Every Thursday, my mom travels an hour and a half to go watch my nephew, Will, while my brother and sister-in-law are at work. And every Thursday, I know that 'Grandma Mary' is going to send several texts with pictures and videos of Will. I wait in anticipation to see them and to see how he has changed. Many Thursdays, I even find myself forwarding these texts to my friends and the girls in my youth group. And though they respond with the ever-classic "Aw, he's so cute", I know that they just do not appreciate the texts as much as I do. My relationship with this baby brings forth my own more enthusiastic and joyful response. Because I know him better, I find him more irresistible. Because of the joy he has brought my family, I love him more. His presence leaves me far from indifferent, but leaves me full of the desire to love him more.
In Luke 2:11, the Angel of the Lord declared, "A savior has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord". And as Pope Benedict said in his Christmas homily in 2009, the message of Christ's birth "is a message that cannot leave us indifferent. If it is true, it changes everything. If it is true, it also affects me". And the affect that this birth has on us is far from indifference. The birth of Jesus, which the Angel declares as "good news of great joy that will be for all people", if truly understood and fully grasped, cannot possibly leave us apathetic and unresponsive.
But so many of us have become crippled by indifference. For many of us, the Christmas story has been told so many times that we lack any response. The story that should leave us breathless and utterly humbled barely moves us at all.
Our response will only move from indifference to responsiveness through a deepening of our relationship with the Christ Child and a recognition of the invitation which he offers. In the humility of the Incarnation, Christ offers us an invitation to be healed, to be made new, to be reconciled with the Father. This Christ Child who was born to inevitably die for our sins reveals to us, in these actions, the worth that he finds in us. By his birth, he professes his love for humanity. By his life, he shows the authority and power of the Father. By his death, he gives hope for those who follow him.
This Christmas Season, may we, like the Shepherds, go in haste to Bethlehem to encounter Christ--the baby born in the manger, the one foretold by the prophets, the one whose arrival and presence produces great joy. As we meditate on the story of the birth of Christ, may we be transformed as our relationship with him is renewed. As we come to know him better, may we find him more irresistible. As we recognize the joy he has brought to all of humanity, may we love him more. And as we encounter Christ in prayer and sacrament, may his presence there leave us far from indifferent, but leave us full of the desire to love him more.
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