G.K. Chesterton once wrote that he had made an “irrevocable decision” to be silly about Christmas. “It may be that because I am silly, but I rather think that, relative to the rest of the year, I enjoy Christmas more than I did when I was a child.”
In Winter Fire: Christmas with G.K. Chesterton, Ryan Whitaker Smith observes that Chesterton treated Christmas as a “litmus test for spiritual buoyancy.”
What about you? Do you enjoy Christmas more than you did when you were a child? If the answer is yes, you have achieved spiritual buoyancy—or rather, you understand that Christmas, and the joy that is its rightful due, are so much bigger than our specific emotions, attitudes, and situations.
If there is one thing Christmas teaches us, it is how to be awake to the mystery. In a word, to be less self-involved. It doesn’t matter how broken your family is; Christ became man. It doesn’t matter if you have no money for extravagant gifts; Christ became man. It doesn’t matter if you are thousands of kilometres from home; Christ became man.
If anyone had reason to be gloomy or despondent on Jesus’ birthday, it was his mother. Mary was far from home and family, deprived of even the most basic comforts: a locked door, hot water, or warm blankets. Moreover, this particular mother had a preview of her son’s suffering. Being well-acquainted with the Scriptures, especially the Psalms and Isaiah, Mary would have connected the titles given to her son by the angel with the suffering servant described in Isaiah as being “led like a lamb to slaughter.” The questions posed in Mary, Did You Know? were, decidedly, known by Mary.
So, aside from pondering all these things in her heart, how did Mary act on that holy night? Scripture tells us that she welcomed bedraggled, socially awkward strangers immediately after giving birth. She did not jealously guard those first moments with her newborn son. Instead, Mary’s gestures speak of complete surrender and her acceptance that Jesus was not merely for her own delight but for the liberation of the whole human race.
The details of Jesus’ “birth story” likely came from Mary herself, shared so they might eventually be recorded by the Gospel writers. There were surely many more little details that were not mentioned. Being full of the Holy Spirit, Mary would have highlighted the key moments and gestures necessary to communicate profound spiritual truths.
One particularly revealing detail is that Mary laid her newborn son in the manger. Any new mother would remark that this is counterintuitive and radically different from typical maternal behaviour. After giving birth in what was essentially a drafty shed, most would hold their baby close for warmth. “Skin-to-skin contact” is instinctive. Placing a baby down, especially in a feeding trough, would be the farthest thing from a new mother’s mind.
Why did she put him down? And why in a feeding trough?
Mary likely had a deep understanding that her son would become life-sustaining “food” for humanity. Born in Bethlehem—meaning “house of bread”—Jesus was laid in a manger. On a profound level, Mary knew that Jesus was not her own. She allowed anyone and everyone to come and pay him homage. She understood that he was worthy of adoration far beyond what she and St. Joseph could offer and ensured that all who came to worship him that night had an unobstructed view of the Messiah. She continues to do so, drawing others to adore her perfect son.
If we give ourselves the time and space to consider the fullness of the Christmas story, its small details will continue to unfold, revealing new facets of the Father’s perfect plan. With each Christmas, may the richness of the divine mysteries cause us to grow in spiritual buoyancy. May we greet each Christmas with more reverence and gratitude than our younger selves ever could.
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