By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Ah, here we come to December. We who are a bit older may gasp: “What? Already?!”, the daydreams of children—young and old—are beginning to wander toward thoughts of holidays and the magic of Christmas season: wrappings and ribbons, cards and carols, pastries and presents, are all floating before imagination’s eyes. Oh, the aching anticipation.

And, of course, for Christians, Christmas is—as the very word implies and heralds—remembrance of one of the most singular events of their faith’s year: the remembrance of the coming of the eternal God in the flesh—becoming incarnate, or “enfleshed”—which led to that holiest of days—Easter, and His resurrection after dying in which He “breaks the bonds of death [for Mankind] and opens the gates of Heaven”—the opening of the opportunity of eternal life with God for His faithful and those who, if not knowing Him, do what is good and right to the best of their understanding.

And while this may seem a fantasy by many in the world, we do have the testimony of numerous witnesses to those and subsequent events—witnesses who lived with Jesus for several years (thus excluding the possibility of His simply presenting a false façade), and who died torturous deaths at the hands of those who opposed their testimony, determinedly declaring nonetheless the truth of what they had witnessed.

As I often mention here, it would seem rather too incredible that a lowly uneducated workman from a despised little village in a vassal nation of a great empire, and who died disgraced (in the world’s eyes) as a criminal by crucifixion, could have inspired a religion that swept not only through that empire, but through the world and continuing even today—ever growing in numbers. How could such a lowborn and lowly unknown surpass the influence of great philosophers of His time such as Plato and Aristotle, or orators like Cicero and Demosthenes, or emperor-philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius? And yet it is the record of HIS deeds and teachings which grace billions of tables and bookshelves throughout the world.

And the Church He began and inspired now lay upon the very ruins of that once greatest of empires under whose rule He lived and taught. So … it seems a bit much to think that a mere man of His condition could do such a thing, don’t you think? … unless there was something super-natural present as well. As Jesus Himself exclaimed: “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:37-38) … echoing what God lamented to Moses over a millennium prior: “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs which I have wrought among them?” (Numbers 14:11)

This relation of history doesn’t even touch upon the many, many miraculous occurrences—examined and deemed by esteemed scientists and doctors as unexplainable by natural causes—that the Vatican classifies as “worthy of belief” as miracles. Yet skepticism is understandable, natural and even beneficial; we all know how charlatans—religious and otherwise—plague the world, not to mention those persons of sincerity who simply arrive at erroneous conclusions about various things. And we live primarily by sensory input, and base our decisions upon that which those senses—either unaided or enhanced—provide. And yet, we must also recognize that that consensus is not a guarantee of truth; in fact, careful investigation often overturns preconception and prevailing theory.

Tangentially for a moment, we read how Jesus repeatedly stresses what we all already know: that death comes to all, and He warns: “Be ready. Watch!…you know neither the day nor the hour [at which it will come]” … He urging all to lives of virtue pleasing to God as best we can at every moment, knowing that we are called to account for our lives before the eternal judge at any time. To not be complacent or presumptuous, as St. Paul was not: “…it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy…I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1 Corinthians 4:2-4).

Now people don’t like that word “judgment”, yet the root of judgment is justice, and the Christian believes that only in God’s judgment is true justice upheld. Thus, we ought not think of judgment as bad (unless we dread it); true judgment is good—and the truest of all judges is God, who is truth itself. But Jesus also tells us: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father…” The will of the Father is the standard of judgment … and His will is transmitted to us not only by, but IN, Christ … because, as Jesus says: “The Father and I are one”, and “When you see me, you have seen the Father” … so that the wills of the Father and of Jesus are in absolute synchrony. Jesus had two wills—a divine and a human (else He would not have been truly human without it); however, His divine will was literally one with the Father’s will, and His human will was always in total acquiescence to the divine will.

And so, to the skeptic, the Christian asks—begs—that during this Advent season leading to our Christmas celebration, and with eternal stakes on the table, does it not to behoove you to investigate carefully the claims and the faith of the billions of Jesus’ disciples who have been devoted to Him—past, present and future?

The human mind and soul longs for truth above all. Pontius Pilate asked the eternal question: “What IS truth?” But blinded by false claims and fear of the world’s opinion, he did not recognize that before Him—and whom he condemned—was He for whom all long in the very depths of their being—“the way, the truth and the life”—and thus who is the greatest gift the world could ever receive.

Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.