Come Let us Adore Him. Christmas (2015_12-25)

[__01__]     Humility equals greatness.  An important message of the Gospel and Christmas Gospel is that humility is equivalent to greatness.

[__02__]     Coming to Mass at Christmas, for the Nativity of our Lord, we traditionally begin by singing, “Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord.”

However, whom do we adore?  To whom do we pay such homage, such reverence and respect?

A child, the infant Jesus. As Isaiah prophesied, “You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing … For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful.” (Isaiah 9:2, 5, 6)

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[__03__]    We pay this great reverence and respect to the child given to us as our Savior.  Later, in the Gospel,  our Lord confirmed and affirmed this. We read that ¨Jesus, calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of [the disciples]” (Matthew 18:2).

Then, Jesus said,  “Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven.”  (Matthew 18:4)

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Also, in the Gospel Book of John, Chapter 3, Jesus instructed the Pharisee and scholar,  Nicodemus about the calling to spiritual childhood and the calling to be born again.

[elaborate …exemplify what is this childlike simplicity… wise as a serpent and  gentle as a dove? More?]

Having been told that he was supposed to be born again, Nicodemus repeatedly asks the logical and scientific questions with skepticism. “How can this be?”

Jesus tells Nicodemus that we are are born again because God’s Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word of God pitched his tent among us. (John 1:14)

As Jesus said to Nicodemus and to us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

[__04__]    We come to Mass at Christmas and on Sunday and at any time to church, recognizing that greatness, true greatness comes from our simplicity, our humility.

[__04.01__]    This comes from our acceptance not only of Jesus as a wise teacher and grown-up. We also adore him as a child, one  who is equally our Savior even before he can speak or walk. He is our Savior even before he was born.

Our Christian calling, then, is not only to imitate his wisdom as an adult  but also his simplicity and humility as a child. Jesus  praised this simplicity in the child and in his disciples.  Of  the apostle Nathaniel, for example, Jesus observed, “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile.” (John 1:47)

Jesus points out that simplicity – or guilelessness is a difficult and rare virtue. John Henry Newman summarizes this with the following  habits or actions:

1.     “Mean what we say”[& say what we mean]

2.     Love without dissimulation [or without falsehood … as St. Paul writes, “love always rejoices with the truth.”  (1 Corinthians 13:6) There is no false appearance in love.] 

3.     “Think no evil”

4.     “Bear no grudge”

5.     “Be free from selfishness”(i.e., don’t ask …”what’s  in it for me?”

6.     “Be innocent and straightforward.”

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 [__06__]   Whether you or I were a grown-up or a child, we could feel – at times – rejected or pushed aside.

This is painful. But, in pain, there can be gain. At certain times, we can even take advantage of these encounters through the practice of humility and of simplicity.

We can recognize, with humility and objectivity, that  one rejection or failure does not mean we have failed in everything or been rejected by everyone.

That is, we can recognize that God Himself loves us, that we are always a part  of his family.

It is true that not everyone is going to like us or return our affection.

This was true even for Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior of the World.

Some rejected him even before he could speak.

[__07__]   Meanwhile, seeing him as a simple child, we have come to adore him.  The shepherds in their humility, the three kings in their humility, paid him the same respect.

Jesus was protected and guarded and nurtured by this adoration. He was protected from danger.

Through the example of Joseph and Mary, through their courage, prayerfulness, through their alertness when they are awake, and through their dreams when they are unconscious, we learn to adore him, we learn that  “Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  (Matthew 18:4) 

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[__08__]  The Gospel is a call to simplicity, a call to spiritual childhood and to the welcome of Christ as a child.

This connection with Jesus as a  child and our own identity as child of God helps us to share the Good News.

It also helps us to proclaim the  Year of Mercy of which Pope Francis speaks.

[__09__]  In this Year of Mercy (2015 – 2016), Pope Francis reminds us that we can ease the pain and difficulty that come from sinfulness.  We can do this in 2 principal ways.

[__10__]     First, we are called to acknowledge our faults through an examination of conscience, to an examination of our actions and what  caused them.

A child – is he not … is she not – often more ready to acknowledge a wrong, a fault, a sin, more readily than some adults, some grown-ups?

¨ For to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.¨ (Matthew 19:14)

So, we are invited to confession, to the sacrament of penance and  reconciliation, to confess our sins, to receive God’s mercy,  to receive  absolution.

[__11__]    Each time, we receive  his mercy, we grow in strength and  freedom. 

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has a second teaching for us about mercy.  We are called both to receive and to share God’s mercy.

We are called to practice the  corporal and spiritual works of mercy which include – for example – feed  the hungry, visit the  sick, to forgive offenses willingly, to bear wrongs patiently.

To do this, humility and simplicity are fundamental.

Come let us adore him. Our  spiritual childhood awaits.

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[__12__]  One early summer day, around Memorial Day of  2006, I was reminded  of  this call to childhood and this call to receive and share mercy.

I had just spent several days with my family and my parents. And,  as sometimes  happens, theoretically, in some families, there was some division.  This was, shall  we say, a long-division  problem that I thought needed to be solved.  I was anxious about the health of another family member.  I was angry and left the  house  suddenly.

After I drove away, about 15 minutes later, I turned around and went back to the house. I apologized, though I also realized  that my mother was not  interested in a  long explanation.  She was only interested that I had  returned.

It was, shall we say,  a Prodigal Son moment.  I had repented of a wrong.

I was also called to practice a  spiritual work of mercy  to be more patient.

Mercy invites us into a relationship and also to find joy in the relationship. As St. John of the Cross teaches, where there is no love, put love and you will draw out love.

There was some love in this moment not only to “put” but also to draw out.

I remember feeling a bit awkward about … at this point… just leaving the house again… I did have somewhere to go, I had a visit with 2 friends schedule for later the same day.   But, maybe there was something we could enjoy together. I could put my journey on hold

At that time of day, as I recall, there was no meal for my mom and I to have…no errand  to complete, no project to collaborate on. 

It was truly fortuitous that this was June of  2006 and that the World Cup Soccer tournament was being played in Germany. The games were in a time zone far, far away. Many games were being broadcast in the late morning or at midday.

So we sat down to watch Portugal play France…or someone. I’m not sure of the competitors.   My mother had watched all of us, over the years, from the sidelines play soccer (and other sports). It was something we shared as a family. In this, watching the World Cup was a concrete way to return to childhood, to complete a reconciliation, to acknowledge God’s presence,  to give thanks for  our family bond and – at that moment  … to come and  adore him. [__fin__]