Advent Reflection by Father Kyle Doustou

Dear friends in Christ,

As we find ourselves at the end of our Advent pilgrimage and standing now on the cusp of Christmas, I hope that we find our hearts brimming with excitement. I know that mine is! Not so much with the giddy excitement that I had when I was a boy but a true joyful excitement nonetheless. In just a few hours, Christians around the world will once more mark the Nativity of the Lord, the birth of Jesus Christ, and the glorious news that God is with us ( עִמָּנוּאֵל - Immanu’el) will be proclaimed in *billions* of churches, homes, and other gatherings. Older ears will hear it once again, and younger ears will hear it for the very first time. This is what I find exciting - the miracle of Christmas is ever ancient and ever new, and the Christ Child born 2,000 years ago in-the-flesh, away in a manger, is born anew, by grace, in the heart of every person who comes to faith or who grows deeper in faith.

In humility, let us go with our mind’s eye and our heart’s love to the stable in Bethlehem. In the brilliant silence of that ancient night, a timeless miracle unfolded while the whole world slept blissfully unaware. A child, a real, historical baby boy, born in time and space just like the rest of us, born in poverty like too many of us, born in a feeding trough like few of us, changed the world forever. Unknown at the time to anyone but a young maiden, a rural carpenter, a handful of shepherds, a selection of livestock, and the entire angelic host, this child would alter the course of history indefinitely. He would be for all people of all time, all of us and each of us, a precious gift given to us from the Eternal Father. The gift of God-Incarnate. The Gift of Emmanuel - God-with-us. Wrapped not in paper or ribbons but in swaddling clothes and in the flesh of our own humanity, He would wait, is waiting still, and will continue to wait to be unwrapped, treasured, held, and loved in the hearts and souls of His very own creation. Every human person is meant to cradle and adore him. Mary and Joseph were only the first! His birth is in time and yet beyond time. It is so old and yet so new – a timeless, ageless miracle indeed!

In our present day, in every late December, modern people around the world continue to surround themselves with symbols of that holy night - the creche, the twinkling lights, the stars - but for what reason? Is it just to celebrate a historical event? Not at all! These outward signs help to dispose us to receive the birth of Christ as a living reality that unfolds and unwraps itself in our very own life...right here, right now! He wants to lay now in the manger of our souls, and his presence there is just as real and just as powerful as it was in Bethlehem. And there is no better way to experience this than in the Holy Eucharist - every altar is Bethlehem!

May these last hours of Advent be for each of us a time for reflecting deeply upon the paradoxical beauty of the Lord’s Birth - the timeless miracle that resonates across generations and breathes new life into our souls. Our God, in time and in grace, has become a Child for us...let us receive him, in time and in grace, with the joy of little children ourselves. I wish you and your families the very merriest of Christmases, filled with the joy and wonder of Christ’s eternal and abiding presence. God bless you abundantly, and I’ll see you at Christmas Mass!

Pax,

Fr. Kyle Doustou
Pastor, Parish of the Resurrection of the Lord, Old TOwn