On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Over the last three days, our readings have described the Christian journey in miniature.
***
On Monday, we celebrated the birth of our Lord. This is the beginning of any journey of faith – believing in Jesus as Emmanuel, “God with us.”
The image of the Christ-child also serves as an appropriate image for a new believer, whose faith is still small, humble, and weak.
***
Yesterday, we celebrated the Feast of Saint Stephen, who performed miracles, preached skillfully to crowds, and ministered to widows.
Stephen represents what happens to us when faith begins to mature: we act on it.
***
Today we encounter the third, final stage of the Christian journey: the empty tomb.
After we run the race of life to the finish and keep the faith, it’s our hope to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, whom Mary and the Apostles remind us, was raised from the dead.
May the same Spirit who raised Jesus bring us all to everlasting life.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Getty Images (2) Eugene Burnand, Peter and John Running to the Tomb (3) KCIS 630
Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.
When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
The Word of the Lord.
***
***
Yesterday nearly one billion people gathered in churches around the world singing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
We celebrated the birth of our Savior.
***
Today the Church takes us in, what feels like, the opposite direction.
We’re not celebrating the birth of a child, but the death of an innocent man, Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
Why such an abrupt change in tone?
***
Perhaps to remind us that faith always comes at a cost. It’s one thing to believe in Jesus – and another thing to do something about it.
As our first reading reveals, Stephen was a deacon who preached, took care of widows, performed miracles, and debated skillfully with the religious leaders of his day.
Much like his Lord, Stephen was put to death because of what he proclaimed. And as a final act of faith, he cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Stephen gave his life willingly for the Gospel because he believed that, like his Lord who was raised from a dark, dusty tomb shortly beforehand, he would rise again, as well.
***
Yesterday nearly one-billion people gathered in churches around the world to faithfully celebrate the birth of the Christ-child, singing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
Today we’re reminded to do something about it. As we prepare to enter another year, like Saint Stephen, what will I do about my faith?
Saint Stephen, pray for us.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Saint Stephen, Carlo Crivelli (2) Stoning of Saint Stephen, Giovani Battista Luccini (3) Church on the Rock
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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Merry Christmas!
***
I’m sure most of you have a Christmas tree standing tall at home, fully decorated with ornaments and gifts beneath it.
Some may also have a nativity set, depicting the birth of Jesus that first Christmas night.
A number of our children made their own nativity scene in faith formation last week to help them imagine the scene.
This is a tradition that dates back 800 years to Saint Francis of Assisi, who assembled the first nativity scene.
However, his was much simpler than ours. Today we often see nativity scenes crowded with figurines. But Francis included only three: Jesus, an ox, and a donkey.
No Mary, no Joseph, no shepherds, no angels, no magi, no star. Only Jesus, an ox, and a donkey.
Why was his so simple?
***
Saint Francis boiled the meaning of Christmas down to its essence.
***
We know why Jesus was placed there. We’re celebrating his birth, which is nothing less than the miraculous arrival of God in the flesh.
But why the ox and the donkey?
***
They are first mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, who foretold the coming of the Lord.
In the opening lines of the Book of Isaiah, the LORD says, “An ox knows its owner and a donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know me; my people have not understood.”
What is it that our Hebrew ancestors did not understand? Or what was it that Saint Francis wanted us to see?
Time and time again, Israel failed to recognize the LORD in their midst, who often revealed himself through his Word and the prophets.
Although an ox recognizes its owner – it’s the one who feeds, nourishes, and shelters them – “Israel does not know me,” the LORD says. “My people have not understood.”
Israel failed to see the Lord in their midst, much as the innkeeper failed to see God present in the Christ-child that first Christmas night.
This is why Francis chose the ox and the donkey to be in his nativity scene, to encourage us to see what the animals see, to recognize that our master is here, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger.
Jesus is “Emmanuel,” God with us. God “for” us. He has come to usher in that kingdom of peace foretold in our first reading.
***
There are two other aspects of our Lord’s birth that we are invited to “see” this Christmas.
***
From the very beginning, Jesus is setting the stage for what he will leave behind: his resurrected presence in the Eucharist.
This is emphasized by the fact that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, meaning, “house of bread,” and in a manger, literally, “a feeding trough.”
Do we “see” this?
Do we recognize Christ in the Eucharist, first born in Bethlehem – the house of bread – born in a manger?
***
The other aspect of the nativity scene is what we don’t see: the closed door of the inn.
The Gospel tells us, “There was no room for them.” Anyone staying inside the inn was, literally and figuratively, distanced from Jesus.
But we who look upon the manger this Christmas are near. We are out in the elements, standing, gazing, pondering, what his birth means for us.
Like the donkey and the ox, we recognize our Master and we want to “see” him.
***
This is what brought each of us here.
A desire to “see” God fully alive in this child.
To “see” him fully present in the Eucharist.
To “see” him still working wonders in our lives.
While our nativity sets will soon be returned to storage for another year, may the essence of what it teaches us remain – God fully present in this Christ-child, who feeds us in this Eucharist, who is still acting in our lives today.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, Merry Christmas!
