“When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.  All who heard it were amazed at what had been told them by the shepherds.” (Luke 2: 17-18)

God chose shepherds, one of the humblest of occupations, to be the news media to spread the word of Jesus’ birth.  They were told by an angel that a Savior, the long awaited Messiah, had been born. They were told where they could find him and how they would recognize him — in Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in an animal’s feeding trough. 

We can only imagine the reaction of Mary and Joseph to having some shepherds, complete strangers, visit them and share a story that confirmed what they, too, had been told by an angel – that the son born to Mary was the son of God, Savior, and Messiah. 

The news of a savior of the world being born is of course pretty amazing stuff.  The good news the Shepherds first proclaimed 2000 years ago is just as important to the world today as it was then.   

A savior has been born!  The creator has become one of his created!  God has become one of us through the cooperation of an unknown teenage girl in a remote area of the world under the most humbling of circumstances.  The anointed one has come and is present to reconcile God and humankind, and humankind with one another.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, this savior offers to dwell in us, to be present to us and enable us to be and bring his presence to the people and circumstances in our lives.   

Like the shepherds, we may consider ourselves unlikely heralds that Jesus is still present in the world today.  He is present to all who accept his offer to dwell in them.

Are we spreading the word about Jesus in what we have seen, heard, and experienced so that all who hear are amazed? 

A cabinet maker does not become a cabinet, a cobbler does not become a shoe, but God, the creator of all that exists, became one of us. Little wonder that history’s calendar is measured in terms of before and after this event.

After hearing the Christmas story over and over, year after year, its meaning and impact may fade against the backdrop of today’s culture. Yet if we think about it, God’s willingness to become one of us is the greatest act of humility and love in all of history.

Here we have God, the Father, creator of all that exists, creator of the millions of galaxies and the billions of stars whose distances are measured in light years. Here we have God who created the atom and molecule whose size is measured in nanometers (one billionth of a meter). This God, who created the human person with a body, soul, and mind, different from all other creatures, became one of his created to show us how to live and to free each of us from our sins and the world from its bondage to sin – to reconcile us to him and one another. 

Father William Barry, in his book, A Friendship Like No Other, says, “God took humanity seriously enough to become one of us, and we do God no service if we downplay what God has done in becoming human.”

It seems like it is easier for us to view Jesus in his divinity than to accept fully his humanity. But God in Jesus was a real human person, born of Mary, in the humblest of circumstances. He had to be toilet trained, learn a language, and be raised from childhood to an adult just like all of us. We can be sure that Jesus’ humanity felt the sting of the whip and piercing pain of the nails at his crucifixion. God is no stranger to suffering. God knows what human life is like from the inside. His desire for friendship with us knows no bounds.

Genesis tells us we were created in the image of God, but from the very beginning we have failed to live up to that expectation. God chose to show us how to be his image by becoming one of us. Just as Mary conceived and brought forth Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, so may we through the power of the same Holy Spirit, bring forth the presence of Jesus in our words, actions and thoughts to the people and circumstances of our lives.

A blessed Christmas to all!

“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7) How ironic!  Jesus experienced rejection even before he was born. There was no room for Jesus in the inn, so Mary and Joseph settled for a cave used as a stable for animals. 

While this may have served God’s purpose in taking on our humanity in the humblest of settings, you have to wonder what the innkeeper might have done had he known who Mary and Joseph were and what was about to happen.

We should not be too harsh in judging the innkeeper, for how often have we failed to make room for Jesus in our lives?  There have been times when I made more room for my career than I did for Jesus.  There have been other times, when I did not recognize Jesus in a colleague looking for someone to talk with or a street person looking for help.    

When I worked in New York I would sometimes attend daily mass at St. Matthews Catholic Church just a half block east of Grand Central station.  Since my train arrived about the same time mass started, I was always rushing to get there by the first reading.  One day as I was rushing into the church, a man on the church steps asked me to help him, but because I was so programed to hurry into the church, I rushed right by him. 

As I sat down I thought to myself, “What did I just do?”  Someone was asking for help, and I blew right by him in my haste to get into the church.  I was just like the innkeeper.  I had no room or time for this guy.  When I went back outside he was leaning over the front bumper of a car, vomiting.  I asked if he wanted some breakfast, and we went into a little diner next to the church. 

His name was Richard.  He had been a trumpet player for a band, got fired, started drinking, got rolled, and lost everything.  After connecting him up with the Salvation Army, I saw him a week later.  He was all cleaned up with new clothes and had a suitcase.  He said he was going home to Hartford, Connecticut.   

A couple of days later, there he was again, all beat up, his clothes torn, looking awful.  I asked, “Richard, what happened?”  He just looked at me with hollow eyes and shook his head.  I told him that I was going to buy him a train ticket to Hartford and asked him to meet me at 43^rd and Lexington.  I bought him the ticket, went to 43^rd and Lexington, but Richard never showed up and I never saw him again. 

God never ceases to give us opportunities to make room for him through his son, Jesus.  He is always inviting us to open the door of our hearts to love, to forgive, to serve — to build his Kingdom in the daily circumstances of our lives. 

Are you making room for Jesus today in how you relate to people?

“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”  (Luke 1:45)

These are the words of Elizabeth to Mary upon her arrival at Elizabeth’s house.  We might wonder how Elizabeth knew to commend Mary for her decision to accept Gabriel’s message before Mary told her.  The Gospel of Luke says that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit at Mary’s greeting.  By the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth commended Mary for believing what she was told.

Elizabeth was also aware that her husband, in contrast to Mary, was rendered mute when he questioned the angel’s message that Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist in her advanced age.

So, here we have the Holy Spirit in Mary giving rise to the Holy Spirit in Elizabeth, and the Holy Spirit in Elizabeth commending Mary for her faithful acceptance of God’s will to give birth to Jesus.      

Surely, Mary’s statement to the angel Gabriel, “May it be done to me according to your word,” has provided the example of true and humble faith in accepting God’s will for every generation since Jesus’ birth. 

Seeking and fulfilling God’s will should be a primary objective for all of us in our walk of faith. This can involve significant life decisions such as our vocation, where we go to school, what our occupation will be, who we will marry, how we will raise our children, where we will live, to daily choices such as how we relate to others, share our faith, and pray.

One area in which I have tried to follow God’s will is listening to his prompting to pray with someone when they share a health issue or other significant challenge.  I will offer to say a prayer with them for Jesus to act on whatever their need may be.  Sometimes I pray in an email or text response.  I have never received a negative reaction.    

Are you asking God what he wants you to do with a significant decision or a daily choice? 

“He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.” (Luke 1:15)

These were the words of the angel Gabriel to Zachariah about the son that was to be born to his wife Elizabeth, whom we know as John the Baptist.  

What is significant about this is that God had not been speaking much to the people of Israel, nor pouring out his Holy Spirit for several centuries before Christ.  Malachi, the last prophet appearing in the Old Testament, composed his work before 445 B.C.  The Book of Daniel was written in the period of 167 to 164 B.C. 

But now Gabriel is telling Zachariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son in their “old age” and that the son would immediately be filled with the Holy Spirit.  After a long absence, God would be anointing John the Baptist at his conception.  God would “go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17)

With the power of the Holy Spirit, John would prepare the people of Israel for God’s son, Jesus.

As we begin this season of Advent and Christmas, perhaps we could reflect on how privileged we are to be able to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in baptism at an early age, just like John — the same Holy Spirit that gave him the power to bring the people of Israel to repentance, the same Holy Spirit that enabled Peter to bring three thousand to repentance on the day of Pentecost, and the same Holy Spirit that enabled the apostles, Paul and all of the early Christians to spread the faith against unbelievable odds and persecution.

If you are not currently experiencing the Holy Spirit in this way, ask the Lord to renew the Holy Spirit that is within you through your baptism.  Ask Jesus to ignite the spark that never goes out, but is waiting to be fanned into a flame to live for God and to do his work.  As Gabriel said to Mary, “nothing is impossible for God.”  (Luke 1:37)

Many years ago, I was invited by a priest to ask Jesus to take my sins, accept his forgiveness, and renew the Holy Spirit’s presence in me.  Jesus did, and my life was forever changed. 

Do you experience the Holy Spirit like John the Baptist, the apostles, and many Christians today?  If not, ask Jesus to fan into a flame the Holy Spirit that is in you through your baptism.