Thursday, December 25, 2014

On the Meaning of Christ's Coming

A few hours ago, Pope Francis delivered his Urbi et Orbi message to a large crowd of faithful gathered at St. Peter's in Rome. During the speech, he repeatedly called upon Christ, Our Lord, as Savior of the World, to save the nations from the evils of poverty, famine, persecution, suffering and war. Christ, said Pope Francis, is "the Salvation for every person and for all peoples."

While I wish to distract neither from the horrible plight of so many suffering around the world today nor from the genuineness of the Holy Father's sentiments, I find myself wondering: Did Christ come to save us from these things? Did He come to save us from poverty, famine, persecution and suffering? Did He come in the glory of His power to establish a kingdom in which there is no want, no calumny, no corruption? Is this the reason for His appearance two millennia ago? Is this the meaning of His Advent?

Jesus Christ is, indeed, the Salvation of the World. But we must ask: salvation from what?

Undoubtedly, Christ performed great miracles which fed the hungry, cured the sick and raised the dead. He forcefully rebuked those who would follow Him to leave off from calumny and all manner of vice, to forgive one's enemies and love one another with a divine love. But when those whom He miraculously fed sought Him out to make Him king, He rebuked them, saying:
Amen, amen I say to you: You seek Me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of Man will give you. For Him hath God, the Father, sealed. (John 6:26-27)
For the people of Israel expected the Advent of the Messiah to be the dawn of an age of prosperity and plenty, of abundant riches and fat harvests, of the return of the rule of God's Law over the land. Had not the Prophets of God described it so? Indeed, they had. Where, then, was the fulfillment of the expectation? Where was the prosperity, where the riches, where the justice? The masses huddled about and pressed upon Christ, wretched in their poverty and scarred from years of punishment at the hands of their persecutors, and He spoke to them thus:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. (Matthew 5:3-12)
Christ did not come to save us from earthly evils, but from the spiritual evil which has made for itself a home in the heart of man: sin. Without fixing one eye on the supreme majesty of God and the other on the utter depravity of sin, we cannot begin to understand the real meaning of the Advent of Our Blessed Lord. And our age is one which has lost sight of both. Should it, then, come as a surprise to find that the wonder of Christmas - that God should deign to condescend to sinful man in order to comfort and instruct him, and ultimately to redeem him with His own Body and Blood - has been reduced to empty platitudes and appeals for relief from that which would make us saints?
Be not solicitous therefore, saying: What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewith shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:31-33)
I pray, gentle reader, that you may find a moment to recall both God's majesty and the depravity of your own sin before receiving the Body and Blood of Our Blessed Lord this day, so that you may feel true joy at such a gratuitous gift.


Adoration of the Child
Gerrit van Honthorst (1590-1656)


Merry Christmas!

10 comments:

  1. Call an Apostate an Apostate, if you love the Truth be prepared to defend it.

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  2. This article is right on. This pope seems to be trying to establish a Church of Man or a social justice club. He rarely, if ever, speaks of repentance, conversion or eternal salvation.

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  3. Superb commentary. Shared it with my family. They loved it. The whole Catholic world is in danger of falling into mere humanism and losing sight of the higher supernatural mission and realities - the life of grace and union with the Divinity, which is a call to abandon sin.

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  4. Thank you for this article. I've always felt there was something a bit "off" in what Pope Francis is preaching to us. You've nailed it. Thanks again and a blessed Christmastide to you.

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  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  6. THE PRESENT SODOM AND GOMORRAH

    Though I am the Light
    you walk in the darkness
     Though I am the Might
    you follow the barkless

    Though I am the Truth
    you prefer the lier’s booth
    Though I am the Way
    you say it’s ok to be gay

    Though I am the Life
    you choose eternal death
    Where weeping and gnashing is rife
    and for sure there won’t be any Meth

    Oh you stubborn generation
    stop this horrific aberration
    You keep flirting with the seducer
    so don’t blame Me, blame the abuser

    Though I am the utter Merciful 
    I’m also the eternal Just
    Your behavior is extremely hurtful
    My patience you finally bust.

    Wake up and smell the coffee or it will be too late.
    Lord, please, hasten Your Coming

    Rita Biesemans, May 13 2014

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  7. CHRIST THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

    Jesus the world’s only true Light
    is almost completely rejected
    they keep Him out of sight
    instead of Him satan is erected

    what is this world becoming
    we’re really in apocalyptic times
    the Bible is read thumbing
    skyrocketing are the crimes

    locked is every room in the inn
    for the Savior of men
    no need for remission of sin
    to that we all say “AMEN”

    Jesus is betrayed
    even by His own disciples
    they say “enough” they prayed
    only, to their own idols

    they see themselves so illuminated
    while the True Light is extinguished
    the whole world they contaminated
    and the Truth they relinquished

    They reject the Christ in Christmas
    worshipping a lighted tree instead
    even the real Saint Nicholas
    has been left behind for dead

    We call on You, O Lord and Master
    help us to stop this abomination
    to reinstall You as our Pastor
    and as King of Your Creation

    May the time be coming soon
    that You will reign over a New World
    announce it with a Heavenly tune
    when all devils are safely furled.

    Emmanuel, God with us, who then can be against us
    Let Your Light shine upon us, especially this Christmas
    We love You Jesus
    Rita Biesemans, Christmas 2014

    ReplyDelete
  8. CHRIST THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

    Jesus the world’s only true Light
    is almost completely rejected
    they keep Him out of sight
    instead of Him satan is erected

    what is this world becoming
    we’re really in apocalyptic times
    the Bible is read thumbing
    skyrocketing are the crimes

    locked is every room in the inn
    for the Savior of men
    no need for remission of sin
    to that we all say “AMEN”

    Jesus is betrayed
    even by His own disciples
    they say “enough” they prayed
    only, to their own idols

    they see themselves so illuminated
    while the True Light is extinguished
    the whole world they contaminated
    and the Truth they relinquished

    They reject the Christ in Christmas
    worshipping a lighted tree instead
    even the real Saint Nicholas
    has been left behind for dead

    We call on You, O Lord and Master
    help us to stop this abomination
    to reinstall You as our Pastor
    and as King of Your Creation

    May the time be coming soon
    that You will reign over a New World
    announce it with a Heavenly tune
    when all devils are safely furled.

    Emmanuel, God with us, who then can be against us
    Let Your Light shine upon us, especially this Christmas
    We love You Jesus
    Rita Biesemans, Christmas 2014

    ReplyDelete
  9. [I received a comment from an Anonymous individual, whose comment I published and meant to comment upon, but I clicked the wrong button and the original comment was deleted. My apologies to the poster. The comment was about 'social justice' being 'the heart of the Gospel'. My response is as follows.]

    Dear Anon,

    The root of social injustice is sin, is it not? Let us, then, attack the disease at its root, as did Our Blessed Lord. While I applaud the champions of the theological virtue of charity, I would remind them that there are two other theological virtues, no less essential to the Christian life: faith and hope, and that charity is not merely love of neighbor, but - first and foremost - love of God, which is, itself, the source of our love of neighbor.

    ReplyDelete
  10. [Note: I was able to retrieve the original comment from my e-mail inbox.]

    The Magnificat clearly includes social justice issues as the litmus test for belief. Isaiah's prophecy of Christ included freeing the prisoners and being a light for the poor. So, trying to separate social justice issues from the Faith is incorrect because they are at the core of the Gospel: "What you do to these least, you do to Me." You should emphasize and help clarify how social justice is at the very core of the Gospel.

    ReplyDelete

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