December 18, 2009
Christmas 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We have been expecting. Yes, the birth of one who turns out to be our brother not because of anything we did but because of what He did!
Mary’s little baby born in Bethlehem arrived because of God’s infinite love and mercy for us. Jesus, the name given Him by the Angel Gabriel, is not only a human being like each of us, He is also the Son of God!
Jesus, the baby boy, grew through childhood and adolescence as we all have. He loved Mary and Joseph; he played as children of his time played; he studied in the Jewish tradition of that time learning the scriptures by heart.
I have always wondered how the teens of Jesus’ era socialized beyond the synagogue or the yeshiva, the Jewish school for boys. What were their childhood and teen games? Did they go fishing? Did they go hiking? How did each of his peers regale their parents with happy surprises as they shared their joys with them?
We know that Jesus busied himself at home with Joseph in the carpenter shop and assuredly helped his mom out by making sure there was water aplenty and picking up his clothes off the floor! Mom and Dad had to be very proud of their son!
Mary, Joseph and Jesus are the Holy Family of Christmas! Yes, they lived in a different time and place and in a very different culture. Nonetheless they celebrated family as you do in our own time, place and culture.
Jesus’ cousin John, son of Elizabeth and Zachary, must have visited often. I bet the two of them had “sleepovers” and teen-adventures into the wilderness. Because they both knew Scriptures so well, I am certain they often discussed their futures and how their lives would unfold.
We now know how it all came to be. The Jesus of Christmas has adopted all of us as his own brothers and sisters. He is our brother. His mother is our mother!
Moms and dads, sons and daughters of today are no different or no less serious about their futures. Unfortunately, the knowledge of our faith pales in comparison to that of Mary and Joseph, of Elizabeth and Zachary and that of Jesus and John, our elder brothers. How can we change that tragic reality?
May the wonder inspired by mystery of Christmas abide with you now and throughout your lives! I will pray for all of you both at the Cathedral at Midnight Mass and then again at the Prison in Carlisle on early Christmas morning! Pray for me too!
Faithfully yours in Christ,
+ Bishop Gerald