“Come to Bethlehem and see,” sings the Christmas carol, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. What do our eyes see? A woman, a Mother, who recently gave birth to an Infant boy, truly her Son who is reaching for his mother’s milk. He was born in a stable, a place where animals were kept because the town was crowded and there was no room available in an inn. The Infant boy was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger, a feeding trough for the animals. The woman’s husband stands watching and protecting her and the baby.
Come to Bethlehem and see, sings the Christmas carol, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. What is seen with eyes of faith? God made truly human, formed in a woman’s womb. The promised Savior of the human race who enters humanity as an infant child, as one of us. The Son of God who condescended to such littleness and poverty. The Creator who became a Creature to save us from the sin of the first human creatures. We see a just man who chose to remain with his betrothed to be her protector and father to her child.
“For us men and for our salvation He came down from Heaven; was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and was made man.” These words of the Profession of Faith summarize what the eyes of faith see at Bethlehem. At these words we bow our head or bend our knee to indicate their importance. That the Child of Bethlehem, Jesus, was made flesh of our flesh; human like us in all things but sin. Born of a Virgin Mother by the breath of the Holy Spirit. Truly from Heaven, the Son of God, the Christ, Messiah and Savior. At Christmas we need to see with eyes of faith what took place at the birth of Jesus according to the flesh. With eyes of faith we remember, ponder and celebrate such a Mystery which God did for us.
A sad thing about Christmas is that our familiarity with the Gospels accounts of Jesus birth has dulled its impact. We take it for granted that it should have been so; perhaps, we are not as astounded and filled with wonder as we should be. That the Incarnation and the Birth of the Savior took place in the manner described were utterly unexpected. The prophets foretold the coming of the Savior in terms of a triumphant and royal event. That the eternal God entered time, history and human flesh in a woman’s womb is an act of divine condescension beyond our imagining. Yet, this is the mystery of Christmas. This is what faith sees. A young couple seeking lodgings, finding shelter in a stable where animals were sheltered and in that desperate situation the eternal Word of God entered this world and began to live and breathe among us.
Let the Christmas story weave its magic despite its familiarity. We need to be challenged by what our faith sees. We need to be surprised by what our eyes see. We need Christmas 2020 after these long-suffering months of the Covid-19 pandemic and the wreck it has caused and continues to cause to human life and enterprise. We need to go and go swiftly to Bethlehem and see what took place there. “A great mystery and miraculous sacrament,” as a magnificent medieval hymn names it. God among us, as one of us. God not hidden but revealed. In the third century Saint Irenaeus put it this way: “By His boundless love Jesus became what we are that He might make us to be what He is.” This Christmas 2020 let us hasten to Bethlehem and see with our bodily eyes and with our eyes of faith what took place there. May your hearts hold deeply this Christmas mystery and sacrament. It was done this way for you.
Saint Paul wrote: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption” (Galatians 4:4-5). Christmas is the feast of our adoption by God. Realizing our God given dignity, may we show forth the love of God as we experience it in our lives. Inspired by what God did for us at Bethlehem, may we do for others, those near and those at a distance.
On Christmas Eve, when evening fell, my Irish born mother would light a white candle and carry it to each window in our home and with it make the sign of the cross. She told us that its light would guide the Blessed Virgin, Saint Joseph and the Infant as they wandered through the world. They would see the light from our home and find rest in us. May the light of Jesus’ birth shine brightly upon you, your family, your loved ones and friends. Indeed, may its glowing rays reach into the darkness everywhere in the world, our country, our church, and us.
“Wonderful the dignity you bestowed O God, on human nature when you created it; more wonderful still its condition when you recreated it. Grant, we pray, that as Jesus Christ, your Son, stooped to share our human nature, so we may share the lot of his divine nature.” (Leonine Sacramentary, early sixth century)
This Christmas with deep and lively faith may you see with eyes of faith this wonderful exchange between God and us that took place in Bethlehem. God in human flesh to be our Savior and make it easy for us to know, love and serve God.
May God bless each of you this holy Christmastime and throughout the New Year 2021.
Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan, D.D.
Bishop of Camden