Holding The Baby Jesus

Shortly after his ordination, a young priest got the assignment he had been dreading - teaching at a Catholic high school in the inner city. This school had a reputation for being very tough and he knew he would have his hands full.

From the first day of school, the young priest discovered that the school’s reputation for being tough was well deserved. The students were all underprivileged, inner city youth who were hardened by the reality of life on the streets. They frequently misbehaved and acted disrespectfully to the teachers. It was almost impossible to get through an entire class without one of the students causing a disruption.

There was one student in particular who really gave the young priest a hard time. During religion class, he would ridicule the Catholic faith and call into question whatever the young priest said. He would often interrupt the lesson blurting out, “It’s the 21st century. You can’t expect anyone to believe that!” The young priest tried hard not to hold a grudge against the student and prayed that his heart would become open to God’s love for him.

Just before the students left for their Christmas break, the young priest decided to end the class with a prayer service. Drawing their attention to the manger scene with the baby Jesus, he asked them all to go up to the statue, one by one, to offer a silent prayer. Once they had done that, they could leave the classroom for the day.

The young priest was amazed. It was the first time the students ever sat silently for more than ten minutes without anyone causing a disruption.

One by one, the students stepped up to the manger scene and bowed their heads in prayer. Finally, the only people left in the room were the priest and the student who had given him the most trouble. The young priest thought the student would just get up and leave without going up to the manger scene. However, he walked up to it and,  weeping softly,  bent over to kiss the baby Jesus.

This story speaks powerfully of how the baby Jesus can reach out to and touch even the hardest of hearts. Who does not love a baby? Can a heart be so hardened that it cannot be touched by the sight of a helpless, innocent infant?

On this Christmas Day, we celebrate God made man in Jesus Christ. He came among us as a baby so that we would not be intimidated by Him. He came among us in the humblest and most vulnerable way possible so that we would know how much He loves us and how much He desires that we love Him in return.

Like those students, let us look at the manger scene. Let us look upon the God who became a baby for us. Let us rejoice in the God who loves us so much that He sent His Son not only to be born for us but, ultimately, to give His life on the cross. Let us bring to Him our joys and our sorrows, our good works and our sins, our victories and our heartbreak. Because He is a man like us, He understands them all. Let us take this baby up in our arms and hold Him close to our heart. All He wants is to be loved.

Our hearts may not be as hardened as were the hearts of the students the young priest had to deal with. However, we all are carrying secret burdens. We have been treated unfairly and have been overlooked. We have been made fun of and made to feel that we are not important. There are times when we may have felt that we were left out. Or we might be carrying a crushing burden of guilt and shame over bad decisions we have made. We may have come to believe that we are no good and can never have a relationship with God.

It was precisely for the brokenhearted that God sent His Son into the world as a child. It was precisely for sinners that Jesus came. As Saint John tells us, He came as light to lead us out of darkness. God so desperately wants to reach us that He took the extreme measure of becoming a baby so that we could know just how much He loves us.

That is why we rejoice this day. We are not only commemorating the birth of the baby Jesus two thousand years ago. Rather, we celebrate His continued presence among us. Saint John tells us in today’s gospel that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” In other words, God moved into our neighborhood. He became our neighbor. So great is His desire to be our friend that He moved next door so that we could get to know Him. 

He continues to be present and active among us. We find Him in those who need our love. He continues to speak to us in His word, the Bible. His Body and Blood are given to us at every Mass. We can still encounter Jesus. Just as on that first Christmas Day, He wants nothing more than that we accept Him into our hearts and love Him.

We hear God’s promise spoken to us in today’s gospel: “To those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.” God not only wants to be our friend, He wants to be Our Father. He wants us to be His children. So great is the intimacy He wants with us.

This can be the Christmas that changes us forever. All we need to do is embrace the baby born for us this day and welcome Him into our hearts. Then our lives will never be the same.