God is one with Us, Each and Every One

Dear Friends,

In my file I have a collection of talks and short pieces that fall in the category of “Things I Wish I Had Written.” Among them is an editorial written in 2003 for Maryknoll Magazine by its publisher and editor, Fr. Joseph Veneroso. Here’s part of his Christmas reflection:

                “ After we decorate the tree, write and mail our cards, buy and wrap all our presents and sing all the carols, we should visit a friend or relative who has a newborn baby. We should cradle the infant in our arms. Maybe hold the newborn’s bottle. Sing a lullaby. Better still, change the baby’s diapers.  

                Here is the great mystery of both life and salvation. Any newborn is a breathtaking marvel. But to think that the Creator of the universe would come to us in so small, wrinkled and vulnerable a form defies belief. That {more than} 2000 years ago, a child such as this was none other than God in the flesh boggles the mind.

                Just think: God became truly human, with all our weaknesses and mortality, tempted like us in every way, yet without sin (Heb.4.15). What does this say about God?  More amazing, what does it say about us? Humanity was capable of bearing divinity without melting or exploding, God was not embarrassed or humanity overwhelmed….

                As you hold a baby in your arms, watch a toddler or sigh in exasperation at the rebelliousness of your teenager, consider: Baby Jesus burped and spit up and plopped on his bottom while learning to walk. Toddler Jesus put all sorts of unsavory things into his mouth. And we know from Scripture that teenage Jesus caused great concern to Mary and Joseph. Adult Jesus knew hunger, loneliness, fear and love. He enjoyed companionship and wept at the death of his friend. The Gospels never mention Jesus worshiping in the Temple. His very being was an act of worship; his whole life was lived in constant communion with the Father. God experienced what it means to live and die as a human.

                We, in turn, can encounter God at every moment in the temple of our humanness, if we but cleanse it of sin. We share with God a common vocation: becoming fully human.

                Most of the time, we profess our belief in God.

                Christmas shocks us with the realization that God also believes in us.

To all you who read this,

 and to all you love,

I wish a Christmas made rich this year

 by the realization that God is one with us,

each and every one.