Taking His Place Alongside Us

We have just celebrated Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ, one of the most important days on the Church calendar and certainly one of the most joyful. Christmas is a time for us to remember the joys of childhood and to spread that joy to those around us, adults and children alike. Christmas is a time when people tend to be even more generous to those who are in need.  From a Christian perspective, Christmas is a time when we take special notice of Jesus in the people around us. This seems particularly fitting because Christmas is the time when Jesus came to take His place among us.

Jesus didn’t descend from Heaven with thunder and lightning or ride down in a flaming chariot. He took His place among us as a child in the womb, entering this human life very much like we entered it. We celebrate His incarnation on March 25^th, exactly nine months before Christmas, so He was a Child in the womb for nine months before His birth.
At His birth, Jesus took His place alongside all newborn babies.  A baby is weak, helpless, and dependent upon his or her parents, and Jesus took upon Himself this same weakness and helplessness. Mary and Joseph welcomed Him with joy and love; every child deserves to be welcomed with joy and love.

Jesus took His place alongside every young child in every family. Despite being the Son of God, He submitted Himself in obedience to Joseph and Mary. “He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them . . .” (Luke 2:51). Jesus is the model for every child, as the Holy Family is the model for every family.

Jesus took His place alongside all laborers since Joseph, a carpenter, raised him. It is widely held that Joseph taught his trade to Jesus.  “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary . . .?” (Mk 6:3). The people “took offense” at Jesus; apparently, they were not willing to be taught by a carpenter.  However, work is a gift from God, and Jesus highlights its dignity in taking His place alongside laborers.
Jesus took His place alongside immigrants and refugees on the flight to Egypt (Mt 2:13-15). Even today, many people flee their homelands to escape persecution. Jesus is right there beside them because He underwent the same experience.
Fr. Richard Libby is the Chancellor of the Diocese and Pastor at St. Helena of the True Cross of Jesus ParishJesus took His place alongside those who were hungry (Mt 4:2) and homeless (Matthew 8:20).  Jesus took these conditions upon Himself willingly when He might just as easily have lived in a fine home and eaten the best foods. Jesus’ willing embrace of poverty teaches us that it is important to see Him in the homeless, the hungry, and the poor. As Mother Teresa used to say, “Whenever I meet someone in need, it’s really Jesus in His most distressing disguise.”

Jesus took His place alongside mourners, as well. It’s hard to imagine how Jesus could mourn because He is God. Yet, as hard as it is for us to understand, John 11:35 reads, “And Jesus wept.” This was just before the raising of Lazarus, and Jesus had met with Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha. According to St. John Henry Newman, mere words were inadequate, and the only way He could express His love and compassion for them was through His tears. The word “compassion” means “suffering with,” and so Jesus freely chose to suffer with Mary and Martha in their time of grief. We all experience grief and loss at times, and we know that Jesus has taken His place right alongside us in those moments.

In His passion, Jesus took His place alongside criminals who faced punishment for their crimes. No matter what crimes they had committed, they still had their human dignity, which Jesus affirmed by His suffering and dying with them. One of them sought Jesus’ mercy, and Jesus promised to take him to Heaven (Lk 23: 42-43).

In His death, Jesus took His place alongside all of those who died.  None of us will escape death, but Jesus, too, died. He died so that we might know His presence and comfort in our last moments, but even more, He died so that our deaths might lead us to the Heavenly Kingdom.

We celebrate Jesus’ birth every year because it marks the day the long-awaited Savior was born. He took His place alongside newborn babies; for nine months before, He had taken His place alongside babies in the womb. Later, He would take His place alongside children, laborers, criminals, immigrants, refugees, homeless people, and more. In each case, He affirmed their human dignity, which He shared with them. He continues to take His place alongside people in every circumstance of life. May our celebration of Christmas remind us of our need to respect and defend every human life, from conception to natural death.