Here is an article I wrote for our most recent parish bulletin:
I’m sitting in a patient room at Winter Park Memorial hospital, next to my sleeping wife, just a few hours away from delivering our second child. When we found out that we were pregnant, and began considering where to give birth, we had a number of excellent options. But we ultimately decided on this place. With comfortable air-conditioning, a flat-screen TV on the wall, and a squad of nurses meeting our every need, the conditions are on par with any hotel.
For better or worse, the decision was up to us, the parents; our new daughter had no say in the matter. Whether we chose to give birth at a hospital, in the woods, or at a Wal-Mart, little Teresa had no choice. She didn’t choose her birthplace, I didn’t choose mine, and I’m guessing you didn’t choose yours, either.
Only one person in human history made this choice for himself: Jesus of Nazareth. The Church teaches that just as Jesus pre-determined his own mother, the Virgin Mary, He also pre-determined the circumstances of his own birth.
Yet, with unlimited options, he chose the most unlikeliest of places: a dingy stable in a hick-town outpost of the Roman empire. Why there? Truly, Bethlehem didn’t have a lot going for it–no comfortable palaces, no team of midwives, and no air-conditioning or flat-screen televisions. Was that a fitting place for the Lord of the World? Why did Jesus choose this stage for his grand entrance into human history?
The Church has always seen in Jesus’ birth the Catholic social principle of “solidarity.” Jesus began his human life in union with the poor and marginalized of the world. He didn’t choose to be born in a royal mansion, a five-star hotel, or in the religious epicenter, Jerusalem. He chose to be born in a destitute stable. This was no accident, but an intentional choice.
Ancient prophecies pointed to Jesus as ‘Emmanuel’, meaning “God-with-us”, and his birth boomed the loudest ‘me-too’ in history. He was born homeless among the homeless. He was born on the margins among the marginalized. He was born in struggle among the strugglers.
So, at the heart of his Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus proclaims, “blessed are you who are poor”, his words hold weight. They are powerful precisely because he knows what being poor really means. He was born poor, he lived poor, and he died poor.
Entering our history through a dirty, Bethlehem stable, Jesus shouted to the world that no matter how low, how defeated, or how miserable you are, God is with you–God is on your side.
During the Christmas season, our culture screams to us, ‘blessed are the rich’, ‘blessed are the powerful’, and ‘blessed are the comfortable’. Jesus’ birth, however, reveals that when you are at your lowest, your poorest, your most vulnerable that then you are nearest to God, then you are most ‘blessed’.
Therefore, Jesus exclaims, blessed are the not-good-enough’s, blessed are the strugglers, and blessed are the doubters. Blessed are the B-team, the junior-varsity, and the almosts. Blessed are you when you are at end of your line for then, and always, God is with you.
Jesus’ birth proclaims that individualism doesn’t bring true satisfaction—solidarity does. Getting more ‘stuff’ doesn’t bring contentment—selfless giving does. Comfort doesn’t bring joy—simplicity does.
If you want a truly ‘blessed’ Christmas, approach the stables of our world, seeking solidarity, selflessness, and simplicity. Focus during the holidays on a friend or family member who is at their lowest point. Encourage the jobless, converse with the homeless, and as a family, take time to pray for the poor among us.
Instead of buying needless gifts that will be forgotten in a couple weeks, purchase ‘alternative gifts’ for the people on your list: shoes for kids in Latin America, clean water for families in Africa, or online micro-loans for women in Asia. Or donate in someone’s name to Catholic Charities or Catholic Relief Services.
We give to these people and causes not primarily because they need our help, but because we need theirs. Since God is always found among the lowly, entering into solidarity with the poor and marginalized brings us deeper into God’s presence.
As you look for Jesus this Christmas, look as the wise men did: to the most insignificant, poorest, and peripheral places around. And, as Jesus said, when you seek him there, you will find him.