holy Spirit and hearing the voice of the Father.  The most fundamental response any of us can make to Christ is to gaze upon him. 

I will end by offering two images of Jesus for us to gaze upon.  Jesus who is Messiah and Servant of God.  The first image is from the beginning of Jesus’ mission – though sinless, Jesus is willing to be in the very midst of sinners who are seeking John’s baptism of repentance.  The second image is from the end of Jesus’ ministry when he fulfills his mission in obedience to the will of the Father – though sinless, Jesus is willing to be sacrificed on the cross for us with a sinner on his left and a sinner on his right. 

Jesus alone is Messiah and he fulfills his mission as Messiah through his willingness to be the Servant of God. 

Epiphany – the invitation to love

05 Sunday Jan 2025

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Scholars suggest that the Magi mentioned in today’s gospel (Mt. 2:1-12) probably journeyed from the area around Babylon.  If that were the case, the Magi who came to give homage to the newborn king of the Jews travelled around 900 miles.  The distance from Jerusalem to Bethlehem is around 7 miles yet Herod, the chief priests and the scribes – even when being able to point to the prophecy in Scripture – could not bring themselves to leave the comfort of the court in order to also give homage.  Why the difference between the Magi willing to travel over 900 miles and the local authorities not willing to travel 7 miles?

The difference is love.  Even before seeing the newborn king, the Magi were caught up in love of the newborn king.  This was more than a journey to prove some abstract theory of star alignment.  The abstract does not give the resolve needed to endure the hardship of a 900-mile journey.  Only love gives such resolve.  Unlike Herod and his officials imprisoned in their fear and complacency, the Magi were caught up in the love of a God that they could not see but would soon behold in the smallness of a manger. 

Epiphany gives each of us the same invitation to come and adore Jesus.  Epiphany invites us to love Jesus.  In his book, “Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God” Cardinal Cantalamessa asks the fundamental question, “Why should we love Jesus?” and in response he offers six reasons.  Each worthy of note. 

The first reason, Jesus has asked us to.  At the end of John’s gospel, the risen Lord asks Peter the same question three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  It will be the same question asked of each of us when we each stand before Jesus and it will not be enough to say, “Lord, I belonged to the church.  I went to Mass.”  No, the question will be direct and focused there will not be others.  Jesus will look at each of us and ask, “Do you love me?”  We will be judged on this love.  Jesus asks us to love him, pure and simple. 

The second reason is that Jesus has loved us first.  This truth needs to sink into every aspect of our lives and every corner of our heart.  We are loved infinitely by Jesus.  It is that love of Christ that impels us. 

Third, we ought to love Jesus because he deserves to be loved and is loveable in himself.  Everything that is good, everything that is true, everything that is beautiful is fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.  Within our very being has been planted, by God himself, the yearning to love and know the good.  This is Jesus and he alone answers this deepest yearning of the human heart. 

We ought to love Jesus because only those who love him can know him.  Everyone – believer, atheist, non-believer, non-Christian, secular agnostic – seems to have an opinion about Jesus and many are quite sure in their opinion but opinion does not equal knowing.  Only when we love Jesus do we begin to know Jesus.  Love and true knowledge demand this risk.  Opinions are just puffs of wind. 

Fifth, we ought to love Jesus because everyone who loves him is loved by the Father.  Jesus says this again and again throughout the gospels.  We need to take him at his word. 

Finally, we ought to love Jesus because only by loving him (continually striving to live in relationship with him) is it possible to live his words and put his commandments into practice.  Are we finding the living of the faith difficult?  Before we beat ourselves up for a perceived lack of will and determination on our part, it would be more beneficial to ask, “Am I talking to Jesus?  Am I praying?  Am I welcoming Jesus into my life?”  The Christian life has never been meant to be a solo mission.  We know the Kingdom by walking with Jesus and welcoming Jesus to walk with us. 

The difference between the Magi and the officials is love.  Epiphany invites us to love Jesus, to adore like the Magi and in that adoration, Epiphany gifts us with the ability to persevere – just like the Magi – in the journey of our lives. 

Christmas and the Creche

24 Tuesday Dec 2024

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A few years ago, Pope Francis wrote an Apostolic Letter on the Creche, the tradition of displaying the manger scene during the days of Christmas.  The Holy Father praised this beautiful custom and he encouraged all Christians to reflect on the manger scene because the creche and all of its figures and symbols have something to teach us about the wonder of the incarnation as well as the life of faith.  There is healing grace and instruction to be found in the manger scene. 

The simplicity and humility of the scene itself instructs.  God chose to enter into his creation in a simple and unassuming way.  God comes as a newborn infant in a scene marked more by poverty and simplicity than by power and comfort.  God so often prefers to come to us in such simple ways, so simple that we often do not even recognize it or might even take it for granted.  The beauty of a particular day, an act of kindness or honest human care and companionship, the simplicity of bread and wine that truly becomes the body and blood or our Lord.  Contemplating on the manger scenes helps to attune our hearts to how God enters our lives. 

Sometimes the manger is set amidst ruins.  There was an ancient story of a pagan Temple of Peace in Rome.  It was prophesied that the temple would collapse when a virgin gave birth.  On the night of the incarnation, the temple in Rome crumbled.  The “peace” that the temple proclaimed was not the peace of God’s Kingdom but rather the peace of the Roman empire – a “peace” built on conquest and oppression.  The birth of the true Prince of Peace continually overcomes this false peace built by all the Caesars throughout history. 

The shepherds in the field were the first to hear the good news of the birth of Christ.  They are the lowly ones of society – the poor and the forgotten by the world but not by God whose heart overflows in mercy.  On the Feast of the Epiphany, the three magi arrive to adore the newborn king, their journeys were long and often our journeys to Christ and the journeys of those we love are long and laborious.  The magi teach us the value of perseverance and hope. 

Mary and Joseph – their faces are turned in adoration of the Christ child but their hands always welcome each of us to also adore and behold in wonder.  They even invite us to cradle the newborn infant in our own arms.  At the heart of the whole scene is the newborn Jesus.  It is only when the baby is placed in the manger that the whole scene comes alive.  The apostle John reminds us that in Jesus, “life was made manifest,” (1 Jn. 1:2).  Beneath his weakness and frailty, is the power to transform and make all things new.  He is the word made flesh. 

I want to share three images from the creche that have spoken to me this Christmas.  The first is straw.  Being “laid in a manger” implies being among the animals of the field which implies straw and hay.  There is a Ukranian custom of putting straw on the floor of one’s house and hay under the dining room table cloth on Christmas in order to draw us into the scene itself.  The manger is the feeding trough, this newborn child is to be nourishment (the bread of life) for the whole world.  Blessed are we if we learn to receive this bread. 

The second image are the swaddling clothes – the tight bands put around newborn infants.  Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes at the beginning of his life with us and he is wrapped in burial cloth at the end of his life with us, his mission completed.  At the heart of each moment is God’s never-ending love.  Love born into the midst of our sin and error and love willing to take on the weight of our sin and die that we might have life. 

The final image is the quiet and darkness of the night itself.  Sometimes the darkness of night can be a fearful thing but I do not think so for this night.  A clear night opens us to the wonder of the stars and vastness of all creation.  A quiet night also brings peace to our souls.  The nativity was in a rural setting.  It was not in the noise of a city’s night but rather in the quiet and peace of the countryside marked only by the occasional sound of the field animals.  There is a peace that can only be gained when we welcome Jesus into our lives, when we make of our hearts a manger for the Christ child. 

May we learn the wonder of the creche.  May we welcome the Christ child this Christmas. 

Peace.