As the great feast of our Saviour’s birth draws near, all of us are acutely aware that this will once again be a “pandemic Christmas.” We will celebrate this most sacred night radiant with the splendour of the true light amidst a crisis that has indiscriminately struck the health, economy and social fabric of the whole world.

While some might call for Christmas to be “cancelled” for safety reasons, the most significant aspect of Christmas can never be cancelled or eliminated: the “Child born for us, and the Son given to us” (cf. Is 9:8) on that first Christmas remains forever our Living Hope. Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8). Even in the midst of great loss and suffering, God is still here with us, for he is Emmanuel.

Although the start of a third year of living with this pandemic is certainly a time of trial, let us remember that it is a mere blink of an eye in salvation history – the 2,000 years since the Nativity and the even broader picture of God’s plan of salvation.

Christmas is more than the celebration of an event from long ago, the moment when the Son of God was born of Mary. Christmas calls us to remember that the Risen Lord, even after his ascension, continues to come among us today and every day. What began with the Incarnation was made immortal in his Resurrection. It is not the Baby Jesus, but the resurrected Jesus Christ, who reigns in heaven, and we rejoice because he is always near to us.

Throughout history, as in the present moment, some people wait for another saviour, whether it be a political leader or an ideology that they can put their trust in. During this particular moment of fear, confusion and division, let us remember that Christmas is a time of special grace which illuminates the arrival of the Messiah. Jesus is God, and there is no other God but him.

This Christmas I recommend to you one of our most cherished traditions, one that, thanks be to God, is completely unaffected by COVID-19. I’m referring to the Nativity scenes that we put up in our homes, as Christians have been doing since the custom began with St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century. These scenes are, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, a “simple yet eloquent invitation to open our hearts and minds to the mystery of life” and to the beauty of God who is do deeply in love with his people.

To pause with your family, standing or kneeling, before a Nativity scene in your home or parish church is a beautiful way to celebrate God’s closeness during this trying times. Such a gesture can rekindle your conviction that God is alive and active in your life, that Jesus is close to you.

This is the time to invite the Holy Family into your home, and into all of your joys, worries and sorrows. When you gather together as a family, I urge you to place yourselves in the Lord’s hands, to speak to him silently of the people and situations that burden your heart, to take stock with him of the difficult year now ending, and to share with him your fears, hopes and dreams for the coming Year of the Lord.

Above all, ask him for the grace to repeat to your loved ones and communities what the shepherds heard the Angel declare: “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: [for] to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Christ, the Lord” (Lk 2:11). Come, come, let us adore him, as we celebrate this Christmas.

With my prayers and blessing, I remain

✣ J. Michael Miller, CSB
Archbishop of Vancouver