Throughout Advent, the Old Testament prophecies of the joy and peace to be ushered in by the Messiah, and the New Testament enjoins, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Prepare the way of the Lord!” (Mt 3:2-3). Together, the prophecies and injections convey a profound truth: Jesus, the Messiah, has come to us; and if I give myself to him with my whole heart, as a disciple to his master, I will find the peace and joy that was prophesied. The prophesies imply that joy and peace will one day reign through a transformation of our physical world, but Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God cannot be observed; it is among you” (Lk 17:20-21). We human beings tend to operate with an Old Testament perspective, believing that the physical world must change before we can be truly content. This makes life difficult for us, and for those around us, and makes our personal joy and peace fleeting. The Nativity reveals God’s presence as already manifested in the physical world, and invites us to a new way of looking at life, a way symbolized to divine perfection by the child Jesus lying in a manger. Every year this scene brings feelings of peace and joy in the renewed conviction that God’s plan for the world unfolds, not through conflict and violence, but through the love and gentleness of a mother and her infant. The Holy Family enjoys fullness of life in a stable, while the world rushes on, having no room for such perfect love.

-Father Tom