Christmas: The Miracle That Changes Everything

Every year, the world announces the coming of Christmas long before the day arrives. It gets earlier and earlier.  Lights go up, music fills the stores, decorations abound and potential gifts to purchase are placed everywhere to entice shoppers. The commercial season rushes in with full force! Yet as Christians, and especially as Catholics, we know that the true season of Christmas does not begin with sales or shopping carts. It begins with a miracle. It begins with a miracle so profound that it changed the course of human history! This miracle is so intimate that it still changes hearts today.

The miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ, God Himself entering our world in humility, wrapped not in royal robes but in swaddling clothes, laid not in a palace crib but in a manger. Christmas begins not with what we do, but with what God has done. And this miracle invites us not only to remember, but to respond. Who God has created us to be connects us beautifully to who Jesus is, was and His mission.  

The Miracle of the Nativity: God With Us

At the heart of Christmas is the Incarnation. This is the moment we know as. “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, usccb.org). For Catholics, this truth is so foundational that the Catechism dedicates an entire section to why Christ became man:

• “The Word became flesh for us in order to save us” (CCC 457).
• “The Word became flesh so that we might know God’s love” (CCC 458).
• “The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness” (CCC 459).

In other words, the manger is not just a sentimental decoration. It is divine revelation.

Luke 2:1–20 gives us the image so many of us cherish: angels proclaiming glory, shepherds running to adore and Mary pondering these things in her heart. “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:  “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” The Visit of the Shepherds. When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.” (usccb.org)

While Matthew 1:23 echoes the prophecy: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” Not God above us, not God beyond us, but God with us.

The humility of Jesus’ birth mirrors the humility we need for prayer. This is something I will explore in one of my upcoming Graceful Awakening articles. God comes small, quiet, approachable. He waits for us. He invites us. The miracle of Christmas is not only that Jesus came once, but that He still comes daily. He comes in prayer, in the Eucharist and in the hearts of all who welcome Him. This miracle never grows old and its meaning continues far beyond Bethlehem.

Christmas Begins a Mission: The Call to Share the Good News

The story of Christmas doesn’t end in the manger. It begins there. Luke 2:17 tells us, “When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.” (usccb.org) They were the first evangelists. The first to follow the directions of Isaiah 52: 7, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news, Announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, saying to Zion, “Your God is King!” (usccb.org) Christmas joy isn’t meant to be contained; it is meant to be carried to others.

The birth of Jesus sets into motion the entire life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. And with the Resurrection comes the Great Commission:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, i teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.* And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:19, usccb.org)

Christmas and evangelization are connected more deeply than we often realize. One marks the coming of Jesus into the world and the other marks our call to bring Jesus into the world. Even in modern Christian music, this message echoes loudly. Lecrae’s powerful song “Tell the World” captures the heart of evangelization: when Jesus transforms your life, you cannot help but share it. The lyrics reflect what the shepherds modeled and what Jesus commands: testimony is worship. Sharing the Good News is an act of love.

And sharing our faith; joyfully, openly, compassionately, has been a theme throughout many of my Graceful Awakening columns, including writings on purpose, discipleship and letting God guide our work and daily lives. Christmas invites us to revisit those themes with renewed understanding.

The Humility of Christ’s Birth and the Dignity of Every Person

Christ’s birth in a humble stable is not an accident. It is a message. A message about who God is and who we are. In several of my articles such as “Who did God Create You to be?” and “Flawed Yet Fabulous: Find Purpose in your Imperfections,” I wrote about how God-given talents, purpose and identity reflect our innate worth. Christmas is the ultimate confirmation of that truth: God enters the world not in power, but in poverty. Not surrounded by privilege, but by simplicity.

This means:

• No one is too small for God to use.
• No life is too ordinary to matter.
• No heart is beyond hope.
• You are uniquely designed for a purpose.

The manger is God’s declaration that human life is sacred, that every person is worth saving and that love is strongest when it is humble.  We are to echo that declaration every day.

Christmas as Our Invitation to Witness

Christmas is not only a celebration, it is also a commissioning. As we receive and celebrate the miracle of the birth of Jesus, we are invited to become living witnesses of His light in the world.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16, “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (usccb.org) We are called to be a reflection of His light, to shine His light for all to see. This is the Light that entered the world on Christmas night. Here are a few practical ways we can share that light:

1. Share the Good News in word and action

Speak hope. Offer prayer. Share your testimony. As Lecrae sings, “I’mma tell the world.” and TobyMac sings, ”Speak life.” Remember that you can speak without using words. Let people see Jesus through your actions. Be a laborer for Christ.

2. Live the message of Christmas with compassion

Kindness becomes evangelization. Faith comes alive when we lift others. Make it an intentional action. You can set goals for yourself like doing one good deed a day. It can be small or large.

3. Teach faith and tradition to the next generation

In the anthologies “The Gift of Tradition: Passing down Love, Wisdom, and Holiday Magic” and “A Christmas Letter to My Children: From My Heart to Yours This Holiday Season.”  stories are shared about how faith and tradition are carried out in our lives.  The chapters I wrote speak specifically to my family. It is important to teach and talk about faith and tradition so there is understanding and a way to carry them both forward.  

4. Embrace humility and wonder

Christ came softly. We meet Him in quiet moments of prayer, gratitude and surrender. We can meet others the same way. Meet them in times with hurt and sin without judgement.

5. Let Christmas awaken your purpose

As I often write: Awaken your faith. Align your life. Shine with purpose.  The Nativity gives us the model. God humbled Himself so we might rise in Him. The Christmas season is a time to embrace the Good News and share it. Shine with God’s Word.

The Birth That Changes the World and Us

Christmas is more than a commercial holiday. It is the moment heaven touched earth. The moment salvation took its first breath. The moment God proclaimed that love; not power, not wealth, not status, is the true measure of greatness. This miracle changes everything. We just have to allow it. It changes:

How we pray.
How we see others.
How we live.
How we give.
How we hope.
How we shine.

And it calls us, like the shepherds, to go forth and tell the world that Jesus is born. This Christmas, may we not simply gaze at the manger. May we carry the message,  become disciples of joy, proclaimers of hope and bearers of the Light that still saves the world. Merry Christmas, dear brothers and sisters in Christ!  May Christ’s miracle awaken your heart and spirit, align your life and inspire you to shine more brightly than ever before.

This Christmas, let us not only gaze at the manger; let us carry The Message.