#A Creedal Christmas

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

by Stan Gale | In respect to procreation, God had performed the miracle of miracles. The Holy Spirit Himself had caused Mary to be with child. Not that we want to parse the conception of Jesus in biological terms, but we do want to see the uniqueness of Jesus as God the Son, taking on developing humanity like any other, in the womb of Mary...

[tinyshe]

‘In the book, The Fullness of Christ, we get Ven. Sheen’s words on the birth of Christ and how we receive Him. These words are especially important to ponder during Advent and (particularly) on Christmas Day. “‘A Child is born.’ To some He comes on this Christmas Day even in the remorse that follows, ‘There is no room…’; to some He comes when their hearts are saddened by a life that has been taken away and can be gladdened only by a Life that is given; to some, He comes when their hearts are like conscious mangers cry out ‘Lord, I am not worthy!’; to others, He comes as their study of science reminds them that the only star worth studying is the Star that leads to the Maker of the Stars; to others, He comes when their hearts are broken, that He might enter in and heal with wings wider than the world; to others, He comes in joy amidst the Venite Adoremus of the angels; to other He comes because they are so young they can never remember another Christmas – but to each and everyone He comes as if He had never come before in His own sweet way, He is the Child who is born. He, Jesus the Savior, He Emmanuel, He Christ at Christ’s Mass on Christmas.”

On obedience and faith

In Through the Year with Fulton Sheen, we learn about the importance of obedience and how it relates to the birth of Christ and our faith. Do you believe you’re unworthy because you’re not as knowledgeable on the faith as your peers? Read on!

“What does obedience do for us? Obedience gives us faith. Are we reacting against Christ and his Church, or are we accepting its authority? Faith comes from that kind of submission. Remember that when our blessed Lord was born, Herod consulted the scribes… He said to the scribes, ‘Where is the Christ to be born?’ . . . They said, ‘He is to be born in Bethlehem.’ Did they go? There was not a single scribe at that crib—not one. But they knew. Our faith today can be a kind of creedal assent, instead of a living act of the will, conscious of the fact that we are submitting to Christ, as Christ submitted to the heavenly Father. Notice, too, that at the crib, only two classes of people found their way to Christ when he came to this earth: the very simple, and the very learned—the shepherds who knew that they knew nothing, and the wise men who knew that they did not know everything.”

Seeing the Child Jesus through the eyes of Mary

In Manifestations of Christ, published in 1932, Ven. Sheen wrote:

“As we gather about the crib of Bethlehem, we feel that we are in the presence of a new Paradise of Beauty and Love… and the name of that Paradise is Mary. And if we could have been there in that stable on that first Christmas night, we might have seen that Paradise of the Incarnation but we should not be able to recollect whether her face was beautiful or not. for what would have impressed us, and made us forget all else, would have been the lovely, sinless soul that shone through her eyes like two celestial suns. If we could have stood at the gates to that Paradise, we would have less peered at it as into it, for what would have impressed us would not have been any external qualities, though these would have been ravishing, but rather the qualities of her soul—her simplicity, innocence, humility, and above all, her purity… Christmas takes on a new meaning when the Mother is seen with the Babe. In fact, the heavens and the earth seem almost to exchange places. Years ago, we used to think of the heavens as ‘way up there.’ Then one day the God of the heavens came to this earth, and that hour when she held the Babe in her arms, it became true to say that with her we now ‘look down’ at heaven.”

Do you see how beautiful, powerful, and, yet, still relevant his words remain? If you’re looking for something to ponder while at Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Mass, you can remember these wise words from Venerable Sheen. Don’t forget to pray for his beatification to proceed as well!

Venerable Fulton Sheen, pray for us! And a Merry Christmas to everyone!’

source epic pew

[torreygazette]

Christmas Communion

As I often do around Christmas time, I recently returned to Karl Barth's Deliverance to the Captives.

<waits for long sigh about another Barth post>

As a collection of sermons delivered by Barth, the book acts as a great introduction to the man's theology and its practical application. Individuals who couldn't be brought to care about his theology in a systematic or creedal sense can appreciate his sermons. The setting for many of the sermons is Basel Prison. The tenor of Barth's message and gospel preaching is undeniable.

One of my favorite sermons is entitled "Unto You Is Born This Day A Saviour." It was delivered on Christmas day in 1954. Two years ago, I blogged on a selection of the sermon for Christmas Eve. I was a little more self-focused and introspective as I wrote:

"I confess that I am in need of hearing God's message. Christmas is not sentimental feelings. It is not even my theological postulations on the Incarnation (of which there will be some shortly). The Christmas story is spoken to us about our savior. It is a time to stop and listen."

In re-reading the sermon, I was struck this time by the stirring community of faith Barth finds in the declaration "Unto you." He highlights this by quoting portions of the Lord's Prayer—something I'm not unfamiliar with—but he follows it up with a compact position on communion with one another:

"Therefore the Christian life is one great communion, a fellowship with the Saviour and hence a fellowship among brothers. Where there is no communion with the Saviour, there is no communion among brothers, and where there is no communion among brothers, there is no communion with the Saviour. The one is not possible without the other." (24)

The deconstruction of Christmas into an individualistic event is not something I am familiar with. However, I am familiar with an evangelical culture that hinges pietism on individualism. Scripture, in contrast, hinges communion with Christ jointly to communion with the church. One can not love Christ or the Father without loving the bride and calling the church mother. As Barth stated in his lectures on Luke, "Where Christ is, there is his Church" (The Great Promise).

So on this Christmas Eve and Christmas (for those with Mass on Monday), let us eat at the Lord's Table acknowledging that Christ brings us communion—sometimes whether we like it or not. Unity and communion with Christ unites and communes us to one another—sometimes even when we openly deny it with our theology. But He is the Christ. And His light has shown upon us this Christmas day. All we can do is bask in it.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

by Stan Gale | In respect to procreation, God had performed the miracle of miracles. The Holy Spirit Himself had caused Mary to be with child. Not that we want to parse the conception of Jesus in biological terms, but we do want to see the uniqueness of Jesus as God the Son, taking on...

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]