Sentimental Christmas

About twenty centuries ago there occurred in a little sleepy town called Bethlehem an event so improbable that it defies belief.  It is said that one night the God who created the universe came to earth to live among His people.  It happened on a day that was otherwise unremarkable as people went about doing their daily tasks.  Not to far away on the Temple Mount priests were offering sacrifices to the God. That night God humbled Himself and took on our human body with all of its limitations.  The God who created everything was now dependent on a young girl, said to both virgin and mother. 

We sentimentalize God's coming to earth and sometimes through it all we forget to contemplate what this meant for us.  The first lesson taught by the Nativity is humility. Look at it this way; Fulton Sheen describes it as if you yourself loved dogs and you wanted to improve their life so you became a dog and took on all of the characteristics of a dog and in the end they turned on you and tore you apart. 

Yes, the Nativity is a beautiful feast day but we have to remember  it is the first step on a road that leads to the Cross.  Does this cast clouds on our joyous feast?  No, because we rejoice in the humility of our God.  After His birth he spent the next thirty three years teaching us how to live.  He live the early part of His life in complete obedience to his human parents. He spent the last three years of His life breaking Himself open and showing us how to live with one another. 

So, a Merry and blessed Christmas to you and may this day plant the seeds of peace and mercy in our land.