Both in its theological depth and poetic prose, Preface I of Advent expresses beautifully the meaning of Christmas.
“It is truly right and just, our duty and salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord.
“For He assumed at His first coming the lowliness of human flesh, and so fulfilled the design you formed long ago, and opened for us the way to eternal salvation, that, when He comes again in glory and majesty and all is at last made manifest, we who watch for that day may inherit the great promise in which now we dare to hope.
And so, with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the hosts and Powers of Heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory, as without end we acclaim God’s promise.”
Right after the original shockwaves of Original Sin, when both sin and death entered the human race for the first time, God utters an astonishing promise to the serpent, that He will put enmity between the woman and her offspring and the Evil One and his offspring, and her son will crush the serpent’s head in an absolute way. Of course, we know that the Woman is Mary and her Son is Jesus Christ.
From the tragic beginnings of man’s fall from grace, God had a plan to rescue us, to break the ancient curse of sin and death, to forgive us, and restore our original dignity as His beloved children in the glory of His reign.
In the fullness of time, the Father fulfills His promise to the serpent by sending Gabriel to announce the divine invitation to her to become the Mother of God.
She becomes the key instrument to the success of God’s plan.
She immediately hurries to share the secret and to rejoice with her cousin Elizabeth, who herself is pregnant with John the Baptist.
An angel appears to Joseph and he offers his cooperation with the plan.
When Jesus is born, the angels only appear to the shepherds, who rejoice in the birth of Christ, but also go off to share the Good News with those they meet.
Later, the Magi, the secret visitors from the East, follow the star and adore the Christ child.
We see clearly here in the Gospel narrative how the presence, identity, and mission of Jesus gradually become known and manifest, all through Jesus’ Baptism, public ministry, Passion, death, and Resurrection.
Then, in the fire of Pentecost, the newly-born Church is sent to proclaim this plan of salvation, now accomplished, to the entire world!
We have a role like Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Magi, in the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation.
Our lives of missionary discipleship, prayer, service, and holiness become the instruments which the Lord uses to accomplish the redemption and forgiveness of humanity.
At Christmas, as we contemplate the wonder of the ageless story of God’s love for us, we perceive how quietly and humbly the Lord enters in. Ponder the manger scene, where the Lord of the universe, the King of Kings, is laid in an animal feed trough, surrounded by farm animals and burly shepherds.
No palace, no wealth, no blare of trumpets for God’s entrance into human history.
Only silence, poverty, and humility.
Meditate on the Passion and death of Christ.
The Son of God, is stripped and tortured, murdered as a criminal and blasphemer.
The sinless Lord accepts all of this suffering for our sake, in silence, surrender, and love.
We follow a Master who is humbler and simpler than we are, who took upon Himself all of humanity’s evil, hatred, and hubris, in order to rescue us and to fulfill the plan formed long ago by the Father in the Garden of Eden.
Immerse yourself in contemplation before the wonder of the Most Holy Eucharist.
Just as at Christmas and Good Friday, how silently, humbly, and simply the Lord comes to us in the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament.
His love for us is so great that He, whom the entire universe cannot contain, assumes the outward sign of bread and wine in order to enter into us and to make His home with us.
Love beyond all telling!
How humble, simple, and poor we must become in order to grasp the depth and height of God’s love and mercy, to begin to understand and appreciate the fulfillment of the plan formed long ago.
As we make our pilgrim way to the Father’s house, in this suffering and broken world, may we know the light of Christ burning within, and share that luminous joy with those who await a word of hope, a ray of light, a hint of joy, a dawning of understanding, the great and wondrous plan which the Lord has so graciously given in Christ.
Merry Christmas!
May you know the Lord’s love in humble, simple, and silent ways in this holy season.