A Christmas Miracle (Hopefully)

God arrived on the earth the same way we all have: a mother screaming in pain, fear, and wonder.

Blood ran down Mary’s legs as those screams filled the night. Joseph sat there, holding her hand, attempting to comfort his wife in her pain and his own worry-addled brain. The miraculous and terrifying act of giving birth has struck fear and wonder into humanity since its own inception.

Jesus enters the scene with a soft head, a loud cry, and a desperate gasp of air. Naked and helpless he lay there – and not for the last time. His parents stared at him in wonder, not knowing what they were getting into. Mary held him close, seeing this separate person who had so long been a part of her own body.

This is how the life of Jesus began: born into a humble family, in a humble location, and among a humble people. He was born among an oppressed people at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. The Romans were not the first empire to claim these people as their subjects, and they would not be the last. Jesus lived as a poor person in a poor family among a poor people in one of the greatest and most oppressive forces this world has ever known.

We must understand the context of Jesus’ life in order to understand the context of his mission and message. We are all victims of our contexts – formed and shaped by our experiences and the lived realities of those around us. Jesus associated with the poor and powerless because he himself was poor and powerless. Everything he did and said was shaped by this context.

The miracle of Jesus’ birth was as profound as the mundanity of his birth. His entrance onto the earth was exactly like the billions of others who have called this planet their home. Jesus arrived and lived like the majority of people have lived: powerless and oppressed. A parable he would tell later in his life captured the essence of his association with the least among us. To see the face of God, according to Jesus, we need look no further than the least of us.

Our politics, economics, and faith are often driven by selfish desires and vain conceit. We want what is best for us: more power, more money, and the assurance that we will gain some kind of eternal reward. This is so far from the life and message of Jesus, though. One could say it is anti-Christ.

When Jesus arrived attached to the umbilical cord of Mary, when he died as a socio-political martyr, and everything else in between, he reminded us that it is not in power, wealth, and selfish gain that we find God, the truth. Our priorities must be focused on the least among us, a preferential option for the poor.

Perhaps we can learn this lesson this next year because it is evident that we have not learned it yet.