The Night Before

As this night unfolds in the places where we live, we find ourselves in different settings.  Some are alone and some have found a way to be with extended families.  Some gather in places filled with the glitter of Christmas while others gather in a place which hardly seems to note that such a day is about to break upon us.  If there are children present in the household, it is a place filled with much anticipation.  And for those who find themselves at a different place in life, the house is filled with memories of those who have shared this special day in years past.     

One thing which is common to us all, regardless of our circumstances, is that we stand on the threshold of a great mystery.  If God can be defined as Mystery, then this night which brings us to a day of joyful celebration is one which points to history's greatest mystery.  The Word of God speaks of this mystery as it says in the Prologue of John's gospel, "And the Word became flesh and lived among us..."  (John 1:14)    The story we read from the gospel of Luke has within elements with which we have some familiarity.  It is not a story that points to mystery, but to a human experience common to all of us.  

These few words from the gospel of John tell what happened that night, but with a brevity of words and a reminder that the unexplainable and impossible has happened to bring the Mystery of Creation into the ordinary mundane part of human life.  From outside of what we know, from the Invisible, and from glory the divine came to be knowable, visible, and fully human.  And from this vantage point on earth, He completed a work that touches the life of every single person who has ever lived on the face of this earth.