12/25/2009
Midnight Mass. In lieu of frankincense, my church smelt curiously like rapidly disintegrating fowl carcass. This is because – I soon discovered – the freezer, into which were naïvely committed six turkeys (leftover from feeding the disadvantaged days before,) died. Quietly. In fact, no one even suspected it had passed from this life into the next; that is, until the poignant aroma of days-spoilt bird filled the church – rising up unto the very throne of God Himself.
I chuckled dryly as we sang Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming: “…This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air…” Yeah, right.
But perhaps even the long-deceased turkeys were praising God in their own way. Maybe this made the whole experience more authentic. After all, the Lord condescended to be born in a dirty, smelly grotto. And He was adored by dirty, smelly shepherds before being adored by kings.
Poor taste if you ask me. But this is why He is God, and I am not. C’est la vie.
“Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him.”
(Antiphon of the Invitatory from the Vigils of Christmas)
Some things in the news:
Woman Topples Pope at Mass, but He Isn’t Hurt
Pilgrims crowd Bethlehem on warm Christmas eve
Cheers,
12/24/2009
Many Christians are familar with the old hymn by Walter Chalmers Smith, a minister of the Free Church of Scotland:
“Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.”
Consider those words. And then consider this; Christmas makes manifest the paradox of our faith. We worship a God whom we cannot see – whom we cannot dare to know in His essence – but who is intimately revealed to us as the little boy of Bethlehem. This is the Christmas mystery: that God became small. The Infinite condensed Himself so that people could hear Him, see Him, and touch Him. In the stable, God Almighty was vulnerable. He was fragile. He was in all respects like any other infant - dependant on another to nurse Him, dress Him, and hold Him.
In the Eucharist, the nativity of Jesus Christ is re-presented before us. We go to adore Him and to offer Him the best we can afford – not the gold, frankincense, and myrrh of the Magi – but a “humble and contrite spirit” (Psalm 51) God is again vulnerable – veiled in the appearances of bread and wine. In the Eucharist we “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8) Few recognized God’s presence in Bethlehem – how few now recognize His presence on the altars of the Christian world?
Roughly 2,000 years ago God invaded history. The Creator entered his creation – the Eternal became a part of time to lift us into eternity.
Some things in the news:
Pope to celebrate Christmas midnight mass at 10pm
AFP: Iraq Christians mark Christmas under threat
When the sun rises in the morning sky, you will see the King of kings coming forth from the Father like a radiant bridegroom from the bridal chamber. (Antiphon from the First Vespers of Christmas)
Merry Christmas,
