What's Your Perspective

In the Gospel reading for the first Sunday after Christmas St. Matthew tells the story of the newborn Christ-Child. He tells the story of the Holy Family's flight into Egypt at the instruction of an angel. He tells how the Wise Men deceived Herod so that he couldn't murder the newborn King. He tells of the slaughter of the Holy Innocents and of the return of the Holy Family from Egypt to a little village called Nazareth. Basically, St. Matthew tells the story of the Birth of Christ from a human perspective.

But if you were to go and read Revelation 12:1-6 you would see the same story told from a different perspective, a heavenly perspective.

St. John speaks of a woman clothed with the Sun, the Moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Obviously he is describing the Blessed Virgin Mary. The world looks at the Mother of God and they see a poor Jewish girl from a hick town. When the host of Heaven looks at her they see a woman robed in glory. When the world heard a young girl crying in the pains of labor, they felt pity. When the dragon (Satan) heard the cries of labor he felt his world reverberate in fear at the sound of the birth of the One who would defeat him. The world saw a power-crazed potentate named Herod trying to protect his meager little kingdom by attempting to murder an innocent child, but the host of Heaven saw this as a satanic plot to kill the King of Kings.

When the Child was born the world saw another peasant child born into an oppressed society with no future in front of him, but the host of Heaven saw the Ruler of all nations being born so that He could take His rightful place on His throne. When the Holy Family fled into Egypt the world saw a terrorized family running for their lives, but the host of Heaven saw a royal family resting in the safety that God had prepared for them.

What a difference perspective makes!

What perspective do you see the Birth of Christ in? Do you see it only from a human perspective or from a cosmic perspective? Do you see it as a quaint little story told and believed by a third of the world's population or do you see it as the Story of the ages - good versus evil, light versus dark, God versus Satan?

What's your perspective?

During this season between Christmas and Epiphany I encourage you to truly contemplate the great mystery of the Incarnation. I encourage you to stand in awe of the Event that the world takes so flippantly and lightly. Emmanuel - God is with us. Let us be humbled by the magnitude of this Mystery.

Fr. Rick