By stating that Jesus is “born of woman”—this Mary (as both St. Matthew and St. Luke attest)—St. Paul insists that Jesus is most emphatically human, the “firstborn of all creation. That this Mary is at the same time a virgin prevents the birth of Jesus from being reduced to what we know or can reproduce from our own experience.

Life that is unmistakably human life is before us here, a real baby from an actual mother’s womb; there is also miracle here, and mystery that cannot be brushed aside in our attempts to bring the operations of God, let alone our own lives, under our control.

The miracle of the virgin birth, maintained from the earliest times in the church and confessed in its creeds, is, in Karl Barth’s straightforward phrase, a “summons to reverence and worship….” Barth maintained that the one-sided views of those who questioned or denied that Jesus was “born of the virgin Mary” are “in the last resort to be understood only as coming from dread of reverence and only as invitation to comfortable encounter with an all too near or all too far-off God.”

–Eugene Peterson in God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas ed. Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe (Massachusettes, Paraclete Press, 2007), p., 5; quoted in the sermon posted below

Nativity high up in Norwich Cathedral, c1470 pic.twitter.com/wArIWKv8fn

— Rembrandt's R👀m 🖌 (@RembrandtsRoom) December 28, 2023

“Happy Christmas, that’s what they say in England. I’ve always loved it. Happy Christmas. I have a simple question for you. What does Christmas actually mean? Gonna go right down the middle of the plate, right for the jugular this morning. What does it actually mean? And can I just start out by observing with you that we’ve been given a tradition, we stand on the shoulders of people who’ve come before us, they’ve given us the church, the church has a liturgical calendar, and in the wisdom of the church and the liturgical calendar, Christmas is a 12-day season. Sometimes it even has two Sundays like this season. And the reason it’s a 12-day season is because it’s so super significant, we need time to fully try to think through some of what it means, which is what we’re going to try to do this morning. So here’s what I’m going to say. That it happened, how it happened, and why it happened. What does Christmas mean? It happened, how did it happen, why did it happen? You all with me? All right, ready, set, go. First of all, that it happened….

You may listen directly here

Or you may download it there.

London's National Gallery has restored Piero della Francesca's Nativity. The painting is unfinished and was damaged in the past: notably the faces of the two shepherds on the right have been erased. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/r6BiFjebmU

— Rembrandt's R👀m 🖌 (@RembrandtsRoom) December 22, 2023

Twas much,
that man was
made like God before,
But that God should
be like man
much more

–John Donne (1572-1631)

The Nativity c. 1406–10 Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni)

(Met Museum) pic.twitter.com/ZN7m3gVZVN

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) December 30, 2024

What was the most surprising thing you discovered in your research of St. Thomas?

That Thomas is a much more complicated man than often portrayed in secular and religious histories – infuriating, reckless, and yet calculating and even wise. In terms of his personality, he could be distant, officious. I was surprised at how few people loved him in life. Many respected and admired him, but it is said that only three people were known to have loved him: his mother, Henry II and Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury, his mentor. Thomas is known to have loved his mother, Henry II and Henry’s son, Henry, whom he educated in his house and considered a son. Thanks to the devotion which has built up in the centuries, Thomas was and is much loved by so many, but it is heart-breaking to think that he may not have had the experience of warm human relationships and may have meant he experienced great loneliness. But then, that may have been another reason for him to find refuge in God.

What do you think is the particular holiness of this saint?

If we had known Thomas in his time, we probably would not speak of his holiness. Those who knew him would not have considered him a Saint at all; it was his death that changed people’s view of him. But he had been growing in holiness, little by little. We could say that he was a man who, for all his public persona, was “hidden with Christ in God”, as he struggled to become a better man and a good bishop. He persisted, quietly and often painfully, giving himself to God in prayer and penance, consciously aware of his mistakes and pride.

His desire to be a good bishop came from his sense of duty; in the end, that sense of duty led him to realize that only the sacrifice of his life could bring peace. And he was prepared to offer that sacrifice. Thomas’ particular holiness was the hidden, daily struggle to be what Christ wanted him to be, and that drama was at the heart of the long journey from a man of ambition, an ordinary, decent Catholic, to a man prepared to die for Christ and the Church.

Read it all.

29 December 1170 Murder of Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Born in Cheapside, he rose in service to Henry II, becoming the most powerful man in his administration. Forced to become Archbishop of Canterbury to deliver the Church to Henry, he refused, igniting a feud. pic.twitter.com/vtROisZZSa

— Matthew Lewis (@MattLewisAuthor) December 29, 2024

O God, our strength and our salvation, who didst call thy servant Thomas Becket to be a shepherd of thy people and a defender of thy Church: Keep thy household from all evil and raise up among us faithful pastors and leaders who are wise in the ways of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ the shepherd of our souls, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

One of the 12th century ‘Miracle Windows’ at Canterbury Cathedral which portray the miracles of St. Thomas Becket. Becket was martyred on this day in 1170. 📷 My own. #StainedGlassSunday #ThomasBecket pic.twitter.com/o6cFtMLPDN

— Kevin Wilbraham (@KPW1453) December 29, 2024

O God, who hast given us grace at this time to celebrate the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ: We laud and magnify thy glorious name for the countless blessings which he hath brought unto us; and we beseech thee to grant that we may ever set forth thy praise in joyful obedience to thy will; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

✨ Guten Morgen ☀️ pic.twitter.com/Eq6gcKbNSa

— 💫Stein_harmonie🍀🧚‍♀️ (@SteinHarmonie) December 30, 2024

O Lord, thou art my God;
I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name;
for thou hast done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
For thou hast made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the palace of aliens is a city no more,
it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will glorify thee;
cities of ruthless nations will fear thee.
For thou hast been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
for the blast of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
like heat in a dry place.
Thou dost subdue the noise of the aliens;
as heat by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

–Isaiah 25:1-9

#suttononsea this morning #loveukweather #seaside 🌊🔆 pic.twitter.com/ECFpnVi00R

— ianW (@IanW1985) December 30, 2024