‘And is it true? And is it true?” These lines from John Betjeman’s wonderful poem on Christmas resonate somewhere in the hearts of all people who experience the Christmas story, either as believer or bystander. The glitter, the emotion, the reason for a family gathering and feast underlie the lingering desire for the story of the baby in the manager to be more than just a sentimental winter festival.
And is it true? And is it true?
The most tremendous tale of all …
A Baby in an ox’s stall?
The Maker of the stars and sea
become a Child on earth for me?
Christmas and all that is best in this feast speaks to the human condition like no other annual communal celebration. Despite the trials and sometimes agonies of the season, we want the story to be true, for it tells us something about God and everything about ourselves.
In this first reading from Isaiah (7:10-14), God gives us a sign, a clear sign: it is not a message, an idea or a philosophy. So what is the sign? It is this: “The maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel”, a name which means “God is with us”. God became man and walked and lived among us. As Thomas Merton put it, “Jesus lived the ordinary life of the men of his time, in order to sanctify the ordinary lives of the men of all time.” We are the men and women of “all time” who experience in our lives the presence of the “God who is with us”.
In Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 1:18-24), life takes on an unexpected turn for St Joseph. What should he do? He is faced with a dilemma: his betrothed is found to be with child, but he is a man of honour, a good man. What is the best thing to do? He will divorce her informally to avoid publicity, but in the midst of his anguish the angel appears and says to him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.”
How many times do we hear the reassurance “Do not be afraid” throughout the Scriptures? When we are afraid and someone says to us, “Don’t be afraid,” this often leads to an increase in fear; but when we are told, “Don’t be afraid, because there is a reason not to be afraid,” we pause. We think: “Is there something you know that I don’t?” And the Christmas answer is “yes”.
“He is the one who is to save his people from their sins,” for “the Virgin will conceive and bear a son and his name will be Emmanuel – a name which means God is with us.” This is the truth: we are never alone for God walks with us. It is the opening of the human heart, through God’s loving reassurance, that leads us to discover that life is about living for others. This is the truth that resonates throughout the Christmas story, celebrating the greatest act of love of all:
And is it true? For if it is,
No loving fingers tying strings
Around those tissued fripperies,
…
No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare –
That God was Man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.
On December 25 we celebrate Christ’s Mass, the ultimate sacrifice, when “God became man in order that man might become God”, as the Catechism expresses it. The Mass is the sacrifice of love that daily embodies the story of Christmas. The Word was made flesh and lived among us, and still does. This is the cause of our hope and joy: we are never alone. Life has meaning and purpose if we, like Jesus, can say: “This is my body and I give it to you.” This is the origin of all gifts of love.
As Pope Paul VI said at the canonisation of the Forty Martyrs: “What truly makes a man a man at the fine point of his being [is] his capacity for loving to the uttermost. For giving himself in a love which is stronger than death, and which reaches out into eternity.”
At Christmas we celebrate the birth of God made man in the Christ Child, who made us in love and who lives his life by loving us to the uttermost. His life among us gives us a pattern for our lives, and a true reason to celebrate.
Mgr John Armitage is rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.