Inextinguishable Hope
As we journey our way through Advent and approach Christmas, Kimberly looks to why Christmas is a time of hope.
By Kimberly Ross
Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerard van Honthorst. (Public Domain)
"We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice." - Pope St. Paul VI
There is much to reflect on at the end of each year. The action is a combination of reviewing what has transpired and wondering what could have been. If January brings the feeling of a fresh start and untold possibilities, December is the concluding chapter. This can bring a multitude of emotions. But most of all, it should bring inextinguishable hope.
The beauty of this yearly end is that during it, we celebrate the most miraculous beginning. Namely, the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christmas has always been my favourite time of the year. There is the joy of gathering with family and friends and expressions of love, but there's a clarity that is not present in other moments. It is the precise focus on the supernatural existing alongside the ordinary that calms our disquieted hearts. The juxtaposition of the holy amidst the backdrop of earthly reality is so foreign to us. We catch glimpses of it in everyday life, but the Christmas season allows the heavenly to saturate our lives to an extraordinary degree.
As humans who desperately need God, we look toward the heavens on a daily basis. At Christmas, God didn't just look down upon the earth, but broke the barrier between the two and offered His Son, knowing He would eventually become the ultimate sacrifice. To leave the earthly for the heavens is to know joy beyond our comprehension. But Christ left the heavens for a fallen, sinful world filled with hatred, heartache, and mortality. And He did that for you and me. Is there a deeper, more meaningful, more sacrificial definition of love?
In Luke 2:7, we read of Christ's humble earthly beginnings: "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." There had been and would be no greater, more impactful or remarkable birth in history. Yet, Mary and Joseph found themselves welcoming the Holy Child to an environment that was the opposite of royal or sacred. In a manger was where the story began. The circumstances surrounding Christ's birth were a future reflection of His humble life of service. The circumstances are also more relatable to us as humans. It is in the needy and wanting that we seek God and find Him.
Of the many lessons of Christmas, this is one: God's work doesn't have to look supernatural to be supernatural. That truth should be an encouragement as we go through life. Sometimes, we're waiting for the miraculous to appear in grand fashion in order to believe God is seeing, working, and moving in lives and situations. There are occasions when miracles appear as such. Other times, we may get so caught up in expectation that we overlook the "normal" miracles right in front of us.
It's easy to get caught up in the flurry of the Christmas season. But when you peel back the extra that we've added, Christmas is all about that babe in a lowly manger, stepping onto the world's stage. If God was present then, why wouldn't He reveal Himself now, in our seemingly impossible personal and worldwide troubles? He can and does. And that is cause for great celebration.