The Advent and Christmas seasons are always especially social seasons. Most of us are making an effort to connect with friends and family with whom we haven’t been in regular contact. We do so through Christmas Cards and phone calls but especially through parties and home visits. Whether we are attending a gathering or hosting one at our own home, the stress of the holiday rush can easily drive us off the rails as it were. We can get so caught up in the details of planning, cleaning, decorating, cooking, shopping, wrapping, etc. that we easily forget why we are going through all of this trouble in the first place. Our holiday visiting thus becomes a meaningless whirlwind of eggnog and ugly sweaters.
We just heard from the Gospel of Luke about another visit that similarly took place in haste, but this was no mere frenzied family get-together.
Mary travelled almost 100 miles to see her elderly cousin Elizabeth, and in those days, such a journey was by no means a day trip. Our Lady would have found a caravan and travelled with it to the South, past Jerusalem and to the rural home where Elizabeth and Zachariah had secluded themselves during Elizabeth’s pregnancy. No doubt, Mary was motivated by more than simple curiosity, or a desire to test out whether or not the words of the Angel were true. Rather, we hear that Mary travelled in haste to see Elizabeth. To care for her aged cousin who was with child. Mary is focused not on her own well-being, but on that of Elizabeth. Our Lady travelled without the full knowledge of who the babe in Elizabeth’s womb would grow to be, however she trusted in the Lord who’s humble instrument she had become.
Similarly, the Prophet Micah had no knowledge of the deeper meaning of his words. He was writing in concern to the events of his own time: a corrupt kingdom and the need for a ruler to come from a simple and humble place like Bethlehem, in order to instill (for lack of a better term) “small-town” values into the People of Israel again.
Both the Prophet and the Virgin Mother are filled with hope, and embrace their dependency on God.
When Mary visited Elizabeth she not only brought herself to their home, but she filled the house with grace, honor, and glory. She brought with herself the Lord Incarnate in her womb, an encounter with whom cleansed John the Baptist from Original Sin and caused him to leap for joy. John was the first person to recognize the presence of our Lord in the world. So let’s take a cue from him.
I challenge you: This year, along with your casseroles and Christmas cookies, bring Christ to your visits. I understand that each one of us has certain family members that we don’t exactly look forward to spending time with. However, we must like Mary and Micah, trust in God and know that there is indeed a reason for us being together, even if it is only once a year. So, allow the joy and the love of Our Lord shine through you. And if you are the host: treat those who come to you as you would Our Savior Himself.
We don’t often think of Christmas as planting season. However, we are provided with amazing opportunities for evangelization, opportunities to plant the seeds of faith. We all have family and friends that have not been here with us for a while and when we see them again we will have a choice to make.
(1) Do we simply greet them as we always do, politely yet neutrally,
(2) or do we exude charity and love, welcoming them home and witnessing through our own actions, the importance of our faith and open up the possibility of their own faith to grow in them.
This is how we plant those seeds of faith. It is God who will water and fertilize them, and bring them to maturity.
Always keep in mind, while we may look at our upcoming holiday visits with a certain degree of dread: often times, those whom we desire to spend time with the least, are in need of our love and the love of God, the most.
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