Christmas

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another,

“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place,which the Lord has made
known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.

All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” 

- Luke 2:15-20

As I write this article, I am reminded of an outdoor nativity pageant my family attended when we were children. The pageant was complete with live animals, the holy family and a gigantic plywood star adorned with magnificent white lights that would rise and fall over the crèche when Jesus was born. I wonder what I would have heard had I been there on that first Christmas night. Would I have heard the choirs of angels singing or simply the sounds of barnyard animals shifting around? Would I have seen the star in the sky that night or simply two poor and very frightened kids with a newborn baby? Would I have understood the hushed silence of the Divine presence, or simply the chill of a cold east wind? Today I find it comforting to reflect upon the words of Luke’s Christmas story. For, as Luke demonstrates, Jesus is with us — right here in the messiness of our own lives. “Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. In prayer she kept “all things” — everything that occurred. This included even more so what She did not comprehend, what She could not see so clearly, what seemed mysterious, what required painful and generous assents, what seemed beyond Her capacity or strength, what was beyond Her understanding, and what She needed to more deeply perceive. All of these things She kept in Her heart to immerse them in God’s love and light.

For many years, I have wondered why the Angel told the shepherds what God was about to do when He put Christmas in place. Mary, who is such a marvelous example for us, was so filled with awe and questions that she did not share the miracle. However, these lowly simple shepherds told everybody what they had been told and seen for themselves. They shared what the angel had said to them: “Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” The shepherds wanted to tell their friends the “good news” they found as they knelt at the crèche. The Shepherds remind us this Godchild was not just born to Mary and Joseph, but this birth is “unto everyone” and the gift is for us today!

The Shepherds made known what had been told to them about this child. As we ponder the same event this Christmas so many centuries later, we begin to touch the fringes of the mystery. It’s the mystery of God’s love come down to us, the mystery of the Word made flesh. We each have those experiences and people and circumstances where we have seen, known and heard God’s love. A Godchild laying in the center of a manger is calling us to the feast, to the miraculous feeding that brings us home, that reminds us of who we are. Perhaps Luke is pointing us to a pattern that each one of us is called to follow. The earliest Christians were called “Children of light”, they understood themselves to be a beacon of Christ’s light for others. That is why it is so important to be immersed in a committed and vital membership such as Old St. Patrick’s. A community in which we will grow and be nurtured in faith, as we have been in the past, but also a community in which we will expect to invite others to join us! God calls to us this Christmas to come and live in the light, and share that light with others. “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” Let us swaddle God in our hearts and share Him today with those we love. Thank you for being constant reminders of the Divine presence of Christmas all throughout the year.

Bernadette Gibson is Director of Pastoral Care at
Old St. Patrick’s Church.