Advent is a waiting time, a time of longing for Jesus to come more fully into our lives. We recall his birth in Bethlehem and long for his coming now in grace. We also await his final coming in power and glory. As Christmas draws closer, our focus on the Incarnation will become clearer. With Mary and Joseph, we will marvel at the newborn Child who is also Son of God. In the meantime, we try to resist the commercialism all around us. We strive to see beyond the images of Santa Claus, tinsel, parties, shopping, and Christmas cards and reach for something deeper — the Lord himself, for whom we wait during this Advent time.

Although born into our world as an infant, the Lord invites adult response from us. Jesus would want more from us than to become simply sentimental about the Divine Infant laid in a manger. Jesus wants an adult relationship with us. He wants us to take him and his teachings, values, and priorities seriously. He wants us to let him help us, let him save us. He wants us to recognize him as our Brother and Friend. He wants us to realize that he, who began life in an animal feed trough, is himself our Bread of Life, our spiritual nourishment.

The mystery of God-become-man rightly fills us with awe. As we contemplate the newborn infant Savior, we ponder why Jesus came. Do we understand that Jesus came to transform us, to transform our world, making it a place where we can do and be good? Where we can stand empty before God so that he might fill us? Consider the neediness of the shepherds who came that first Christmas night. They possessed little, but were open to God’s action in their lives; so they heard the angels’ message. As a result, “once they saw, they understood what had been told them concerning this child.” (Lk 1:17)

During the days before Christmas, I pray that we may await Jesus’ coming with spiritual eagerness, rather than with the fatigue of worn-out shoppers. With Mary and Joseph, let us spend some quality time each day in prayer and reflection. Let us prepare to gather around the Bethlehem stable and be among the “poor” and “lowly” who hear the “good news” that Jesus, the Christ, is born.

Aware of our neediness, let us invite the Lord Jesus to satisfy our needs. With the hungry, let us long for real nourishment from the Lord. With the homeless, let us cry out for a warm place in the heart of Jesus. With the sick and the heartsick, let us cry for healing and soak up the love and compassion of Jesus. Jesus is God’s gift to each of us and to the world. He shows us the way to life, the way to God. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”(Is 9:1)

Jesus also shows us how to relate to others in acknowledgement and love. With our newborn Savior, let us welcome the stranger, the outcasts, the homeless, the migrants, and the needy in general — in whom Jesus is especially present. Let us strive to put Jesus first in our lives and, secondly, people, in whom God dwells. For he is “Emmanuel,” God-with-us, God’s gift to us now and always.

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