"The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God," in the words of St. Mark, is not the familiar Bethlehem nativity story but rather the appearance and preaching of St. John the Baptist. The other Gospel writers in their own telling of the story indicate this same spiritual truth. The history of the Gospel begins in Bethlehem but the life of the Gospel begins where there is repentance and faith. So it is that the ministry of St. John the Baptist is so prominent in the liturgy of Advent.

In the confusion of trivial and superficial activities that have come to surround and almost bury the commemoration of the Savior's Birth the Baptist is our secret guide to the real Christmas. In a time when Christmas is given over to children (and to the childish pursuits of adults) he reminds us that the appearance of the Messiah is serious business that should engage the attention of adults as much as, if not more than, that of children. The Incarnation of the Son of God and the annual sacramental celebration of that event demands mature attention and reflection.

Thus during Advent each year we hear the Baptist's exhortation "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight" (Lk 3:5). The valleys to be filled are those of immaturity, lack of love, carelessness and indifference toward God and neighbor. The obstructing hills to be brought low are those of pride, false expectations and demands of God and others. The crooked ways to be straightened are those of wrong ideas, bad habits, and sinful ways of acting. When asked by the multitudes "What then shall we do?" the Baptist's answer is concrete and anticipates the best of our Christmas traditions: "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise" (Lk 3:10f).

The Christmas celebrations of adults are sometimes overshadowed by events in the previous year: illness or injury, the loss of loved ones, or other tragedy. The Advent Liturgy gives us a way to reflect on these difficult or painful events within the broad perspective of God's plan for salvation. The Scriptures tells us that the great "Christmas" of Christ's second coming will be preceded and heralded by the so called "Messianic signs:" wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, terrors and great signs from heaven (cf Lk 21:10ff). These things will be a trial even to the believers, but through it all they have the promise "not a hair of your head will perish" (Lk 21:18). If we accept them in the light of faith, the troubling events of the past year can be for us our own "Messianic signs" that bring about in our personal lives a wholesome purification, a winnowing of chaff from wheat, and a greater depth and maturity to our welcoming the Lord this Christmas. Precisely out of and in the midst of the difficulties, sorrows, griefs and disappointments that seem to mar our Christmas celebration we can hear more clearly the exhortation to "look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Lk 21:28). In the darkness the subtle light of the true Christmas can be more clearly discerned. It was so even for the very first Christmas: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (Jn 1:4).

While it is a blessing to be able to enjoy pleasant memories of our childhood Christmases, we should resist the temptation to idealize them and to turn this celebration into just a nostalgic reveling in the past. There was much in those "perfect" Christmases of childhood that was lacking or in need of development. Material concerns dominated our thinking, and the deeper spiritual understanding of the celebration was overshadowed. Much of what we now most cherish about our early Christmases-love, family, simplicity, faith-were probably much undervalued at the time. This was not wrong, but it was not mature thinking either. The Christmases of childhood are something to build upon, not to rest in. Nostalgic memories should not distract us from our duty as mature Christians to be aware of how the Lord is coming to us this Christmas and to reflect what that should mean in our lives now.

If we carefully attend to the message of Advent we will understand that Christmas is for grownups-and for children who are growing up. Whether we are young or old, whether our circumstances seem happy or difficult, the best Christmas is always this one. The Gospel of St. John read on Christmas Day relates the idea of fullness to Christ: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (Jn 1:14). The annual sacramental celebration of Christ's birth puts us in touch with this inexhaustible fullness. Every Christmas, but now this Christmas, we receive from that fullness "grace upon grace" (cf Jn 1:16).

Sincerely,
Fr. Richard G. Herbel