Thomas More invited me (well, put me on the spot actually) to do my share for "the Twelve Days of Christmas", and it happens that my posting appears on December 14th, which in the Catholic Church is the feast of St. John of the Cross. He hardly seems like a holiday character, but he is a worthy successor to one of the great Advent figures, St. John the Baptist. Reflecting on these austere prophets suggests the following to me.
Each year at Christmas we see on television the crowds who gather at Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. The armed guards and the atmosphere of tension in the air seem so out of tune with the Christmas season, a time above all others when we pray for an end to violence in our world.
Curiously, we find a thread of violence woven into the Christmas season, a crimson stripe running through the white and gold of our joyful celebrations. The very day after Christmas, the Church invites us to celebrate the first martyr to shed his blood for the faith; two days later, we commemorate the Holy Innocents, and in another two days, the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. The Church is always at odds with the spirit of the world. While everyone puts up tinsel, she celebrates the sober season of Advent; when finally the joyful Christmas season begins, she cannot help but recall suffering intertwined with the joy.
What we are celebrating is the reality of the Cross casting its shadow over Bethlehem. Again, the world recoils from the paradox: why "celebrate" the Cross? The answer is to be found in the beautiful words of John's Gospel: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." (Jn 3:16) The birth of Jesus into our human condition and his death which he freely accepted are for us the ultimate signs of God's generosity. Each of us who have watched a loved one suffer have wanted to trade places, to see them spared. Such is the generosity of the Son, that he did trade places with us; such is the generosity of the Father that he did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to show his love for us.
The saints are those who have gratefully accepted the generosity of God. They have seen it to be a pure gift, beyond anything we could ever deserve. But this gift carries with it a tremendous responsibility: it calls for a response. It is common for people to contrast the Old Testament with the New, in terms of "Law" and "Love", "Justice" and "Mercy". But the Gospel is far more demanding than any precept of the Old Testament. Jesus did not just say "Love one another", he said, "Love one another as I have loved you." (Jn 15:12) God's generosity calls on our generosity; love begets love. The martyrs are those who have tried to imitate the generosity of God; they are signs to us of what discipleship can look like.
We are not likely called to martyrdom, but we are called to imitate God's generosity in our daily lives. We will never find in this life a manger without the shadow of the Cross. But we also only see the shadow of the Cross in the light of the Resurrection – which is why the austere John the Baptist rejoiced to hear the Bridegroom’s voice, and John of the Cross composed some of the most beautiful poetry in the Spanish language while locked in a dungeon.
Justin Martyr
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