Seven hundred years prior to the birth of Jesus God revealed through his prophet Isaiah,
“The Lord himself will give you this sign: virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”
Today we hear Matthew recount how the birth of Jesus came about. Our God comes to us. Unlike every other religion in the world, our God comes to us. Our God reveals himself to us over and over again. And He comes to us.
A child is born. He is Emmanuel, God among us. He is Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Mary, Son of God.
Our Savior comes as a newborn. However, he would not remain a child. He would grow as a normal human would grow. He would mature physically and spiritually and emotionally like any person who matures from infancy to adulthood.
He is like us, but without sin. We are like him, destined to share his Divinity and eternal life… if we mature like him. We know we are maturing like him when we are obedient to him. We can be certain of eternal life if we live with him in the Sacramental life of the Church.
When we are baptized with his Baptism, Confirmed with his Holy Spirit, and when we receive his Body and Blood in Holy Communion we grow mature in faith to become more like him.
None of us was born to remain a baby or childish. All of us were born and baptized to live eternally with him. Our history is not secular history. Secular history cannot know our history, much less tell it. Secular history bends over backward to avoid including any mention of God or our Salvation History. We were not born to fulfill the expectations of secular history. We were conceived in the image of God, in His likeness to share eternal life with him. This is our History, and this is our Destiny.
Let us welcome him into our lives and homes and into our parish.
For Baptized Christians, Christmas is a Holy Day of Obligation. Don’t miss Mass on Christmas.
The season of Christmas lasts from Christmas Eve on Dec. 24, through January 12th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
Faithful, baptized Christians grow and mature in faith and leave behind their childhood by growing in faith in sacraments and their worship. We mature to become Christian adults in the Sacramental life of the Church by being faithful to come to Mass every Sunday and every Holy Day. We go to Confession when necessary, at least once a year if not more frequently. This is how we prepare to share Jesus’ Divinity in eternal life.
January 1st is also a Holy Day of Obligation, for his mother, Mary, Mother of God. Don’t miss Mass on this important feast day. Mary shows us the way to her son.
Our destiny is in heaven with Jesus and Mary. We begin with his birth in Bethlehem. And we finish with him in his Death and Resurrection. We journey with him in the sacraments.
Merry Christmas!