Traditions of Christmas are surprising in their content and simplicity. The Las Posadas, a longtime tradition for many, reenacts St. Joseph’s search for a room at the inn. We Christians celebrate the coming of God into the world to save all of mankind, and we tell this story of the ages, with the mother of God on the back of a donkey and a desperate husband searching for a place of safety for the birth of the Lord of Lords.

    In the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we find it underscores the humble character of this newborn king, “At Christmas the glory of heaven is shown forth in the weakness of a baby.” (103) The nativity scene, then, is no less remarkable. Today our homes, churches and public places are adorned with a humble stable, with the baby Jesus, the King of Kings, lying in a manger, surrounded by barnyard animals, hardly the palace guard. This Christmas tradition consisting of such humble images shows us the unexpected truth of the “joyful news which echoed that night in Bethlehem.”

    God set in motion his surprising plan when he chose a young girl, Mary, anonymous in the worldly scheme of things, betrothed to a simple carpenter, to give birth to the son of God, yet remain a virgin.
When Jesus is born, the “Good News” is first proclaimed to a group of shepherds watching their flock; hardly the select of society. Yet Pope John Paul II reminds us that “The disarming tenderness of the Child, the surprising poverty in which he is found and the humble simplicity of Mary and Joseph transform the shepherds’ lives,” as it should our own.

    God, who seems to revel in the unexpected, shows through his son that he had no intention of ending his surprises at Christmas. Jesus, as he revealed to us the way to salvation, repeatedly catches us off-guard with his uncompromising contrasts that help us to understand our nature and our God. How blessed are the poor, the meek, and those who hunger and thirst for justice, as he shows us the rewards gained when we are detached from the things of this world. The amazement of the crowd was palpable when Jesus told them they will find him in the hungry, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

    Jesus proclaimed the unsettling news, “Many that are first will be last, and (the) last will be first,” just one more surprising revelation. How stunned the disciples were when Jesus told them that the way to his kingdom had to pass through the cross. Then the greatest surprise of them all, the empty tomb, the risen Christ, the promise that we will live forever.

    So as we celebrate this magnificent season of wonder and joy, breathtaking in its poverty and simplicity, we should be prepared to be surprised anew. His definition of king and kingdom turns that of the world’s explanation upside down.

    The surprises of Christmas are given so that we may find God’s will in our life, so that we may share in his kingdom. The Compendium helps us understand the meaning of the startling stable and its obvious call to follow this humble example; Jesus calls his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone. Detachment from riches — in the spirit of evangelical poverty — and self-abandonment to divine providence free us from anxiety about the future and prepare us for the blessedness of the “poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (532)

    Pope Benedict XVI concluded his 2005 Midnight Mass homily with the contrasting wonder of Jesus’ message so central to our lives at Christmas, and every day, “And so we pray: Lord, fulfill your promise!     Where there is conflict, give birth to peace! Where there is hatred, make love spring up! Where darkness prevails, let light shine! Make us heralds of your peace!” May the promises and blessings of Christmas fill all our hearts with that peace, so that the surprise we bring to the world is that God loves us and calls us to be with him forever.

Merry Christmas!