Catholic News Service – “Viewpoints” – Issue #44

HOPING FOR CHRISTMAS

by Brian M. Kane

Every year, little children in smooshy jammies are tucked into bed on Christmas Eve night, where they dream of treasures a sleepy blink away. No matter who we are, all of us can recall that magic of anticipation and the longing for the day that was not yet here. We hoped for a miracle to take place when we awoke. Wrapped in bright papers and bows, with candy canes and hugs, the loving memories are still with some of us after all the years. For others, our hopes became a little less real, when year after year we would hope and never reach our heart’s longing.  In childhood, we began to understand what it means to hope, even when we didn’t always get what we expected. As Christians in an uncertain age, we too look for the gifts of love, but sometimes it is difficult to keep up the hope that they will actually come.

So what is the actual hoping for Christmas all about? Historically, the celebration of Christmas probably developed a few centuries after the founding of the Church. It replaced the older pagan festivals with a message that God came into the world in a very particular place and time. Christmas is not about “once upon a time,” but about this person, place and time. The Incarnation, the birth of God, is a specific gift for each and every one of us. In contrast, pagans were not concerned with the individual person. They were more focused upon preserving the society as a whole.

Celebrating a birthday, which is what Christmas does, points to this difference. Today, we take birthdays for granted. Yet, few in the ancient world cared about when someone was born because what really mattered, if it mattered at all, was when a person died. Then, it was clear what contributions someone made to society. What counted was what one had become, not what one was, or could be.  Birthdays are about celebrating the promise of the future, and not simply the accomplishments of the past.

It is not surprising then, that in the ancient world, many persons were thought of as mere objects for the good of society. Infanticide, like Herod’s killing of all of the firstborn males, was common, although it more often took the form of neglect rather than direct killing. Early Christians were vocal in their disgust of the pagan treatment of children. As gifts of God, children were to be cared for and loved, even those (like the physically deformed) who were rejected by the ancient world. Instead of discarding the memory of these children who had been killed by Herod, the Church celebrates their sacrifice with The Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28^th. It is a Christian contrast to the view that those who are young have no intrinsic worth. Yet, this attitude about the value of life was (and is) widespread.

The Nativity holds the promise of our future life with God. The birth of Jesus, fully human and fully divine, in an out of the way town in humble surroundings to a young poor Jewish woman, is significant because of its particularity. The birthday of Jesus is the beginning of a journey that starts at the crèche and ends in the cross and Resurrection of Easter. It is the hope that is fulfilled in the complete sacrifice of God for us. It is a gift that took place at a specific time and place for the benefit of specific persons. It was not for “society,” it was for you.