GOD WITH US FR. STEVE MATTSON
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espite the fact that we’re still under a bit of a “shut-down” in the state, I’m very grateful that we were able to have public Masses to celebrate the birth of Jesus. He has come. He is born. Alleluia! In my internet-less rectory, I’ve found myself listening to more music, and I recently listened to the entirety of Handel’s Messiah. It is a masterpiece, showcasing in song the entire salvific life of Jesus the Messiah. We often hear a few pieces from the oratorio around this time of year, especially the Hallelujah Chorus -- a regular finale of Christmas concerts for choirs, which also sometimes serves as a postlude to the celebration of Midnight Mass. Handel’s Messiah is a marvelous meditation on the prophetic words concerning Christ and their fulfillment in the Paschal Mystery, culminating in the Resurrection. If you haven’t taken the time, you might consider listening to it in its entirety. One nice thing is that work was originally written in English, and the libretto is masterful. The first part focuses, as one would expect, on the coming of Jesus as a child: laid a manger in Bethlehem one December long, long ago.
This year, despite the challenges, we are invited once again to welcome the little baby Jesus, the Son of God, who willed to come among us as a little baby to reveal to us the love of the Father. Born of Mary, Jesus came in the fullness of time, to manifest love, to confirm our faith, and to give us hope, even in the messiness of coronatide. Covid has not been our only concern, either individually or collectively. Politically and culturally, we are living in what is obviously a very divided nation. Add to that what Ralph Martin calls A Church in Crisis in his new book of the same name, and things can begin to look quite bleak. The challenges we are facing make us pause, and (hopefully, at least) invite us to pray. Given those challenges -- or perhaps all the more so because of them -- as we celebrate Christmas, let us be sure to remind ourselves and each other that the Lord is near. He is Emmanuel, God with us, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus. Our “Little Lord Jesus” invites us to come without fear to the manger where He lies: as real, vulnerable, and needy as any newborn.
