Greccio: A new Bethlehem

CEBU, Philippines -  “He who has not understood the mystery of Christmas has not understood the decisive element of the Christian existence.’’

As the season of Christmas is nearly upon us, as we traverse closer and closer to Bethlehem – a place where our savior Jesus Christ was born, it is better to understand the profound meaning of the birth of the Lord. It is also the ardent desire and invitation of the Church to contemplate on the mystery of Christ’s birth.

The historical origin tells us that the liturgical year of the Church did not initially coincide with the birth of Christ, but rather from faith in the Resurrection. Because of this, the ancient feast of Christianity is not Christmas, but rather Easter: the resurrection of Christ is at the base of Christian faith; it is at the base of the proclamation of the Gospel and gives birth to the Church. Therefore to be Christian means to live in the mode of Easter, connecting ourselves to the dynamics that come from Baptism, bringing about a death to sin in order to live with God (cf. Romans 6:4)?

Furthermore, the first to clearly affirm that Jesus was born on December 25 was Hippolytus of Rome in his commentary on the book of the Prophet Daniel, written around 204.

Within Christianity, the feast of Christmas took on a definite form in the Fourth Century, when it took the place of the Roman feast of “sol invictus”, the invincible sun. Thus was shown that the birth of Christ is the victory of the light over the darkness of evil and sin. Yet, the unique and intense spiritual atmosphere that surrounds Christmas developed in the Middle Ages, thanks to St. Francis of Assisi, who was profoundly in love with the Jesus as Man.

Thomas of Celano, St. Francis’ first biographer narrated that Francis “above the other solemnity, celebrated with ineffable attention the birth of Baby Jesus, and called the feast day on which God became a small child, nursed at a human breast.”

From this particular devotion to the mystery of the Incarnation came the famous celebration of Christmas in Greccio. What moved the poor Man of Assisi was the desire to experience in actual, concrete and living way the humble greatness of the event of Baby Jesus’ birth, and to communicate his joy to everyone.

In the first biography, Thomas of Celano spoke of the night of Bethlehem in Greccio in a lively and moving manner, offering a decisive contribution to the spreading of the beautiful Christmas tradition, the Nativity scene. The night of Greccio, in fact, has given back to Christianity the intensity and the beauty of the feast of Christmas, and has educated the people of God to learn its most authentic message, its particular warmth, and to love and adore the humanity of Christ.

It happened a long time ago, how about the present time? Are we still trying and doing our best to renew the spirit of Christmas? Are we still moved to celebrate the memory of God’s humility by coming down to earth? Or has the reenactment of the first Christmas evening become unimpressive, without that spirit that touches the heart of the Babe in the manger?

Let us remember that Francis’ highest intention, his dominant desire, his firmest will was to observe perfectly and always the Holy Gospel. With all the longing of his mind and heart he wanted to follow in the footstep of our Lord Jesus Christ; above all, the humility of the incarnation. This was what moved him to imitate and reenact the first Christmas near the little town of Greccio (Italy).

It is also the same spirit that imbibes the celebration of the “Greccio experience “. It has become the tradition of the Franciscan family to gather together every month of December to remember and relive the Franciscan experience that happened in Greccio in 1223. Hoping that we, too, will be graced to experience what St. Francis experienced and likewise to receive with open hearts and purified eyes God’s personal revelation today. 

I believe that this is also what St. Francis of Assisi wanted to remind Christians of his age and in every age, until today. God truly has become Emmanuel, God-with-us, from Whom no barrier or distance can separate us. In this Child, God has come so close, that we can address Him with confidence and maintain a deep trusting relationship with Him, as we do with a newborn.

Let us pray to the Father that we may contemplate the love of a God who humbly asks to welcome Him into our hearts and in our world. By coming among us as a helpless child, God conquers our hearts not by force, but by love, and thus teaches us the way to authentic freedom, peace and fulfillment.

This Christmas, may the Lord grant us simplicity of heart, so that we may recognize his presence and love in the lowly Babe of Bethlehem, precisely the same as St. Francis did in Greccio. It has become the new Bethlehem, where the mystery of Jesus Christ unravels. (FREEMAN)