Reflection

Tom Allen ’84 This passage never fails to evoke the Christmas rituals of my boyhood that made this time of year so magical and magnificent growing up. Among them was watching the Rankin-Bass claymation classic, The Little Drummer Boy, and Charles Schultz’s A Charlie Brown Christmas. Together, these stories bookend this Scripture and offer much-needed hope for our troubled world. The Little Drummer Boy opens with Greer Garson narrating the first half of this Gospel about the census administered by the governor of Syria that moved great masses of people, including Joseph and Mary, across a troubled land. A devastating civil war across that same land today is creating another mass movement of people that threatens to pull armies of great nations into its maelstrom. A Charlie Brown Christmas, which premiered 50 years ago this month, concludes with a lisping Linus explaining the meaning of Christmas to Charlie Brown by reciting the second half of this Gospel in its wondrous simplicity. The inclusion of that scene met with fierce resistance at the time; Schulz had to battle with CBS brass to keep it in the show. The declaration of the true meaning of Christmas on prime time network television remains a triumph of faith over secularism and light over darkness that inspires millions to this day. Mary pressed through the darkness and gave mankind a great light, delivering our Savior in Bethlehem—a name that translates to “house of bread”—and laying him in a manger where animals come to feed. Schultz pressed through the darkness and gave people his “Christmas classic that almost wasn't." Resistance along the path to Christ’s light is always fierce. But we’ve broken through it on this day because the Lord is born to us. Our life has new dimension and depth because God is here with us. The Bread of Life is in the manger. He is opening his arms and smiling, inviting us to welcome him more fully into our lives. That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Father Bob Loughery, C.S.C.  Loving God, this day ends our Advent longing and preparation. On this eve of Christmas, may your tender compassion fill the earth with your peace, and your love bring the dawn of your Son’s coming to every waiting heart. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.

On Christmas Eve, let us remember Adam and Eve, whose disobedience we share. We await our savior!