"‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’" which means, ‘God is with us.’" (Mt 1:23)
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Old grandmother Babushka, a good woman, is about to retire for the evening when, out of the fierce winter night, a knock comes on her door. It’s the Wise Men, and they tell her excitedly about the King born in Bethlehem; they urge her to come and honor him. she peeks out the door. It’s an awful night, cold and blustery. Babushka looks back at her warm bed, hesitates, and says, "I will see the Christ Child – tomorrow."
She returns to her bed and lo, another knock at the door. This time it’s the shepherds urging her to come to the Christ Child. Again she looks at the weather, looks at her bed, hesitates, but finally replies, "I’ll go to him myself – tomorrow."
Well, tomorrow comes and Babushka is as good as her word. She packs some food and off she goes to Bethlehem. But the stable is empty when she gets there. She is crestfallen, but determined. She keeps looking. In fact she looks for the Child for the rest of her life, joining all wanderers who have ever lived. And in her endless journey she finds children, finds them everywhere. She finds many a manger. She finds many a cradle. She finds many a mother nursing her baby. She leaves gifts at each place hoping that it is the Christ Child.
She is now very old and near death. As she lies dying, the Christ Child appears to her wearing the face of every child she has ever touched and offered gifts to. She dies happily knowing that, in spite of her first hesitancy, she did indeed find the Child, not in the manger where she expected him, but in the poor and the needy where she never expected him. [1]
Each year when we commemorate the birthday of Jesus on Christmas day, we are reminded again and again that He is Emmanuel. The readings bring to mind this name given to Him which means, "God is with us" as the Scriptural snippet above tells us.
But then do we really understand what the name implies? Does the name still evoke any significant meaning to us?
The world today is filled with the horrors of war, hostility, random killings, hatred, and all of the capital vices. How can it be possible for God to reside in men’s hearts at this time in human history? But then in the midst of the wickedness that we see around us, we are called to hope and to avoid despair.
In today’s First Reading, the prophet Jeremiah declares:
She returns to her bed and lo, another knock at the door. This time it’s the shepherds urging her to come to the Christ Child. Again she looks at the weather, looks at her bed, hesitates, but finally replies, "I’ll go to him myself – tomorrow."
Well, tomorrow comes and Babushka is as good as her word. She packs some food and off she goes to Bethlehem. But the stable is empty when she gets there. She is crestfallen, but determined. She keeps looking. In fact she looks for the Child for the rest of her life, joining all wanderers who have ever lived. And in her endless journey she finds children, finds them everywhere. She finds many a manger. She finds many a cradle. She finds many a mother nursing her baby. She leaves gifts at each place hoping that it is the Christ Child.
She is now very old and near death. As she lies dying, the Christ Child appears to her wearing the face of every child she has ever touched and offered gifts to. She dies happily knowing that, in spite of her first hesitancy, she did indeed find the Child, not in the manger where she expected him, but in the poor and the needy where she never expected him. [1]
Each year when we commemorate the birthday of Jesus on Christmas day, we are reminded again and again that He is Emmanuel. The readings bring to mind this name given to Him which means, "God is with us" as the Scriptural snippet above tells us.
But then do we really understand what the name implies? Does the name still evoke any significant meaning to us?
The world today is filled with the horrors of war, hostility, random killings, hatred, and all of the capital vices. How can it be possible for God to reside in men’s hearts at this time in human history? But then in the midst of the wickedness that we see around us, we are called to hope and to avoid despair.
In today’s First Reading, the prophet Jeremiah declares:
"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land." (Jer 23:5)
God is with us in the person of His Messiah. He is in our midst. The time will come when He shall bring about equality in all the land. Where there is justice in the world, peace and goodwill among men eventually reigns.
To bring about justice, the King of Endless Glory will have to make use of human instruments - His Disciples. Yesterday’s Bible Sharing discussed "doubling" for Him in the imitation of His ways. We are called to bring the Light of Christ to others, in order to diminish the spiritual darkness that prevails throughout the world.
Viewing matters as His Disciples, we might ask how prepared are we in this task being set before us? Do we truly see the face of Emmanuel in every one that we meet each day? As our anecdote asks us, do we truly see the face of the infant Jesus in every child that comes to us at Christmastime?
At this point, in 2007, I am already feeling a personal shortcoming myself. Only a week ago, elementary school carolers were already singing around the village, but I felt it was too early for them to start that, so I completely ignored them. Obviously I didn’t see Our Lord in those children.
Let us all pray to our Father in heaven for the grace to recognize the Son of God in every one that we meet each day. Let us also pray to the Holy Spirit for a more penetrating spiritual gaze, to enable us to recognize Our Redeemer in others.
End Notes for this Bible Sharing
1. "A World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers" by William J. Bausch, n. 223, "Babushka," pp. 335-336, Daughters of St. Paul, Philippines, 2001.
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