As we wake up after the momentous day in the Christian calendar, it might be salutary to reflect on the miracle of Christmas Day, when we celebrate the birth of Christ. For at the heart of the Christian faith is the truth that God became flesh and dwells among us.
Too many of us, who claim to be Christian, drift from one day to the other without much reflection on this outstanding mystery that changed and keeps on changing the world. And reflection does not come easily in our noise-filled world.
The birth of Christ is intimately linked to the great Catholic tradition that teaches the three different senses of the term Corpus Christi. The first refers to the birth of Christ that was termed Corpus Natum. The birth of Christ is also a time to ponder on our own birth, as every life is a cause of celebration and thanksgiving.
G. K. Chesterton, reflecting about gifts he used to receive from Father Christmas and the gift of life, wrote: “Once, I thought it delightful and astonishing to find a present so big it only went halfway into the stocking. Now I am delighted and astonished every morning to find a present so big that it takes two stockings to hold it, and then leaves a great deal outside. It is the large and preposterous present of myself…”
But the miracle of creation and Christianity does not stop there. When instituting the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, Christ presented himself as Corpus Eucharisticum. At the celebration of the sacrifice of the mass, Christians are invited to partake of the Body of Christ with the acknowledgement of “Amen” as they receive the sacred host with the reverence such a momentous occasion deserves.
Once again, do we reflect on this mystery with the seriousness and solemnity it deserves and ensure that we are worthy to do so? Or do we allow ourselves to be numbed by the routine of habit?
By participating in the celebration of the Eucharist, we are in turn called to sanctification, and thus help build the mystical body of the Church, termed Corpus Mysticum, in which, imbued by the Holy Spirit, we reach out and interconnect with others.
In the words of the Jesuit Fr David Vincent Meconi, SJ: “We meet Christ’s Body in a threefold manner: as the historical body that walked the dusty plains of the Middle East; as the Eucharistic Body, which is present right now in every tabernacle in the world; and as the Mystical Body, which we meet in ourselves and in our neighbours.”
Love of neighbour goes beyond the timeframe of the Christmas season and is the expected hallmark of the committed Christian
It is this mysticism that sees Christ in our fellow men and is reflected in the outpouring of generosity that is so intimately linked to the Christmas season. This reality is also linked to the original tradition known as ‘Boxing Day’ or St Stephen’s Day, when a box to collect money for the poor used to be placed in churches on Christmas Day to be then opened and distributed the next day.
At the core of the commemoration of Christ’s birth lies love of neighbour that goes beyond the time frame of the Christmas season and is the expected hallmark of the committed Christian.