Recently I read the suggestion reading a chapter of the Gospel of Luke each day in December before Christmas. With twenty-four chapters, you finish on Christmas Eve. It sounded like a good idea, and surprising myself, I stuck with it.
As I got closer to Christmas, the chapters in Luke led up to Christ’s crucifixion and death.
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he
breathed his last. Luke 23:46
On Christmas Eve, the Gospel recounted Christ’s resurrection, appearance to the apostles and ultimate ascension into heaven.
They were terrified and bowed
their faces to the ground. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living one
among the dead? He is not here, but he
has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that
the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the
third day.” Luke 24:5-7
While they were there, the time
came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid
him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were shepherds in that region living
in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the
glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them, “Do not
be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be
for all the people. For today in the
city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this
will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:6-12
The juxtaposition of the stories of the birth and death of Christ struck me as odd, at least until I thought more about it. It made sense once I remembered a quote attributed to St. Joan of Arc.
I am not afraid... I was born to
do this.
The birth and death of Christ. One without the other is meaningless. Had Christ been born but not suffer, die and been resurrected, he most likely would have been considered a great prophet, not the Son of God he was. Christ had to be born human in order to die for our sins.
When we celebrate Christmas, we praise more than the birth of a baby two thousand years ago. We glorify the salvation of our souls.
Merry and Blessed Christmas!
AMDG
