Surprise gift just for you
Christmas is about surprises …gifts under the tree, unexpected but welcome guests, and cards from long ago friends.
The Gospel also presents people who thought everything was routine …and then were amazingly surprised!
Mary assumed she would never have a child because she had taken a vow of celibacy as some very devout Jews did at that time. Her cousin Elizabeth, who deeply wanted a child, was a very elderly but barren woman that no one would ever think would have a child. Bethlehem was a very small village in which no one believed anything important would ever happen.
Finally, the land of Judea, where Mary and Elizabeth lived, was a long way from Rome, the powerful capital of the world where everything important happened, and so nothing meaningful could ever happen in this small Middle Eastern country. All these ideas were amazingly reversed, as today’s Gospel affirms.
Our Lord is certainly about surprises, and likes to arrive at the least expected place and appear to the least expected person. Our Lord’s arrival is always His freely chosen initiative. That way, no one or no place can ever claim credit for having deserved it.
Perhaps Jesus actually looks for and seeks out humble stables to be born, by virgins who least expect it, or elderly women who would never believe it, or even by small towns like Bethlehem. When Jesus appears, it is His freely chosen act and not of our doing.
That changed Mary, Elizabeth, Bethlehem, and Judea into beautiful stories of success, and something they never expected.
If you feel especially humble this year, if you feel like a small stable in Bethlehem, then you are just the place that Our Lord is looking to be born. He is looking for the person recently out of work, the marriage beset with arguments, the company in debt, and the young person in crisis or seeking answers. You are just the place that Our Lord would like to visit …and change.
The essence of the Christmas story is that everything can change for the better. That Our Lord would come to your home means He believes in you, and has hope for your future. If you are open to His grace, what you might think is the end of the road is the only the beginning of a new and surprisingly wonderful story.
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
Dear Father Dave,
Thank you this reflection, especially now when the “holiday” spirit becomes somewhat overwhelming on many levels and for many reasons.
Your summation on today’s Gospel helped bring Jesus back into the nucleus of the season.
When Jesus slips into our hearts, we do feel different … more at peace, more prayerful, more accepting, more loving, more of what God wants us to be.
Have a blessed and beautiful Christmas.
God bless.
Kathleen
May you have a very blessed Christmas as well!
Dear Fr. Dave,
I really like this explanation of The Christmas story. So easy to relate to our lives and how Jesus slips into our hearts. So as we celebrate his birth we also celebrate the love being born in our hearts.
The nativity image in our own holy families changes each year as everyone grows and changes but the awe and wonder of the baby Jesus is like you say the wonderful surprise.
Happiness and Peace to all,
God Bless
Jane
Yes, happiness and peace to all!
Father Dave,
What a beautiful metaphor you make between the humble stable and an individual who is suffering or feels unworthy. Thank you. It’s an image that I won’t soon forget.
Merry Christmas!
Irene Woodall
St. Pascal Baylon
I am glad you liked this image. Merry Christmas!
A beautiful holy reflection that truly is a gift to the reader. This as been a difficult year for many with the recent fires, tragic events, loss of relatives or friends. The parish I know of lost a number of great men from the Men’s Club. Men who loved the Christmas season and did much for community. I think your article will be a comfort to many who read it. I pray for you this holy season. A most Merry Christmas!
Thank you! My prayers are for all those families as well.
I have received two surprise gifts from God.. I was able to help my son with his rent. I was able to give some flour and some homemade bread to my next door neighbor. There is great joy in giving. Thank God for the opportunity.
Yes, you know well the joy of giving!
Your reflection on the places where Jesus likes to visit and bringing a present
that only He can give is beautiful!
‘He came to pay a debt He didn’t owe
because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay’
Thank you, Fr. Dave,for your wisdom.
Merry Christmas!
Well said!
Drpear Father Dave,
Thank you for your interpretation of the gospel message today, it makes everything make sense. Merry Christmas hope you have a wonderful
and Blessed New Year. George and I miss hearing your homilies. Take care and May God bless you always.
I wish God’s blessings on you and your family as well!
Thank you Father Dave for this reflection. As always you shine a light on God’s Word and help us to apply it to our own lives.
Christmas Blessings
Merry Christmas!
To have the faith and trust in God that Mary had would be wonderful. When we go through life knowing that. God will get us through it all. Mary knew she couldhave been stoned yet she trusted God. I hope for that when needed i can be that strong in the Lord…
Mary will intercede for you for sure!
Thank you, Fr. Dave. I have approached this holiday season rather apprehensively, as my family’s lives have been beset with death, hardship and tribulation. I resolved to trudge through this trajectory with faith and an open heart that our circumstances will change with the grace of God. I believe the miracle of Christmas will touch my family’s hearts as always this Christmas season. Merry Christmas.
That is my prayer for your family as well. Merry Christmas!
Hello,
Father I did not know that Mary had taken a bow of celabecy…… where in the scriptures can I find that passage?
It is implied in the nature of her question to the Angel. IF she had not taken the vow, there would be no reason for her to ask how the pregnancy would take place, and no need for the Angel to respond. Is she had not taken a vow, she would have simply responded “Yes” immediately, figuring she would have a child with Joseph in the normal way. Hope that helps!