The blessed surprise called Christmas

December 22, 2005

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Many and different are the stories we can share about Christmas. Many of them will relate to our youth about what we would receive. Particularly true would be the different attempts made to surprise us: big boxes for little gifts, odd-shaped boxes for identifiable gifts, even the addition of things that would rattle when shaken. All were attempts to surprise us.

The biggest surprise for any one of us however was not the camouflaged presents, but the presence of a baby called Messiah and Lord. How could Jesus, our Savior, be born to a poor itinerant couple, Mary and Joseph, whose first companions in life were shepherds who were among the lowest esteemed people. This is the surprise we call Christmas.

Each one of us wants to be close to God, and on Christmas this is especially true. The image of the manger in Bethlehem - all quiet and still - can make us feel the presence of God. We can feel the great joy and abundant rejoicing mentioned in the words of the prophet Isaiah (Cf. Is. 9:1-6). It is a special time; so special we might even take time to linger after Mass. There is just something here that we want to hold on to for a long, long time.

However, despite these good feelings that we have it is worth noting that those shepherds watching their flocks did not react as well. The Scriptures tell us that when the angels announced the good news of the birth of our Savior "they were struck with fear." (Cf. Luke 2:1-14) The reality of our lives when it comes to improving our relationship with God is that we are oftentimes very much afraid.

We desperately want to know God, to be touched by Him, but often we are afraid that we might actually succeed! Our fear comes because if we manage to touch God we might have to change. And how we are afraid of change! We are comfortable and would rather settle for what we have now rather than change our lives. It is sad that both the shepherds and us have to be told, "you have nothing to fear."

Why did Jesus come as a baby? Because a baby presents no threat to us, it represents only promise and possibilities and lets us imagine wonderful futures. The baby Jesus represents innocence and peace and it is easy to meet God in the form of a baby. The meeting of God in the form of an adult however is not so easy. The adult Jesus can represent a threat to us - for to follow Him means we will have to reform our lives. We have to change!

Perhaps this is one reason why the Christmases of our childhood give us wonderful memories. They are from a time when we didn't have responsibilities. But we have grown up and God calls us to responsibility. We have to move beyond those days of childhood when all we understood about Christmas was that someone was checking to see whether we were naughty or nice. As adults we don't rely on the promise of Christmas presents to help us be good. Our life with God is really not any more complicated - we just have to remember the difference between naughty and nice, and choose nice.

Our relationship with God is not one where we should make things complicated - just "live temperately, justly and devoutly" as St. Paul in his letter to Titus tells us (cf. Titus 2:11-14). And the reality is, meeting God in our prayer, in our worship, and in our daily lives, we will be changed. The surprise is that we will be changed into that which we should have been all along and this will bring us innocence and peace.

Really, Christmas is about returning to the simplest of the Gospel messages: God is with us. Reflecting on the passage of Isaiah lets us know that the fact Jesus was born into our world can change us, that Christmas can change us and that we do not have to be afraid. The comfort we feel in the warmth of our presence before the manger is the comfort of God. When we do become afraid or discouraged, when pain, hurt or loss is present in our lives, we need only to recall the night when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The night when a baby made us unafraid of God.

It is my hope and prayer that as we celebrate Christmas this year we will be most grateful of the surprise gift we have received - God is with us. May we also be thankful for the gift we have received in our new Shepherd, Bishop Walker Nickless. Please pray for him.

A blessed Christmas to all of you and a most sincere thank you for your many kindnesses and prayers for me in serving you as the Diocesan Administrator.

Rev. Msgr. Roger J. Augustine
Diocesan Administrator