The Cross and Christmas

December 16th Readings Reflection: Saturday of the Second Week of Advent

In today's Gospel, we hear how St. John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Christ’s coming. However, many people “did not recognize him but [instead] did to him whatever they pleased.” St. John the Baptist's suffering and death foreshadowed Jesus' own suffering and death.

The Passion is not something that we frequently meditate upon in the context of Christmas. However, Christmas occurred so that Good Friday—and with it, Easter Sunday—could occur. Jesus was born on Christmas so that He could give His life to redeem mankind from the bonds of sin and death. As the St. Andrew Christmas Novena reminds us, Jesus suffered from the moment He was born in the stable “in the piercing cold.” His being laid in the manger foreshadowed the way in which He would give Himself to us in the Holy Eucharist. Just as He laid in the feeding trough moments after His birth, Our Lord continues to give Himself to us as the Bread of Life in the Holy Eucharist. He is the living Bread from Heaven that nourishes our souls and unites us more closely with Himself.

Meditating on Christ’s Passion seems to contrast with the joyful celebration of His birth at Christmas, but doing so is a powerful reminder of the purpose for which Jesus’ birth occurred. As St. Paul tells us, Christ “humbled [H]imself, becoming obedient unto death” (Phil 2:8). Our Lord’s divine intellect was fully aware that He would give His life on the Cross thirty-three years later. However, He nonetheless humbled Himself and was born a tiny infant in a humble stable.

The people rejected St. John the Baptist and refused to prepare their hearts for Christ’s coming. Thus, when He arrived, many people were not prepared to accept Him as the Messiah, instead rejecting Him from their hearts and ultimately crucifying Him. The Church gives us the season of Advent each year in order that we may not be like those people who rejected St. John the Baptist but instead prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming at Christmas. We celebrate His birth with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the unbloody representation of His sacrifice on Calvary, which is truly the most fitting way to commemorate Christ’s coming into the world. “God so loved the world, as to give [H]is only begotten Son” (Jn 3:16). God continues to love each and every one of us with this same infinite love, and it is indeed true that if you or I were the only person ever created, Jesus would still have become incarnate to save us from the bonds of sin and death. May we return this love and give our hearts more and more to Him during this time of preparation for Christmas.

Painting by Fra Angelico. Public domain