Missionary Meditation - December 2009

“Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice”

On December 24, before midnight Mass, in some places the solemn announcement of Christmas is sung. The old, medieval version of the Announcement, called “kalenda”, taken from the Roman Martyrology, proclaims the news that “in the year 5,199 of the creation of the world”, so many years after the flood, so much time after the birth of Abraham, etc, when Cesar Augustus reigned … “Jesus Christ, the eternal God and the Son of the eternal Father, desirous to sanctify the world … nine months after his conception was born in Bethlehem of Judah, made Man of the Virgin Mary”.

Every time I hear it, I am impressed by this announcement. The old text contains, of course, some factual inaccuracy. Centuries have gone by since the Middle Ages and science has discovered that creation happened much earlier than 5,000 B.C. Revised versions of the Announcement of Christmas now read “millions of years after the creation of the world … “, etc. In fact, we should even say “billions”. According to what we know today the universe is 13.7 billion years old and planet earth dates back 4.5 billion years, with life beginning around 4 billion years ago. But be it in the medieval or the actualized form, I find the Christmas announcement impressive because it connects the whole history of the universe to the one event of Christ’s birth, which finally has happened in space and time. What we are touching here is the cosmic dimension of Christ’s birth.

Here on earth the vast universe has brought forth a beautiful flower which we have not yet observed anywhere else. Yes, creation has flourished here on our planet in an amazing way and the wonder appears even greater now that we are discovering the much larger dimensions of all things in space and in time.

With the perspective of modern science, the faith vision of the cosmos should also become even more compelling. On Christmas, God himself visits a universe he has been sustaining and continuously creating for billions of years – from the “big bang”, to the galaxies, to the first and second generation stars – and has in Christ become part of his work. God did this here on this unique planet earth; right here he has become close to us.

The mystery also can be seen from another angle in Mary. She is the most beautiful, the Immaculate flower that has finally blossomed in creation after all this long time, and it was given to her to become the mother of the Eternal Word who made all things.

What should our response be to all that is implied with the cosmic perspective of Christmas?

For anyone who is able to admire God’s work, it is firstly something that needs to be recognized and celebrated. With us human beings, or better: through our mouths, the earth and the whole universe need to enter into a festive mode as the Psalms suggest: “The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice”(Ps 97:1) - “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice” (Ps 96:11)!

Secondly, the cosmic view of Christmas also requires our commitment to take care of creation. We human beings, flower and fruit of the universe, realize more and more that we bear responsibility for the planet that has brought us forth. During this present Advent season an important summit of world leaders is taking place: The United Nations Climate Change Conference of Copenhagen (December 7 to 18). The event is receiving much public attention and rightly so.

Our heritage, the earth, is in danger of irreparable damage. Some Oblates who are in connection with the UN have passed on to us a recent declaration of non-governmental organizations. It says: “Human beings are not distinct from nature, but are part of nature, and are now affecting nature in an alarmingly negative way”. To avoid further destruction of our habitat – for instance, a further disappearance of species - decisive measures must be taken. One of the answers requires of the world powers to put numbers on the table and to reach a concrete and binding agreement is greenhouse gas reduction.

One motivation to do something decisive now, can be political urgency. If parts of the planet become inhabitable, damage is done not only to mother earth, for instance through rising oceans, mass migrations but also armed conflicts can be expected.

For us disciples of Christ, in the light of Advent and Christmas a much deeper motivation is at hand. The traditional Announcement of Christmas tells us that since the dawn of creation – although not just 5,199 but 13.7 billion years ago – everything in the universe has been preparing the present time of a flourishing earth. And then at the fullness of time this earth has brought forth its most precious fruit: Jesus Christ. This is the deeper reason for us Christians to be concerned about the integrity of creation. Planet earth was given to us so that we live on it and use it and from the faith point of view we should not consider it as a quarry of resource material we can exploit and then leave abandoned. Creation is a wonder of which we are part and in which God Himself has become tangible. Earth has even become God’s own habitat, His true temple. We human beings must behave on earth as if we were walking the sacred grounds of a shrine!