“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” John 1: 14
I must admit this Christmas was very unusual for me. This was my first Christmas to attend mass alone. I am 50 years old and as long as I can remember my family has attended mass together on Christmas Eve usually gathering after mass with extended family to celebrate with a meal. However, due to Mom’s severe leg pain, Dad’s diminishment, my brother staying in New York since he’ll be coming in a few weeks for Mom’s knee replacement surgery, and other family dynamics; I found myself attending mass this morning in my hometown alone. I went with a very tender heart for numerous reasons.
I entered church overwhelmed with sadness and kept reminding myself that I was there for the Lord and to worship Him alone. In all of the busyness of preparing food, I had not looked at the scripture readings for the mass ahead of time. I was so excited when I realized the gospel for the Christmas morning Mass was from the Gospel According to John (my favorite gospel).
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1: 1-5
For me the Word that became flesh many years ago in the manger in Bethlehem came then and still comes today to bring light to the human race. The light that shines in the darkness. A light that cannot be overcome by any darkness. As I pondered the gospel during mass and as I approached the altar for the Eucharist after reflecting on the messages from these scripture verses, I knew without a doubt what the baby in the manger symbolized for me. I needed that light in the darkness. I remember the first time I realized that the origin of the word manger means “to eat”. Growing up in a Cajun French town, it made sense to me because manger’ in French means “to eat” so the baby in the manger took on new meaning then and again this year in terms of how I need to be nourished at the manger.
As I sat in mass with a heavy heart, I turned to the Word that became flesh (Jesus) and begged for the nourishment to see the light amidst the darkness in the depths of my soul. I begged the Lord to help me see Him in everyone I encountered especially those family members who have caused me pain intentionally or unintentionally and to give me the strength to be Him to all others that I encounter even with an aching heart. I believe my prayers were answered as I truly celebrated the real reason for the season by celebrating the Feast of the Incarnation and admitting my own vulnerabilities in my humanity knowing that Jesus, Our Compassionate High Priest, can sympathize with me and you in all things because He too was human (Hebrews 4:15).
So as you reflect on your Christmas Day and the Christmas Season following, spend some time pondering what nourishment the manger might symbolize in your own life……..Is there some area of vulnerability that you still may need to bring to the altar and ask Jesus, the Incarnate Word, for nourishment about?
Allow the grace and the truth of the Word made flesh that dwells amongst us comfort and console you….and share in the comments how that grace and truth of the Word made flesh may have comforted or consoled you this Christmas……………………………….
Merry Christmas from my heart to yours!
Feel Free to “cut and paste” any of these texts for Prayer or Worship Aids and simply add this reference:
“Taken from the The Hopeless Romantic: Falling in Love with God site of Patti Clement. www.patticlement.wordpress.com Used with Permission.”
The Hopeless Romantic: Falling in Love with God 