The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
In this time of wintry weather and long dark nights, we Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus who is God’s light, joy, and love.
Isaiah spoke in the first reading: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” With the birth of Jesus, God entered our world which we made dark, and He gives us faith to see his light which is greater than any darkness we experience in this world. Faith opens our eyes to God’s light.
So also, the joy that God gives us in the newborn baby is full of hope: hope in a beautiful future, not yet constricted by evil and sin. As St. Paul says in his letter to Titus: “God saved us … through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.” Hope brings joy in God’s salvation.
Finally, the love that God shares with us in his Son is greater than any friendship or love we could ever experience just among ourselves. It is an unending love that never grows indifferent or cold. God’s love that comes to us in Jesus Christ is likened to Mary’s motherly love: unconditional, filled with awe, and never-ending. The coming of Christ is God’s declaration of love to the world, to all of humanity and to each one of us.
May each of you be filled this night and always with a firm faith that God is in charge, a profound hope that God saves us, and an undying love for God who “so loved the world that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
We monks wish you all a Blessed and joy-filled Christmas!
Abbot Benedict Neenan, OSB
and the monks of Conception Abbey
Posted in Articles for Christmas, Daily Reflections