Christmas is a particularly special time for me. My birthday is on Christmas Day. As my faith developed, I became more aware of the supernatural significance of being born on the same day as Our Lord. The realization that the second person of the Holy Trinity–the Word of God–took on a human form and became one of us, yet He has two natures, fully human and fully divine. Our Lord did this with one aspect in mind, to put it broadly, the salvation of souls through the New Covenant.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”. –John 1:14
The Old Covenant was to usher in a Savior who would fulfill it with a New Covenant (cf. Matthew 5:17-19). Our Blessed Lord unveiled the New Covenant at the Last Supper with the institution of the Eucharist, which is a participation in and an anticipation of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, with Christ as the Bridegroom and His Church, the Bride.
With the aim of heaven to be open and the opportunity for souls to be saved to enter into the Beatific Vision in Heaven, Our Blessed Lord had to take on flesh to lay way for the Last Supper, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. For Christ to become the Cornerstone of His Church, He had to first take on human form which he received from Our Blessed Mother. Without the Nativity of our Lord, there is no Passion, no Calvary, and no foretaste of Heaven in the Eucharistic sacrifice to prepare us for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:9)
"The angels surround the priest, the whole sanctuary, and the space before the altar is filled with the heavenly Powers come to honor Him who is present upon the altar." –St. John Chrysostom
During Christmas we hear of Eucharistic tones. Christ–Living Bread from Heaven–was born in a town called Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means House of Bread, and He was born in a manger, which is a feeding trough that animals ate from. These are foreshadows of what would take place at the Last Supper with the institution of the Eucharist, and echoed one year prior to that at the Bread of Life Discourse at Capernaum (John 6:22-71).
We are not worthy, but God in His self-sacrificial love (Greek: agape) invites us to participate in the wedding banquet we call the Eucharist, which is the perfect thanksgiving sacrifice worthy of God the Father. For this to happen, the Word had to become Flesh, born in a feeding trough in a town called House of Bread (Bethlehem). It is worthy to note that Christmas is one of the earliest feast days (or holy days) after Easter and the Epiphany.
When we pray the Our Father, we ask God our Father to give us the daily bread. When translated from Greek, epiousios, means super-substantial or supernatural bread. We are not only asking for merely the natural food to nourish us, but the Bread of Life in the Eucharist, which is elevated with the words during the liturgy: “Behold the Lamb of God, Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world, Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.” Rather than reduce Christmas to the mere natural and material level, it is a time of year we can lift up our hearts and minds to the supernatural elements of the Nativity and the salvific road it paved for us.
“Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.” –Luke 2:14
by John Connor