A Child Is Born For Us Today

There is nothing like having a baby in the family, especially during the holidays. Family gatherings are that much more enjoyable when there is a baby in the house. We take so much joy in cuddling with the little ones, in seeing their smiles and hearing their laughter. Babies have a way of lighting up the whole room with delight. For many of you, this will be the first Christmas you share with your own newborn or with a grandchild. These days will be unforgettable for you because of it.

The joy of this Christmas night centers around the birth of a child - Jesus Christ. This baby brought joy not only to one family but to the whole world. For over two thousand years, Christians have celebrated His birth. Today, all over the world, Christians are gathered just as we are to hear the story of how He came to be born in Bethlehem in a modest stable. He comes into the world just as all of us did - naked and helpless. But He is unlike any other child who has ever been born because He is God made man.  And so, throughout history, this has been an unforgettable day, a day of great celebration and joy. The eternal and all-mighty God is made man in the baby born in Bethlehem. God is now truly with us.

Some babies are expected and planned for. When the mother becomes pregnant, it is no surprise and is met with great joy.

Just so, the birth of Jesus was expected. His coming had been foretold in prophecy throughout the Old Testament. In today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah we read, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us….” In another place, Isaiah prophecies, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which means “God with us” (Is 7:14). The prophet Micah wrote: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2). From ancient times, the people of Israel had been expecting the birth of their Messiah. Jesus’ birth was expected and planned for from the beginning of time for the salvation of the world.

Some babies, however, are unexpected. When the mother becomes pregnant, it is met with surprise and sometimes even shock.

Just so, in some ways, the birth of Jesus was also unexpected. Who would have expected a woman as humble and unassuming as Mary to be the mother of the great King of Israel? Who would have thought that the Savior of the World would be so poor that He had to be born in a stable? And who could have expected that the Messiah would be God made man? For all the prophecies foretelling His birth, no one could have expected just how generous God was. No one could have expected that it was the Son of God Himself who would be born of a virgin.

With the birth of Jesus Christ, God reveals a profound truth. He wants to live among us. He wants us to know Him and love Him. He wants to truly be “God with us” - not a God who is off somewhere in the distance looking down at us from beyond the clouds. In the baby born in Bethlehem, God stoops down to relate to us on our level and to enter into relationship with us.

Two-thousand years since His birth, Jesus is still here among us. There are places we can still expect to find Him. Through the mystery of the Blessed Sacrament, He is present in every tabernacle in every Catholic Church throughout the world. Whenever we go to Mass, we can expect to hear Him speak to us through the Scriptures. When we go to confession, we can expect to have our sins forgiven by Him. In prayer in the silence of our homes, we can have confidence that He is with us and that He hears us. These are all ways that Jesus Christ - the love of God made visible - continues to be “God with us”.

However, there are also many unexpected ways that we meet Jesus. We might find Him in our own suffering or anguish giving us strength to endure and the grace to find meaning in it all. We might find Him in the suffering of others as we reach out to comfort them. He might confront us in the poor who reach out to us for food or money. God is always seeking us out because He loves us and wants to befriend us.

Christmas is a time for us to reflect on all the ways God reaches out to us - both the expected and unexpected ways. The more we open our hearts to Him in the expected ways - through reading the Bible, attending Mass, going to confession and prayer - the more we will recognize Him when he comes to us in unexpected ways.

“I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” Let us rejoice in this day, then, brothers and sisters because God has come among us as a baby who wants nothing more than to be loved by us. To welcome Him, however, we need to make some changes. To recognize Him when He reaches out to us through others, we must rid our hearts of all selfishness. Then this will be a day of lasting joy that will give us strength “as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.”