The Monthly Note
December 2007
God among us
by Fr. Ovila Bélanger, OP
In less than a month, it will be Christmas, the most popular holiday of the year. What does Christmas mean to us? What will we celebrate at Christmas?
I was reading in a magazine a child’s innocent, but sad, remark who, upon returning from school, tell his mother: «Mom, even in church there’s a Nativity scene». For us, practicing Catholics, we are not at that level of ignorance. However, it is not useless to ask ourselves this question: « What does Christmas mean to me?» It is surely more that a wonderland of lights, more than a time of rejoicing and of gift exchanging.
From our early childhood, we have learned that at Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Saviour. But are we conscious enough of the greatness of this mystery, and, may I add, of the incredibility of this mystery? God’s dwelling is in Heaven, not on Earth. That God came on Earth as a person, that he shared our human existence, is impossible to imagine. During Christmas time, it is not useless to stop, to meditate, at length, this mystery. God becomes Man. God, in person among us.
More and more, I understand those who believe in this mystery of Incarnation. For them, it is impossible that the everlasting God, that holds the universe in His hands, could have shared our human condition. It is only through prayer, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, that we may come to deeply believe that God came to live among us. If God would have asked us to give Him an idea as to how to He could teach us about infinite love, nobody would have dared suggest that He come live among us, since it is son unconceivable. Yet, that’s what God did.
In front of such great mystery, Saint Leo cries out «O admirable exchange: God becomes Man to divine beings of us. God lowered Himself to our level to elevate us to the dignity of children of God». We have within us a paradox. Just as it is important to admit our human limits and that we are sinners, it is just as important to state that we are great and important in the eyes of God: His Son deigned shared our human existence, we became God’s children. We thus belong to His divine family; we are Son of God’s brothers and sisters.
At the beginning of his Gospel, Saint John sums up the mystery of the Incarnation in a brief and sublime formula: « The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory». We could add to this statement: «We will share this glory one day».
Ovila Bélanger, o.p.
