Not long ago, two young children helped me see the Nativity of Jesus in a new way. Their presence in my life made the Christmas story an entirely new experience.
When I first started meditating on the Nativity passages as a Jesuit novice, more than 20 years ago, my prayer and reading focused largely on the theological import of the event. Happily, I have a pretty vivid imagination, so it was easy to imagine the birth scene "just as if I were there," as St. Ignatius Loyola suggests in his classic manual for prayer, The Spiritual Exercises.
In my mind's eye, I could see the inky night, the crude shelter, the sleepy-eyed cows, the exhausted parents and the squalling baby. Of course it probably didn't happen precisely the way that most Christmas cards portray, but overall, it was easy for me to feel amazed by the Incarnation, when God chose to "pitch his tent" among us, as some translations of the Gospel of John have it (1:14).
The notion of God becoming one of us, completely taking on our physical nature, sharing in the common aches and pains of humanity, "pitching his tent" among us, as John's Gospel says, was wonderfully appealing to me. It reminded me that for Christians, God is not something that is far off or entirely impossible to comprehend; God became human so that we could better understand a transcendent reality. Nor do we have a God who cannot understand what it means to live a human life. Christians do not worship a Platonic God, but a human one. All this made a deep impression on me.
But until the birth of my first nephew, my sister's child, I never appreciated how a newborn child can change everything.
When my nephew was born 12 years ago, I was astonished by the way our entire family immediately shifted its focus. Our hearts were now centered on a little child. What did he do yesterday? What is he doing today? What will he do tomorrow? Who will he become?
How miraculous that God had created a brand-new person, someone we could never have imagined, but who would change our lives nonetheless. The same happened with my sister's second child, born five years ago, who is a gift in equal measure, but so different from the first. God had created -- with the help of my sister and brother-in-law, of course -- something new.
Nor had I appreciated the accompanying worry, and sometimes fear, that goes along with childrearing. (Still, I don't fully, and will never fully, understand it, since I'm not a parent.) When I think about my nephews, I pray that nothing bad will happen to them, hope that they will be physically well and desire that they will always be happy. But I know that at some point the world will be painful for them.
Most likely it was similar for Mary and Joseph as they pondered the future of their baby. While Luke's Gospel offers a brief sketch of how Mary discovered God's plan for her (2:26-38), we have little idea of her innermost thoughts attending the birth of her son. She sings a song of joy to her cousin Elizabeth, but as the New Testament scholar Joseph Fitzmyer, S.J., says about the Annunciation, the time when she discovered that she was with child: "What really happened? We shall never know."
We have even less insight into Joseph's heart; Mary's husband is completely silent in Scripture, given no words to speak.
But we can assume that Mary and Joseph may have gathered from a variety of sources -- the angelic messages, the dreams, the unique birth of their son, the strange utterances of Simeon and Anna (two elderly, pious Jews who commented on the birth of their son) -- that their baby's life likely would be a strange one, filled with unusual joys and sorrows. And so they protected him as best they could, first sheltering him from the elements and later, in Egypt, from Herod's murderous wrath.
But did they know, even then, that they would not be able to protect him forever?
All Christians are called to emulate both Mary and Joseph. We are invited to listen carefully to God, to respond with a trusting yes (often, like Mary, after some questioning) and, finally, to bring Christ into the world -- not in his flesh and not in precisely the same way that Mary did, but in our lives and in other ways important today.
And we are called to nurture our faith, which can be as precious and fragile and delicate as a newborn child. This does not mean that we jealously guard our faith from the world, as if the world were antithetical to faith, but that we understand that our faith and our vocations need to be nourished, cared for and revered as gifts from God.
These are calls for every Christian, no matter who we are, or where we come from. In the Christmas Vigil Mass, the main reading is from the beginning of Matthew's Gospel, which details the ancient genealogy of Jesus' family. That seemingly interminable list ("Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse...") shows that the Messiah came from a long line of people who were not perfect.
Within his family, by the way, are quite a few unsavory characters. (You think your family is dysfunctional? Read Matthew.) But out of that holy but entirely human tree grew a fresh green shoot that would change everything.
How overwhelming the first Christmas must have been for Mary and Joseph. Few things can provoke such intense worry as a newborn child. Ask any parent. But few things promise such unreasonable hope, such unexpected change and such unbounded joy.
May your heart be newborn this Christmas season.
James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, culture editor of America magazine, and the author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and My Life with the Saints.
Richard (RJ) Eskow: An American Christmas Playlist
I was raise has a child to believe this, and eventually found rational thinking. (i.e. the impossibility of fitting 5 million different species of life onto one boat, and as well not having them eat for 40 days)
so the facination that people can believe these things bring people here. I try not be offensive as I understand people were brought up believing these myths as fact since childhood
This controversial film is sure to unsettle some people but it will challenge most people to re-examine their own faith. Socrates said the "unexamined life is not worth living".
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-god-who-wasnt-there/
Frankly, much of your comment is a collection of slogans and sermonizing which reflect a fundamentalist level of Christianity devoid of skepticism or critical thinking.
And these, in turn, are basically that Jesus and the other god-men are personifications of the Sun.The Ancients formulated their Mythology (Religion) after astronomical phenomena. They saw this as the best way to connect with the "creator god". This was done by patterning their religious rituals in accordance with the most visible and observable aspects of god's creation, the cosmos.
It's the 21st century, there is no evidence of the divine, but the religious money would stop pouring in if any other worldview was adopted. Hence religion stays and continues to sucker people, some, not all.
An important one for me is that Jesus isn't a son of a god, in the same way that one might be son of a man. He is One with God, though also born from a human being. This is important because it holds a completely different conception of Who God is, or what it means to be Divine.
The difference between conceptions is this: Our (Christian) God is a God who loves US so much that He gives His only Son.
Whereas in the Ancient Greek faith, the gods and human kind are different as the gods keep a distance from our lot of suffering, and enjoy a relatively charmed life. The God of the Christian faith took it on Himself to come 'down' (so to speak), and share in our lot of suffering, to the very last drop. Our (Christian) God, knows suffering, knows what it feels like to be nailed to a cross for several hours until death, knows what it feels like to be rejected.
To consider your other point, the State could easily choose to tax religious organisations, but chooses not to because of the good they do for our societies. They run schools, provide food and shelter to homeless people, run hospitals, all as a result of donations. If these donations were taxed, only a fraction of this good would be done.
How does this happen, why isn't there ONE UNIFIED Christian religion, why do some people believe all these things, and others believe in all these things, except for this thing over here, or they;ve added this belief here.
The next great enlightenment, will be one of RATIONAL THOUGHT. where organized religion will be discarded in place of a mish mash of loose religious belief.
like my mom who NEVER sets foot inside a church believes the bible is a man made bogus book, but that jesus was real and a prophet of god, but doesn't believe the earth is only 10k years old.
The problem that remains is that even rational thought, expressed in the scientific method leaves us ending up beleiving in something, or someone, and unable to answer some important questions that remain (though this is not a justification for blind religiosity).
In the end, we all believe in something, or someone. I have chosen to follow the one Church that has always expressed the vision of one, unified church, despite it's many faults. Sometimes I wonder why Jesus would found this church, knowing the warts it would grow. This too is a mystery that remains, but I have more pressing issues that I need to deal with.
Peace,
This is the night of the Most Gentle One; let no one be cruel.
This is the night of the Most Humble One; let no one be proud.
Now is the day of joy; let us not revenge. Now is the day of goodwill; let us not be mean. In this day of peace, let us not be conquered by anger.
Today the Beautiful One impoverished Himself for our sake; so you rich ones, invite the poor to your table. Today we received a gift for which we did not ask; so let us give alms to those who implore us and beg.
This present day's fast opens the heavenly door to our prayers. Let us open our door to those who ask our forgiveness.
Now the Divine Being took upon Himself the seal of humanity, in order for humanity to be decorated by the seal of Divinity."
1. Dec 25th. According to the Christmas Encyclopedia, Christmas evolved from Pagan Roman festivals, where they celebrated Sun Gods, Roman Sol and Persian Mithra. Jesus NEVER told his followers to celebrate his birth, but ONLY his death.
2. Wise Men. The bible never says that it was 3 wise men. Also, the term "magoi" means "Astrologer or sorcerer, the same professions that the bible condemns at Deut 18:10-12.
3. Santa Claus. Has no mention in the bible and even everything written about Saint Nicholas is based on legends- not facts. Historically and biblically, he has nothing to do with Jesus.
John 4:24, says God is a Spirit and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth. So how can any Christian celebrate Christmas- which is not true and not a biblical teaching, worship God in truth- who has deceit and falsehoods?
Would it not be hypocritical to tell a convert that he/she must worship God and teach the truth about Jesus and celebrate Christmas at the same time?
How would a Christian "show" a convert that Christmas is a holiday that Jesus wants us to observe? What scriptures support Christmas? Gift giving does not override Gods law to not mix Christianity without other religious teachings.
Luke's Infancy Narrative, more poetic in style, is likewise not a history but communicates the faith of a primarily Gentile-Christian community, that Jesus' came not just for Jews but for all of God's children, including the lowliest and poorest (represented by the shepherds).
The Gospels are documents of faith not history. It is time for priests to stop aiming Catholic commentary at the lowest level of theological sophistication and to use the knowledge that good scholarship (and Jesuit training) has provided them to help people better understand the scriptures as adult thinkers. Why is it that priests feel it necessary to put aside their education when they enter the pulpit? The Christmas Story is an amalgamation of two totally different, theological not historical, Infancy Narratives, Catholics need to read their scriptures and the footnotes provided in Catholic Bibles. Maybe if we brought our Bibles to mass that would be a start. And maybe if priests would stop encouraging fundamentalist thinking?
Only a creationist would say a thing like that.
He was most likely married to Mary Magdalene and there are scholars who believe he fathered children. The Gnostics are one surviving Christian sect which has esoteric knowledge of the real Jesus. The popular Bible among American Christians has been stripped of countless Gospels going back the Council of Nicea ( 325 ce ).
There are still plenty of Gnostic Chrisians like the Society of Novus Spiritus, Ecclesia Gnostica, the Thomasine Church, the Apostolic Johannite Church, the Alexandrian Gnostic Church, the North American College of Gnostic Bishops. Celia Green has written on Gnostic Christianity in relation to her own philosophy.
Gnostic Christianity is the purest form of Christianity - as opposed to protestantism and Roman Catholicism which are bastardized forms of Christianity.
I come from men who only liked other men were
queers, to be avoided and shunned.
Now, belatedly, the christians are trying to make the case that Jesus fathered children with Mary Magdalyn! Apparently the christians now realize it was an error to protray Jesus as male who only
liked other males and had nothing to do with females.
Better late than never, right!