Christmas Eve I 2009

Let us go now even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which

Is come to pass; which the Lord hath made known unto us.

On this Christmas night St. Luke the Evangelist invites you and me to journey even unto Bethlehem to see a mighty thing which has come to pass. And he alone of the Evangelists records the visitation of the shepherds to the manger in Bethlehem. And so we shall travel with the shepherds to the ancient city of David on this night. The questions which we ask ourselves are these. Who are we who travel to behold this thing which has come to pass? What moves and draws us to this spectacular vision of new life? What shall we derive from it, or what of it shall feed our weary souls as we wend our way on spiritual pilgrimage to the kingdom?

How fitting it is for us to read this Gospel record at the first Mass of Christmas. For the story of the Shepherds’ passage from one place to another forms a perfect image of who and what we must be like as human beings who will encounter this thing which is come to pass. Who are we who travel with these shepherds? I hope that we find ourselves as kindred spirits and in good company. For the shepherds reveal to us that spiritual disposition which comes about as a response to the “ringing depth and profound energy” that is in the air tonight. In their confusion and uncertainty, and with their wonder and amazement we shall behold the most decisive event know to history, an event for them then and for us now, which shall be to all people. For on this night Heaven touches earth, and earth embraces heaven is that knot of love glowing from the heart of the baby Jesus.

But first, on this night, with the Shepherds you and I find ourselves beginning in the darkness. With the Shepherds we are not truly knowing what should come to pass. The air is filled with uncertainty, and perhaps a feeling of immanent change and disruption. In the darkness of this night all is quiet and still. We join these shepherds and take in the simple life. The Shepherds tend to their sheep, and they are nomads. They are not really at home in this world. And neither should we be. The Shepherds’ lives are unencumbered with earthly riches and treasures. They are poor. And let us be poor, poor in spirit, worth very little and having small value in the eyes of the world, on this night.

If we remain and follow these shepherds, we shall find that suddenly the natural order of the universe is dramatically interrupted. “Lo the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.” As Hans Von Balthasar writes, “Tremendous, unearthly radiance shows that the angel is a messenger of Heaven and clothes him with incontrovertible authority.” They are afraid then. We are afraid now. Blasting through the veil of time, disturbing the stillness of this dark night, the Angel of Eternity arrives with all the terror of God’s presence. They are assaulted, as it were, by that supernatural energy which most men spend their lives avoiding and ignoring. The Shepherds are astounded by what comes to them in the external world. We are amazed at what moves us in the inner world. With the Shepherds, you and I must ask ourselves who we are in the face of this divine interruption. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A healthy trepidation emerges from our hearts as we tremble with them and are stirred to greet the good tidings of great joy.

We are humbled and brought low, with the only disposition fitted to move us to humble and worshipful adoration. “Fear not”, the Angel says, “for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto to you is born this day in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”.  A Saviour is born for the shepherds then. He is born for us now. A birth has come to pass which brings great joy, gaudium magnum. Fear is overcome by joy. The Angel continues, “And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger”. They are bidden to walk by the light of the Angel’s revelation to the newly born babe. They and we are called this night to move away from all of our fears, our anxieties, our doubts, our confusions, away also from the idols that possess us, to the point where Eternity meets time. Heaven touches earth. Earth embraces heaven. The whole of creation is realigned to suit the Father’s desire for man. A celestial beacon, a star, shall guide us to that place where God meets man in the heart of the babe lying in a manger.

Celestial brightness blends with Divine music as the Angels ring out glad tidings of great joy. “And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.” The Angel is joined by others who cry out and sing heavenly music to God’s glory and praise. This call is for us. The Saviour is for us. We are humbled and yet honored. Heaven stoops down to earth. Down from the heights of God’s eternal light and love, the Word descends to find its home in a baby’s heart, The Divine humbles himself also to be born in a mean and lowly manger. “Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths, and dwellest between the cherubim”. Blessed is he, and blessed shall we be as we behold this Saviour who shall be for all people. Divine life begins its journey to and for us in the weakest and most vulnerable stage of human life. The Word of God, through whom all things were made and are preserved, commences our salvation in a babe who has no words. Our human nature is honored, it is blessed, it is chosen with the shepherds to go even unto Bethlehem. We are moved in humility; we are moved by joy.

“Let us go even unto Bethlehem.” The Babe is born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem means in Greek “the house of substance” and in Hebrew “the house of meat.” We have traveled to encounter a substantial thing that has come to pass, and with the shepherds, to feast with the eyes of our souls on the wondrous birth of the Saviour. We have been called from our roaming, our lost state, our exile and back on to the path that leads to new and true life. The Angels from on high direct our gaze to the Word coming down. The shepherds, our guides, show us a babe be lifted up. The two meet in one, in the heart of this infant. We approach this event with greater silence. The Angels have sung and the shepherds have led, and we look with humble wonderment at “this frail child in a crib,” and we reflect on the Word who is with him and in him. There are no words to describe this baby. And we are astounded and wonder what should come to pass.

Welcome to our wondering sight,

Eternity shut in a span!

Summer in winter! Day in night!

Heaven in earth! And God in man!

Great little one, whose glorious birth,

Lifts earth to Heaven, stoops Heaven to earth.

Richard Crashaw

God has begun his journey to heal us and save us, conceived in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. He is born this night in a manger, and thus will heal human nature at every stage of its progress and growth. Our eyes behold the beginning of our redemption. We feast, with wonder, on the miracle of life, taken on by God, to bring us back to himself. The Word from all eternity will be spoken in the life of Jesus Christ. He is our “great joy which shall be to all people”. God’s will made flesh, his love made flesh, his desire for us made flesh. In his flesh from the moment of this birth to his death and resurrection he will be God’s grace made flesh that bringeth salvation to all men. God has given us his Word in the flesh that we might look “for that blessed hope , and the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.” The rich Word of God has surrendered himself to be born into poverty that he might surrender himself to be lifted up from death into glory, that all men might be saved. He comes to us this night, to be born. Where? In the ground of our souls. His journey of life is our journey of life. Earth is lifted to heaven in him, and heaven stoops down to earth. We are lifted to heaven this night, and heaven stoops to us, that he may be born in our hearts and our souls. We feed this night on his new birth. We embrace this night His birth in our souls. In silence and wonder, we die this night, that new life may be begotten in our hearts and souls, and that our salvation may be nearer than when we first believed. Amen.

© W. J. Martin†