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Catholic Schools Foundation

The deeper reality of the Christmas story

Friday, December 22, 2023Culture

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Remember that there are still children born in places where, like Jesus, they are not safe and must flee to foreign lands. Children are born into families that are struggling, and still others are born into families where poverty and violence are routine.

Michael
Reardon

Celebrating the birth of Christ is full of joyful imagery: singing angels, trumpets, and a radiant child. Yet, the truth is that Mary and Joseph were rejected and relegated to a barn, where Mary faced the pain and risk of childbirth. Jesus was born among the filth of animals before being forced to flee from Herod's decree that all male children under the age of two be murdered. Images of terrified parents with their newborn child fleeing to a foreign land is not the vision most of us have when we think of Christmas.
Christmas has been cleaned up by marketers trying to sell the beauty of the season. The joy of the holiday, families gathering, presents shared and memories made. It can truly be a wonderful time of the year. There is also the other side to Christmas: the anxiety, the fear, the uncertainty, and the loneliness. These are not new experiences; these are the experiences of the Holy Family as well, and it is important to reflect on this along with the joy.

Jesus did not come down from heaven with a thunderous clap or on a golden throne. He came to us as a weak and dependent baby born to an unwed mother. After his birth, his parents were forced to become refugees in Egypt until the death of Herod made it safe for their return to Nazareth. Jesus's early story sounds more akin to some of the students and families we serve at the Catholic Schools Foundation, families who face uncertainty about their finances, housing, and physical security. Families worried for their children, seeking a better life for them and worried about the future.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph did not have it easy, and this should be a reminder to us that no one has a choice as to where they were born or to whom. Some of us were born to two loving, resourced parents, where there were no worries about housing, food, or safety. Others of us may have been born into resourced families lacking love, where violence and hurt filled our days. Still others may have been born into this world without any real family and put into the care of the state. Life is complicated, and Jesus's own birth story is an example of this struggle.
Regardless of the challenges or privileges that come from any child's birth, each child is made in the image and likeness of God. Each baby is a gift made possible by a mother's gift of nourishment and willingness to allow themselves to bear life into this world with all the physical and emotional costs it entails. Pregnancy and childbirth, especially before modern times, was a dangerous proposition, and if not for the love and bravery of women, none of us would be here!
Reflecting on the child Jesus, let us celebrate the joy of his birth and let us also remember his humanity. Remember that there are still children born in places where, like Jesus, they are not safe and must flee to foreign lands. Children are born into families that are struggling, and still others are born into families where poverty and violence are routine. Not one of these children chose their circumstances, just as we did not choose the circumstances of our own birth.
Yes, let us celebrate the joy of this Christmas Season, but let us also be reminded to see Christ in others and reflect on how we would have treated that unwed mother who showed up at the inn.
Merry Christmas!

- Michael B. Reardon is executive director of the Catholic Schools Foundation, www.CSFBoston.org.