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In the first few centuries of the Church, Christians developed a language for describing the incredible event of the Incarnation. What does it mean that God became a man? In 451, the Council of Ephesus described this mystery in terms of Mary, calling her theotokos, the God-bearer, the Mother of God. Since at least the thirteenth century, January 1 has been a celebration of Mary’s maternity, and since 1960 we have called this day the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Christmas is not simply a necessary first step in the salvation transaction. It’s not even primarily a nostalgic story about how humble God is and all the things he’s willing to do for us. We cannot simply approach Christmas as an epic tale of long ago adventures somewhere across the ocean, because Christmas is not about the past. It’s about you, right now. 

This week’s second reading is the introductory preamble to Saint Paul’s great letter to the Romans. This letter is unique among his letters in a few related ways. He is not writing to address the problems or questions of a specific community. Rather, Saint Paul is writing to a community he has not visited before in order to lay out the basics of his message before he gets there. Because of these circumstances, Romans can be said to be Saint Paul’s systematic presentation of what it means to be a Christian. It is well worth taking the time to read all 16 chapters of Romans this week.

This week’s second reading makes two references to the coming of the Lord. The word “coming” in James’ original Greek is parousia, an important term for the Early Church meaning “coming” or “presence.” It has a very similar meaning to the Latin-based “Advent,” meaning “coming” or “arrival.” In this particular reading at this particular time of year, the Holy Spirit is giving us a wide-ranging play on words.