And on this night, when I anticipate all the joys of Christmas, my Beloved waited in His Mother’s Womb, anticipating a lifetime of humiliation…
There are so many different pieces of art devoted to this night before Christmas.
There are paintings that depict the last night of the Blessed Virgin’s pregnancy, perched upon a donkey and travelling from inn door to inn door. There are poems that recount what the journey would have been like. There is music (namely Christmas Carols) composed to depict the glory of that last evening before the Son of Man was born. There are films and cartoons devoted to the subject-matter. And all of these relate to the religious focus on this night.
There are also non-religious artworks – paintings, books, poems and many more – devoted to the subject-matter of Santa Claus and children preparing for the joy of Christmas Day.
One of my favourite non-religious poems about Christmas Eve is called “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”, which is a poem that was written by Clement Clarke Moore and published on 23 December 1823, and famously includes the line, “‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…”
The reason that I love this poem is because of the anticipation that it evokes in the responder. As you read the poem, you begin to feel the sort of magic of the Christmas Season – and this magic is BEFORE the invention of Santa Claus, and therefore before the materialism of Christmas.
In the early days Christmas was a season that followed the Season of Advent. And the Season of Advent was a period of fasting and penance – much like Lent (though not as strict in terms of the penance). During this time, people prepared themselves for this feast. And this preparation meant that people were focused on the whole point of Christmas. They were able to put themselves into a place where they reflected on the sacrifice of God, who was born into a lowly Human Form just with the intention of dying to redeem our sins.
Image the humility that would take. I do not even like asking for help for one little thing. I try to live my life without ever reaching out to anyone else because I never want to have to humble myself enough to ask for help. And there is GOD – King of the Universe. No. MORE than King – CREATOR of the Universe… He does not need anything or anyone. And He agreed to subject Himself to the limitations of humanity. And He chose to do this from the perspective of the weakest and poorest of all.
He was a baby inside His Mother’s Womb. He was a poor man in an occupied land. He was a craftsman and not a scholar or king. He was not a Priest (in the Jewish tradition) – though He is HIGH PRIEST and KING…
And on this night, when I anticipate all the joys of Christmas, my Beloved waited in His Mother’s Womb, anticipating a lifetime of humiliation…
Poor God. Poor, poor God.
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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