December 25, 2022 Christmas (Year A)
With the numerous masses celebrated on Christmas we get a nice variety of passages which touch upon the main points of the birth of Christ. So, we are not getting just one viewpoint, but a different scenario from three of the four evangelists, Matthew, Luke, and John.
From Matthew (Mt. 1:18-25) we get to hear the basic story of the miraculous conception of Jesus by Mary and through the power of the Holy Spirit. It explains it very succinctly. “This is how the birth of Jesus came about.” (Mt. 1:18). Mary was betrothed to Joseph. In Jewish custom this means that they were already married but have not yet lived together.
The power of the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and she became pregnant. When Joseph found out he intended to divorce her quietly to avoid a scandal, but an angel appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to take Mary as his wife. Joseph was told that this was the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy from Isaiah, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.” (Mt. 1:23). Joseph must have been shocked and afraid, yet he took the instructions from the angel and married Mary to be a foster father to her son.
Next, we hear from Luke. (Lk. 2:1-14). Mary and Joseph are living a quiet life in Nazareth, and they hear news of a census which will make them have to travel to Joseph’s native town, Bethlehem. So, as uncomfortable as it may have been, Joseph took a pregnant Mary on this journey so that he could enroll in the census.
Along the way, the time for Mary to give birth arrives, so they are shown to a stable since there is no room in the inn and there Mary brings forth her child. No glamor, no glitz, just a basic stable with hay and animals to keep them company. Mary gives birth to Jesus and swaddles him and places him in the manager.
In another of Luke’s passages (Lk. 2:15-20), there are shepherds tending their flocks in the fields and they receive a vision of from an angel who announces to them the miraculous birth of the savior. The angel tells them not to be afraid, that this is the messiah for whom Israel has been waiting. They rush to visit Jesus and Mary and are so overcome with joy and excitement that they leave the stable and proclaim the news to everyone they meet, glorifying and praising God.
When we come to John’s Gospel (Jn. 1:1-18) we find that it is very different from the others. There is no infancy narrative, no birth in a stable and no mention of Mary or Joseph. Rather John’s Gospel was written to establish the divinity of Christ because some of his community seem to have thought of Jesus as being only human. John uses some confusing language to make his point.
He refers to Jesus as “The Word” and he establishes that fact that the Word was with God and was God at the same time from the very beginning. He was active with God during the creation of the world, “the world came to be through him” (Jn. 1:10b) and he was incarnated as a man by the Holy Spirit to bring light into the darkness of the world. John also describes a man who testified to the identity of Jesus. This was John the Baptist who offered the Baptism of reconciliation for the forgiveness of sins to all who came to him. Yet there were some who did not accept Jesus. However, those who did accept him became children of God. To these he showed the glory of the Father and the grace and truth to perfect the law of Moses. And although no one has ever seen God, Jesus, the only Son, is at the Father’s side and has revealed Him.
Finally, we come to another passage from Matthew (Mt. 1:1-18). It is the genealogy of Jesus which traces his ancestry through multiple generations. It is often not the most favorite passage for people to hear or read because of the lengthy list of characters. But it was written by Matthew to establish that Jesus is a descendant of King David and thus a fulfillment of the promise to David from God that one of his offspring would be the messiah who would redeem Israel and lead the nations in an era of peace and justice.
The intriguing part of this genealogy is the fact that it contains a number of people who were less than upright citizens and who would not be considered worthy of being a relation to a messianic king, like the indigent shepherds in Luke’s reading. In particular, there are five women. Tamar, the mother of Perez, who used trickery to conceive by her own father-in-law. Another is Rahab, who was a prostitute from the time of the fall of Jericho. Then there is Ruth, who was not even Jewish, but rather a Moabite who had been married to a Jewish man. And finally, there was Bathsheba, identified as Uriah’s wife, who had an adulterous relationship with King David thereby becoming the mother of King Solomon.
We also find that the genealogy contains some men who were less than perfect mentioned as ancestors of the messiah. First we have Abraham who unfairly banished his first born son, Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, to appease the anger of his barren wife, Sarah. Then there was Jacob, who by scheming and dishonesty, stole his brother Esau’s birthright. And lastly, even King David himself, to whom the progeny was promised, who committed adultery and then had the husband of Bathsheba murdered to cover-up the unwanted pregnancy and in order to marry her. Certainly, there are many others in the list, but within it Matthew makes the point that Jesus came to save all people despite their heritage, occupations, or sins.
While we have a number of readings with unique stories to choose from for Christmas Eve and Christmas, the main thing is to remember what we celebrate – the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the messiah, who brings light, truth, grace, and forgiveness at all times to people of all nations.
