Advent, 23 December – Mal 3:1-4,23-24; Luke 1:57-66

Today’s Gospel can give us a proper perspective on Christmas. The reaction of people to the birth of John Baptist, the awe and wonder that they treasured in their hearts, should help us reconsider our response to Jesus’ birth. They remind us that, in Him, the creator of the universe shivered in hay:

the all-knowing one had to learn to crawl and walk;
the all-powerful one became helpless;
the all-holy one dwelt among the unholy;
he who needs nothing became dependent on a mother and a father;
the King of kings and Lord of lords entered our world in obscurity and poverty;
divinity joined with humanity;
and our hope for redemption rested in the tiniest of hands.