Lately I have been reflecting on the great truths of Christmas, of Christ's coming. There appear to me areas of truth to explore and one of them is the fact of history that God becomes human and reveals His love for us.
A couple of truths struck me in the past season of Christmas. God chose particular people to make His reality and message easier for us to grasp. Mary was one such.
Mary was completely human and as vulnerable to pain and suffering as you and I. True, she was without sin, and that already sets her apart from us. But she suffered great sorrows because she was the Mother of Jesus.
In one of my favourite Christmas albums Johnny Reed sings about Mary and how as a human she touched God:
Mary did you know When you kissed your little Baby you kissed the face of God?
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?Mary, did you knowthat your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?Did you knowthat your Baby Boy has come to make you new?This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you. The blind will see.The deaf will hear.The dead will live again.The lame will leap.The dumb will speakThe praises of The Lamb.
The Spirit descended and remained on Mary. In our lives we can see fellow Christians upon whom the Spirit has descended and remained. Think of persons who touch your life this way, and thank God for them and the hope and faith they engender in us.
Another such chosen human was John the Baptist. In the new mysteries of the Rosary put forth by Pope John Paul II we reflect on The Baptism of Jesus. Here John sees the Spirit like a dove descend upon Jesus and rest on Him, and he knows this is the one who was to come.
Later John declares to two disciples, one of whom is Andrew, that this is the Lamb of God. Andrew passes the good news to Simon Peter, and Jesus calls Simon to be Cephas, Peter.
God reveals Himself to us through human beings. And, like Mary and John, we are to bring the life of Christ to the world around us. This is not an impossible task if we have faith and allow the Spirit to descend upon us and remain with us as we journey through our lives.
