My freshman year of college, I attended the University of Kentucky. Three and half hours away from my home and the community which I grew up in, I struggled during my time there because of the distance from all that I had known and the people who had been my support for 18 years. Though there was goodness and fun and friendship at UK, halfway through the year, I set plans to transfer. Those five months in which I stayed at UK knowing that I was to transfer were some of the most challenging times of my entire life. And not because I didn't have friends or wasn't involved or didn't like my studies. But they were a time of hardship because I desperately wanted to be home. I longed to be back in Columbus with my family. I yearned to be reconnected with my friends. I wanted to return to the place where I was born, formed, and given purpose. In those months, my car became an irreplaceable gift to me--the vehicle by which I was able to return to the place I called home and the people who I loved.
Today I began to wonder what my life would have been like if I had to stay in Kentucky and never return home. What if I literally had no possible way to return to the embrace of my family and the community who loves me so lavishly? What if I never was able to partake in a family meal or enjoy the richness of conversation with my friends? What if I was never able to experience the purpose I have found in Columbus? What if home was unattainable for me?
Christmas is the day on which we celebrate this deeply profound reality: that the Word became flesh and made our heavenly home attainable for us. The Word became flesh and dwelt in a manger. The Word became flesh and healed, led and taught. The Word became flesh and formed disciples and established a Church. The Word became flesh and showed us the way, the truth, and the life. The Word became flesh and "was pierced for our transgressions". And by it all, the Word became flesh to be the vehicle by which we return home. Only by Christ, only by this Gift of the Incarnation, is heaven made possible.
The great St. Augustine, inspired by the Spirit, more eloquently describes this truth by saying that "You would have suffered eternal death, had he not been born in time. Never would you have been freed from sinful flesh, had he not taken on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness, had it not been for this mercy. You would never have returned to life, had he not shared your death. You would have been lost if he had not hastened to your aid. You would have perished, had he not come."
In light of this reality, may this Christmas be different. And in truthfulness, it will not be starkly different if we simply forego gifts and completely avoid the celebratory nature of the holiday. But Christmas will be different if our interior disposition mirrors that of our Blessed Mother and our outward expression mirrors that of the angels singing praises. So this Christmas, may we stand with the shepherds and approach the manger with humble adoration, acknowledging that "today a savior has been born [to us], who is Messiah and Lord." May we stand with Mary and spend time in silent reflection pondering the unfathomable gift of Christ's entrance into this world. May we stand with the magi, offering our lives and wills in totality to the Lord who has made salvation possible for us. And may we stand with the angels whose praise is echoed by the saints and angels in heaven, crying out in great exaltation "glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
This Christmas day, may we give praise to the God who gave his Son as the vehicle by which we receive salvation. May we praise the Son who descended in humility and became the atonement for our sins. And may we praise the Spirit, whose presence grants us the desire for heaven, the strength to pursue it, and the freedom to worship the one who made it attainable for us.
I wish you and your family a very blessed, deeply reflective, and most joyous Christmas.
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