This is the last Sunday of Advent, the month-long preparation for the Christmas celebration of the Incarnation of Christ—God into humanity. Let us ask ourselves, how did we use this time of preparation so as to prepare our hearts as a home for Christ? Soon it will become even more hectic and crazy, leaving very little time to think about the religious aspect of Christmas as we put up the tree, finish the shopping, and begin (I am way behind) the wrapping.

But let’s take a minute or two and consider something about our God and the readings this weekend. The Prophet Micha in the first reading tells us in the very last sentence that our Savior Shall be peace. Not that He will be similar to or a form of peace, but that He shall BE peace itself. In Hebrews, our second reading, we know that Christ removes the law’s requirement of sin offerings and sacrifices and replaces them with the offering of “I come to do your will.” Service—humble service—is the hallmark of our Savior—and the end result of what our active faith asks of His disciples—us. In Luke’s Gospel, we hear of this humility again. God works quietly and in unique people and places to bring about His Divine Plan. Mary is from a “no-place” Nazareth. Remember Nathaniel’s comment about Nazareth: Does anything good come from Nazareth? Jesus, the Son of God, shall be born in the back-of-beyond—in Bethlehem. From this out-of-the-way place, God will raise up for us a mighty Savior. Mary travels in haste to the hill country of Juda to help and assist her cousin who is pregnant and in need, putting herself in danger and first and foremost at the needs of another. Humility!

The message of the Christmas season, amid all the glitz and glamour of the season—with shopping and finery, with parties and festive meals, with decoration and bright lights—is all about humility. In humble places (Nazareth and Bethlehem), in humble people (a young Mary), and in humble gestures (Mary assisting Elizabeth, the kingly birth in a stable) God shows His power and might, His plan and His Love. Weather we have a warm and finely decorated home, a bright tree and a festive
table—or not—the message is identical for each person on earth: God loves you. God came among us for our eternal benefit, not for His. God will never abandon you. God desires you in His
unending life. This can and will be accomplished by His Grace and with our action—humble service in humble places aimed at humble people. Humility—a Christmas present of which we can all accept and employ.