Just after we began our Mass, we heard a solemn proclamation of the birth of Christ. It gave us a grand sweep of history as it pointed us to the events that took place from the time of creation until the birth of Christ. It is not history that is “historical” in the strict scientific sense of the word. Nevertheless, it is history because it chronicles the history of salvation. Amongst the events, one of them took place about 700 years before the birth of Christ. Then the Kingdom of Judah was facing an external threat. God sent the prophet Isaiah to encourage the King, Ahaz, to trust God for protection and not to form an unholy alliance with Assyria. God even offered Ahaz the chance to ask for a sign in order to strengthen his faith but Ahaz refused. Not only that, Ahaz also refused to obey God. Fortunately, Ahaz’s disobedience is God’s moment to proclaim through Isaiah a prophecy which is fulfilled according to the Gospel of Matthew:“Now all this took place to fulfil the word spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’”.
Christmas is the fulfilment of God’s promise to be with us in a way that is beyond humanity’s expectation. In the first place, God has always been with us because creation cannot but reflect the presence of God. But, more than merely passive presence, God had been actively present too for He said to Moses whom He sent to face the mighty Pharaoh (Ex 3) “I shall be with you”. And, to Joshua, God promised that He would be with him as He had been with Moses as Joshua prepared to lead the people into the Promised Land (Josh 1).
Tonight, the birth of Christ is the ultimate fulfilment of the meaning of God-is-with-us. The truth of Christmas is God is permanently one with us because His Son is one of us. Furthermore, as Christ stood on the mountain where He had arranged to meet His disciples, He said, “And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time”.
Christmas is when we begin to appreciate the true meaning of Emmanuel. We sometimes think of God as being with us in a vague way. In a situation where we are faced with difficulties we assure ourselves according to what St Paul himself says in Rom 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us”? So, we seek some sort of “spiritual” assurance that gives us the strength, the consolation and the courage to face the vicissitudes of life. That is not bad.
But, do you know that God-with-us, Emmanuel, is the very foundation for the existence of the Church and for the Sacraments that we celebrate? Firstly, the Church needs this assurance before she speaks with authority on matters of faith and morals. Otherwise, the promise on the mountain is nothing but an empty promise. If you reflect on this, the failure, if there were one, cannot be on the side of God. For, the challenge lies not in Christ NOT fulfilling His promise. The challenge is that we have failed to appreciate the truthfulness and the reality of that promise.
Surrounding our need for the assurance of God-be-with-us, is a notion that the assurance must be coupled with good feeling. From this mistaken notion, we may equate good feelings as God’s promise fulfilled. Often, we are condemned to search for that feeling. And it can be miserable.
Remember the Pink candle on the 3rd Sunday of Advent? It points us in the direction of joy. And joy is not also synonymous with “good” feeling. Instead, it is closely related to the knowledge and certainty that God is close no matter how pressing troubles may be. We dare to rejoice because we are certain that God will prevail. This we shall witness shortly because after this, Joseph together with Mary and Jesus will flee down to Egypt. God promised to be with them but their inconvenience or hardship was not lessened.
This fact that God-is-with-us does not always guarantee a “good feeling” or a smooth ride is an important truth about the Incarnation, the event which gave us Emmanuel. It is important because it brings us directly into the heart of how Christ is Emmanuel—how God is with us.
The shocking truth is that the Church is an expression of Emmanuel come true and in particular, each of the Sacraments is a manifestation of Christ’s continued presence to us. The Mass is the prime example of this presence. He did not mince His words when He said, “Eat my flesh so that you may live”. And so, each time when we celebrate the Eucharist, we eat no less in substance the Christ whom Thomas called “my Lord and God”. When we adore the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle, we adore the real and sacramental presence of the very Christ whose side Thomas put his hand into. That is how present God is to us. So, if we accept and believe that Emmanuel is God-with-us, then, each and every sacrament is the action of Christ Himself as he calls us through baptism; heals us through anointing; strengthens us through confirmation; forgive us through confession and sends us out either as married couples or as priests.
Starting tonight, or even before tonight, we have been or we will be surrounded by an explosion of Christmas-related activities. But, the message of Christmas is rather simple. We may talk about God who is with us or desire God to be one with us. But, what does it mean? It would mean that we are blind if we didn’t begin to appreciate the fulfilment of that promise in the very Church and the Sacraments that Christ gave us. Tonight, as we adore the newborn King, let us all return to a deepened and genuine appreciation of the Sacraments. If we believe in the truth of Christmas, then we must necessarily believe in the effects of the Sacraments—the effects guaranteed by none other than Christ Himself, the Emmanuel, God-with-us. We are ever so blessed.
