Dr. Fr.
Davis George
The
first Christmas night was a night of miracles. Many things happened. Centuries
of longing, expectation and prophesies regarding the birth of a Messiah – all
came true that night. Probably, not the way people expected. How could the saviour of the world be born in
a manger?But from then on the world is
never the same again. That is the mystery and wonder of incarnation- God
becoming man that we may become like him.
The miracle of the "Incarnation," the
Miracle of "Emmanuel," the miracle of "God with us?" "Cur
Deus Homo?" Anselm asks, "Why would God become man?" That
God would become one of us seems beyond all hope. Why would God do such a
thing? Why would the Eternal Son, "...not count equality with God a
thing to be grasped, but empty himself, taking the form of a servant, and be
born in the likeness of men...." (Philippians 2).
It is through the process of kenosis,
self-emptying, that God could become man.
A great philosopher once tried to explain that
mystery by telling a story even a child could grasp. It is said that once upon
a time there was a man who did not believe in the miracle of
"Emmanuel," "God with us." So, every Christmas Eve, while
he stayed home alone, sat by the fire, smoked his pipe, and congratulated
himself that he was too sophisticated to be taken in by tales about God
becoming a man, he packed up his family and sent them off to Church. He was
content to let them live with their harmless little delusions.
On this particular Christmas Eve, he was about to
doze off when he heard a tapping coming from the window in his kitchen.
Thinking it was a neighbour, he went to investigate. It was no neighbour. A
bird had somehow managed to light upon the sill, and was tapping with its beak
upon the glass. As the man approached the window the bird flew away, but not
far. He flew only as far as the circle of light that the window cast upon the
snow. When the man looked at the ground, he saw not one bird, but dozens of
birds, cold and wet, huddled in the light.
"Poor creatures!" he thought, "
They look miserable. They need some shelter from the cold and wet. I'll see if
I can coax them onto my porch." So, taking a light with him, he went to
the porch, and made a dry place for them. Making a place for them was easy.
Getting them to use it was another story. First he called them, but they did
not understand his speech. Then he tried to motion with his arms, but they only
thought he was trying to frighten them away. Then he tried to lead them in with
a trail of bread; but, in those regions, the poor eat such birds, and they did
not understand his motive.
At last the man said to himself, "If only I
were a bird, just for a moment; then I could fly down to them and lead them
in." As he spoke, the bells of the Church began to toll midnight,
announcing the birth of Jesus Christ. Suddenly, the story goes, the man knew
why God, in the person of his Son, would become man. He did it so that he could
lead us into the safety and warmth of the Father's house. "No man has
ever seen God," writes the apostle we call John, "the Only
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known."
Through the mystery of incarnation, Jesus is God
with us now and forever. He said that wherever two or three are assembled in my
name I will be there. He promised that he would be with us till the end of
days. Often he said, “Fear not I am with you.” We are called upon to meet the
God with us in our prayer, in the Bible, in the sacraments, in the poor and
needy and in all the events of life. St. Francis of Assisi met him in the form
of a leper. Mother Theresa met Him in the aged destitutes dying on the
roadside. There is a story of a man who looked for God. He climbed up the
mountaintop and prayed loud, “Oh! God, Where are you?”
He repeated the same prayer many times.
Suddenly he heard a voice, “Oh man where are you?” Kneeling down he said, “God,
I am on the mountain top looking for you.” God said, “I am down below in the
midst of human beings.” God is not up on the mountaintop or in the depth of the
sea, but here on earth, in the midst of the people. God with us. It has been
rightly said that Jesus can be born a thousand times in Galilee but all in vain
if he is not born in your heart.
During the Civil war in America, President
Abraham Lincoln was assured by his General that he would win the war because
God was with him.
Abraham Lincoln looked
at the General and said, I know that God is with us but I don’t know whether
America is with God. During this Christmas it is important to ensure that we
are with God. Often we are with God according to our convenience and more so
when we need him in life. The Bible says that if God is for us who can be
against us. Daily we must be for him and with him. We are called upon to be his
presence in the world. For this the Word has to become flesh and dwell among
men. And we read in the gospel of John,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth;
we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father”(Jn 1:1,14).
We are called upon to be
with each other. Often we have no time to be with each other. Under the same
roof we become strangers. Husband has no time for his wife and wife has no time
for her husband; both are not able to spend quality time with their children.
Aged parents die of utter loneliness, as children are not with them. There is a
great need to be with each other. Let us give each other the gift of our own
presence.
God wants this miracle to happen again and again.
Let the mystery and wonder of incarnation lead you to find the Saviour of the
world born in a manger. You will never be the same again. I want to conclude
with one of the most beautiful songs "Love came down." The concluding words of
this song are, "Love came down; …and touched the world with Christmas, and
it will never be the same."
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