Nativity according to the painter Arcabas
At Christmas, a child is born and a new family is formed. The image of the cot where Jesus sleeps surrounded by Joseph and Mary, in simplicity and love, touches us. Even people of other faiths, or of no faith at all, are not indifferent to this scene.
But would you like to give Christmas a deeper meaning? All you have to do is read the first chapter of the fourth Gospel. There we learn that Jesus is the Word of God become a man. And that in him we can be reborn to a new life, by becoming children of God, as the phrase goes:
“To those who have received him, to those who believe in his name, he has given the power to become children of God”.
Christmas tells us that God wants children around him; he wants us to become sons and daughters in His Son. God wants us all to be brothers and sisters of our brother Jesus.
God’s will is to create a great spiritual family.
And in this family, there are no birth restrictions, no one is excluded!
Giving birth
To be a little provocative, a healthy Church or community is capable of being ‘pregnant’. I mean capable of giving birth to people so that they become children of God.
This is the ‘maternal’ function of the Church.
When I say that, I’m in good company, because already the Fathers of the Church (in particular Saint Cyprian), followed by John Calvin, were saying that the Church is ‘the mother of the faithful, of whom God is the Father’.
Here is what John Calvin wrote: « It is impossible to enter into eternal life without having been conceived in the womb of this mother, brought into the world, nursed and, finally, without having been guided and governed by her until, having shed our mortal flesh, we are like the angels. Because of our weakness, we must remain at her school and be her disciples throughout our lives’. (Institutes IV,1,4)
And what does a mother do? As well as giving birth, she brings up her children. And she doesn’t hold them back when the time comes for them to leave home; on the contrary, she sends them away.
Giving birth, raising and sending! These are the three functions of a mother. They are also the three missions of the Church.
Bringing up
Human children are not like tadpoles, who fend for themselves as soon as they are born (or put in the water!). They have to be brought up for many years after they are born.
Giving birth to a child is relatively easy (but I’m only a male and can’t speak from experience!).
The most important thing comes next: you must bring him up, surround him with your attention.
That’s what Jesus did with his disciples. After calling them, he was like a mother to them. He accompanied them, taught them, helped them grow in knowledge and wisdom. He made them spiritually mature, especially through the ordeal of the Passion.
It is often through suffering that we make the most progress. We become spiritual ‘mothers’ or ‘fathers’ after overcoming trials in faith and love.
A community or a parish is the place where we exercise this spiritual motherhood. With the risen Jesus in our midst, we need to offer support and places to pray, meet, share, socialise and learn, so that we can grow in our faith.
We need Mother Church, where we care for one another. Let’s love it by being active members!
Send.
Here I quote Pastor Guy Chautems, who once developed this theme in my parish of Le Mont sur Lausanne:
« What is God’s purpose at Christmas? At Christmas, God becomes flesh and blood, a missionary! For parents, it’s always difficult to see their children leave the family nest. But there is nothing more beautiful than to see them pursuing, in the world, the objectives that have been at the heart of our existence. In the same way, in a parish, we must consider it a success when one or other of our members leaves us to carry further the message of salvation that has kept us on our feet…
The important thing is that they respond to God’s call! He is our Father and their Father. He is the one who sends us. We advocate, not for obese parishes… but for parishes that keep their shape, that stand tall and have families and house groups capable of giving birth to, raising up and preparing for mission those who will be born of God’s will”.
How can we become ‘children of God’?
To those who have received him, to those who believe in his name, he has given the power to become children of God
By believing in the name of Jesus Christ, the text tells us. What does it mean to “believe in his name”?
In the Old Testament, God revealed his name to Moses in the burning bush. A name that sympathises with our suffering. Through him, he visits, delivers, heals, unites and sends.
For a very long time, Israel no longer uttered this name and lost it. But when the time was ripe, the Lord himself came to us.
He covered Mary with his shadow and the ardour of the Spirit inflamed her without consuming her. He revealed to her a name above all names: Jesus, which means nothing less than ‘the Lord saves his people’.
So, believing in the name of Jesus means trusting in his divine power, doing his will, invoking him in all our encounters and decisions, living everything in the Spirit that animated Jesus!
This is how we become a little more ‘ children of God’ every day.
What does it mean to be a child of God?
To those who have received him, to those who believe in his name, he has given the power to become children of God.
I love what a ‘Word of Life’ says:
« Let us try to understand deeply what it means to be a child of God. All we have to do is look at Jesus, the Son of God, and see the relationship he has with the Father. Jesus prayed to his Father as in the ‘Our Father’. For him, the Father was ‘Abba’, the Father to whom he spoke in a tone of intimacy, infinite trust and immense love.
But since he had come to earth for us, he did not want to enjoy this privilege alone. By dying for us, by saving us, he made us children of God. We have become his brothers and sisters, and he has allowed us too, through the Holy Spirit, to be introduced into the bosom of the Trinity.
So we can make his divine invocation our own: ‘Abba, Father! ‘(Mk 14:36 – Rm 8:15), “Daddy, my daddy”, our daddy, with all that this implies: the certainty of being protected, security, abandonment to his love, divine consolations, strength and ardour, an ardour that is born in the heart of someone who is certain of being loved’.
Becoming children of God by welcoming one another.
To those who have received him, to those who believe in his name, he has given the power to become children of God.
We grow up and become children of God by conforming to his will. We know how Jesus summed it up in the Gospel: in the twofold commandment of love for God and love for neighbour. Saint John goes so far as to say that we cannot love God whom we cannot see if we do not welcome our brother whom we can see. I’d like to share an experience with you:
At a Christmas party in a community I had visited, a beggar woman came up to me. I knew her and she recognised me too. As she touched her breast, she told me that she was due to have an operation for cancer the following day. Was it true, or was she just trying to soften me up? I offered to pray for her, which she accepted. Then she asked me for money. I gave her a few coins. When she wanted more, I kissed her.
Ten minutes later, she came back to me to ask if she could eat with the community. I told her to ask one of the leaders, as I was only a guest. It hurt my heart that he refused and asked her to leave. I wanted to tell that man that anything is possible at Christmas. I wanted to run to that poor woman and give her some more money for her meal. But she had disappeared. I had the impression that it was Jesus who was being chased away… Jesus who had come to visit us in the choir of the Church.
That evening, I came across what Thomas de Celano, the first biographer of Francis of Assisi, wrote about Francis’ attitude at Christmas:
« Francis desired that the poor and beggars should be regaled on that day by the rich, and that oxen and asses should receive an extra ration of oats and hay. If I could see the Emperor,’ he said, “I would beg him to publish an edict ordering all those who can to sow grain on the roads on this feast day, for the delight of the little birds and especially our sisters the larks”.
The birth of Jesus calls us to generosity. As we leave the church, I’m going to sow seeds for the birds. Yes, let’s sow some seed for our sisters the owls and our brothers the kingfishers (“Martin pêcheurs” in French)!
Christmas calls us to welcome one another by recognising Jesus in everyone.
He is waiting for us in every person. What will be the fruit if we serve him in them?
His promise is to introduce us into the relationship that links him to the Father.
Then joy and peace will spring up in our hearts. They come from the certainty of being loved, of being sons and daughters born of a Father who loves us infinitely.
May this hope be constantly born and reborn in us!
Prayer
Jesus, you were born in the humility of a manger
So that we may be reborn to a new life,
And make your kindness grow within us.
Jesus, in you God became a child
So that we may become children of the same Father
And pray to him like you, with infinite trust.
Jesus, you came into the world in a human family
So that we might enter into the divine communion
that unites you to your Father, in the tenderness of the Spirit.
Jesus, you gathered around you in the stable
Men and women from all conditions of life
To build universal brotherhood everywhere.
*
Christ, source of all life,
Make us be born again.
Christ, child of mercy,
Give birth to us by your birth.
Christ, Son of the Father in the Spirit,
Unite us in his communion.
Christ, first-born of many,
Make us brothers and sisters in you.
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