Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
How can we glorify Christ if we keep our eyes closed to the horrors of the world, to the ways we, as a society, are making things worse for those in need? How can we say we love the poor boy in the manger if we deny bread to the poor, deny a place to stay to those who have no place of their own? How can we glorify the God who, having been born of the Father before all ages, took on human nature and became one of us, embracing and promoting the dignity of all humanity, if we deny the dignity of others by our actions? How can we say we love Christ if we add to the suffering of those who have been denied justice, of those who are being cast out of society and told they have no place in it? How can we welcome Christ in our lives if we deny those in whom Christ is found?
If we love Christ, we would do as he said. If we want to honor him, not out of any external obligation, but because we love him, we would embrace those whom he embraces, love those whom he loves, and help those whom he would help. We must welcome Christ in the migrant and refugee even as Christ himself was born to become a migrant and refugee, fleeing from the wrath of Herod (and Egyptian authorities, once he was in Egypt). We must no longer deny the terrible things which are being done in the world; we must not allow ourselves to be lulled to sleep. We must awaken ourselves to Christ, not only as he is found in the manger, but as he is found with those in need. After all, only when we are awake and realize the full ramification of sin in the world can we give birth to Christ in ourselves, following the example given to us by Mary, who is said to have been awake and so able to consent to the calling given to her: : “Adam was put to sleep to give birth to woman. Mary was awakened to accept God in her flesh. She had to hear the offer of God. She had to respond to his invitation.”[1]
Let us, therefore, wake up. Let us hear what God wants from us. Let us welcome Christ into our hearts by welcoming Christ as he is found in those in need. Let is accept the invitation that God gives us by inviting Christ into our land, welcoming Christ in the stranger, so we do not end up as a country following the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, a sin which cries up to heaven and brings with it all kinds of destruction in its wake. How can we, after proclaiming Christ with our mouths, follow the spirit of Sodom and Gomorrah and deny him in our hearts? How can we do so in the name of Christ himself, as so many Christian nationalists do, and think we are honestly following Christ? We can’t. We are called to give birth to Christ in our lives by embracing the way of love, the way of justice, the way of healing and equity. We must not let sin cloud our minds and lull us unto spiritual sleep. We must join ourselves with Christ, to become, in and through him, adopted children of God, and as adopted children of God, continue the work which Christ began with the incarnation:
But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir (Gal. 4:4-7 RSV).
When Jesus told us he will be found in and with those in need, when he pointed his unity with them, not only should we take that seriously, we must find ourselves, having joined ourselves to Christ, recognize ourselves in them. We must not only show them solidarity, but we must truly come to love them as ourselves. If we do this, Christ will truly be found living in and with us. We must reject those who claim to be religious and follow Christ while showing disdain for Christ in the poor, disdain for Christ in the oppressed, for their disdain for Christ in the poor and needy shows their words are as deceptive today as they were when they came out of Herod:
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him” (Matt. 2:2-8 RSV).
Let us glorify Christ. Let us celebrate the feast by making sure we welcome Christ, not just in words, but in deeds. Let us wake up to the way Christ is being oppressed today. How can we sing about Christ being away in a manger, about how there was no room for Christ and his family in Bethlehem, wondering why so many failed to welcome them, when we fail to welcome Christ in those in need? How many say there is no room for Christ in the stranger, Christ in the migrant, Christ in the refugee, in our country? How many would kick Christ in the stranger out, or worse, abuse him and perhaps kill him, if they could? If someone tried to justify it by saying they are merely following the rule of law, we must recognize how and why it is the rule of law, that it is a rule made by those who claim to be Christian, seeking to use the law to justify being unchristian. The law was not always there, and no Christian should create or enforce unjust laws. Indeed, an unjust law is no law. We can’t use laws as scapegoats, using them to ignore our Christian obligations. When human laws come face to face with Christ and reject what Christ would have us do, we must follow after Christ and not the law, setting people free from the injustice done in the name of the law. If we are to glorify him, let us, therefore, embrace those in whom Christ is to be found, and on Christmas, this especially means those who best represent the inhumanity Christ faced when he was himself born.
Christ is born! Let is properly glorify him, not just today, but throughout the year to come!
[1] Archbishop Joseph Raya, The Abundance of Love: The Incarnation and Byzantine Tradition (Combermere, ON: Madonna House Publications, 1989; 3rd ed.: 2016), 25.
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