Emmanuel: Biblical Reflections on Christmas
We live in a world of instant global communications which shrink global distances but which leave us strangers to our next door neighbours. We live in a world of ruptured relationships and broken families. It is in this context that we reflect on the gift of Emmanuel and our celebration of Christmas.
What do the Gospels say about Christmas?
As is well known, each evangelist has a different portrait of Jesus and his origins. Mark begins with the baptism of Jesus and is silent about Jesus’ birth stories. While Matthew launches his Gospel with the birth of Jesus, Luke goes backward and begins with the annunciation of the birth of Jesus. But the evangelist John reaches to the time before the beginning of creation and talks about the pre-existent Word which became flesh in Jesus Christ. In sum, the synoptic prologues are concerned with the earthly origins of Jesus, but John is interested in the heavenly pre-existence of Jesus. This is so because each evangelist has a different theological agenda as they communicate Jesus’ story, responding to the pastoral concerns of his respective community.
The evangelist Matthew introduces Jesus as a descendent of Abraham and David (Mt 1:1). Matthew reports that Jesus’ father Joseph was instructed by God through dreams just as the Patriarch Joseph. He describes Jesus’ birth and early life which in many ways resemble the stories about the birth and life of Moses. Jesus is portrayed as the Virgin Mary’s son, whose name is Emmanuel – Immanu El, which means “God with us” in Hebrew (Mt 1:22-23; Is 7:14). Mary is rather silent and Joseph is the recipient of God’s communications. The evangelist constantly reminds the readers that these things happened in order to fulfil what was spoken by the Lord through the prophets (Mt 1:22-23; 2:5-6, 17).
The Lukan version of Jesus’ birth is longer and more colourful (Luke 1:26 – 2:20). The narrative includes Gabriel’s visit to Mary, Mary’s visit to Elisabeth and the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. According to Luke, the first Christmas was a tiring, anxious, nervous and lonely day for the young couple, Mary and Joseph, as they could not find a place to spend the night (Luke 2:1-7). Bethlehem was crowded with travellers and the inhabitants of the village. An inn keeper finally allows them to stay in a cowshed with the animals. That night a baby named Jesus was born for the world as a gift of God’s immense love. The angels sang glory to God and the shepherds praised God (Luke 2:8-20), as Jesus the Son of God has brought the gifts of peace, love and hope to the world. Unlike Matthew, the evangelist Luke gives Mary a more active role in the infancy narratives of Jesus and depicts her as a model of the human quest for liberation and wholeness (Luke 1:46-55). Mary interprets Jesus’ birth as the manifestation of a God who is in love with the lowly and humble, and one who exalts the poor and needy.
The evangelist John does not talk about the birth of Jesus, but begins the Gospel by introducing the story of the eternal Word (logos) – “in the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). The evangelist identifies this story with that of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the prologue (John 1:1-18). The prologue makes two points: (1) The eternal, preexistent Word became human in Jesus Christ; (2) The cosmos is made the dwelling place of God (John 1:1-18). In the Semitic tradition, the Word (dabar) of God symbolizes the powerful presence of God’s love that was active in God’s creative work, in the experiences of the exodus journey of the Israelites and in the lives of the prophets. The universe came into existence through the Word (John 1:3). What human beings have received from the Word is life and light (John 1:4). John presents the mystery of the Incarnation as a boundary-breaking moment when the divine encountered the human, the heavens touched the earth, and the sacred merged into the secular. The purpose of the Incarnation – God become human – is to empower us humans to become the children of God (John 1:12).
What does Christmas mean to us?
Christmas is all about God’s infinite, loving presence with us: Emmanuel. It is about love and abiding relationships, leading humans to communion with God, with one another and the cosmos. Christmas thus celebrates the gift of Emmanuel – the guiding light of God in the unfolding history of humans. God thus journeys with us here on earth. Since God has become human and dwells among us, we need not wait until after death to see God nor to look for God in some unreachable high places in heaven. God is indeed with us, and we find God’s face in other human beings as well as in the cosmos.
The gift of Emmanuel overthrows the systems that devalue matter, the human body and secular concerns. When we are open to the ongoing revelation of God in our daily life, just as God’s Word guided the people of Israel and the prophets, the gift of Emmanuel empowers us and leads us to the fullness of life and love. Christmas gives us the firm hope that we can become like God since God has already become human. Christmas is above all a feast of love and hope.
How do we celebrate Christmas?
As Christmas is around the corner, we look forward to beautiful cribs, Santa Claus, flashing lights, coloured decorations, carol singing, new clothing, festive meals, and Christmas cakes. It is also an occasion for gatherings, picnics and merry making. Both Scripture and Tradition tell us that the first Christmas night was different. It was an unusual event as the baby born of a virgin was Emmanuel – God in human form.
We celebrate Christmas when we make God’s loving presence visible. Jesus tells us that God wants nothing more than to come to life in us, to become alive in our words and actions at home, at work, at school, in the community. And it happens. There are human beings, flesh-and-blood women and men, in whom God is clearly and radiantly alive. Many, especially the poor and the lonely, could experience God’s love in Saint Teresa of Calcutta. All of us could name people about whom we could say, “I have seen God in this woman or this man.” In that person’s goodness or generosity or courage we knew we were experiencing something of God. A smile can make a big difference in the lives of another. A kind word can touch lives, give hope, and bring joy and peace to our fellow human beings. A listening ear and a caring heart bridge distances and heal rifts. A forgiving attitude builds up families and communities.
We celebrate Christmas when we make God’s transforming grace visible by participating in the ongoing struggle against all sorts of discrimination and injustice, against all that impedes our quest for truth and wholeness. When we create a new culture of human fellowship marked by respect and love, a new society that is more just and less violent, and a new history that is more human and caring, then we make visible Emmanuel – the transforming grace of God’s loving presence in the world.
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