Christmas is one of the greatest celebrations of the year. Throughout America, and indeed throughout all Christendom, families gather together to celebrate, to exchange gifts and engage in holiday traditions. Far too often, however, we lose sight of the purpose of this holiday. This isn’t exactly uncommon. Many American holidays, like Valentine’s Day and Easter, are Christian holidays celebrated by many with little understanding of the true significance of the day. Christmas in particular has become rife with the stench of consumerism. For far too many, it has become a question of what gifts they can get, or perhaps for those who are well to do, how expensive or ostentatious a gift they can buy for another. Not only does this undermine the Christian nature of the holiday, it misses entirely the lesson of the nativity itself. 

We of faith all know the story of the nativity: Our Lord is born in a manger, having been turned away by an inn. There is, of course, the obvious message of hospitality. But there is another message as well which is far too often neglected. Our Lord was born in a manger alongside farm animals, hardly a birth fit for a King. But a King indeed Our Lord is. One of the major reasons why some rejected Christ as Lord and Messiah is because He did not meet their idea of what a Messiah would be. They expected the Messiah would come as a conqueror, to throw out the Romans and reestablish the Kingdom of Israel. But Our Lord was a suffering servant. He did not come to sit on an earthly throne or to form an earthly kingdom. He came not to be served, but to serve. He was born not in a palace, or in a nobleman’s home, but in a manger, precisely because He is Our Lord. He became man, coming down to us so that we could see Him, understand Him, learn from Him, and ultimately can be saved through Him. He was born in a manger, betrayed by an Apostle, condemned by the Sanhedrin, and sent by Pilate to be crucified on a cross for our sake.

Far too often, our society is in thrall to a cult of comfort. We do not do difficult things, we do not struggle. We fear nothing more than suffering. But Our Lord suffered. Are we greater than He? Certainly not. We think that we ought to live our lives centered around our own pleasure and avoiding all things painful. This doesn’t lead to happiness, but sorrow. We live in a society which is more superficially comfortable and yet more miserable than ever. People paradoxically view themselves as the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong, vociferously demanding all society revolve around them, and yet hate themselves more than ever.

This is what pride looks like. Pride leads us to complete self-assurance and a wildly exaggerated sense of self-importance. But at the same time, we erect an idol of ourselves that the real us cannot ever live up to, so we are constantly wracked with depression and self-hatred. This problem is destroying our society. What is the solution? As is so often the case, our Lord provides us the model. He did not exalt Himself, but emptied Himself and took the form of a servant. Despite being a King, He was born in a manger. He lived a life not of self-interest, but a life of selfless sacrifice and of truth. Christ’s love is beyond our understanding, but His model of humility is plain as day. We must learn to be less concerned with how we are perceived, what our status is, and more concerned about how we can help those around us. Indeed, the family nature of Christmas is incredibly valuable. Charity begins at home, after all. I have many fond memories of Christmas growing up, and I notice this even more as I get older: I remember less and less what gifts I received and more and more the time I spent with my parents and my siblings. 

Humility, the great virtue it is, is often misunderstood. A great many people out there think they cannot be prideful, since they think poorly of themselves. But as a wise man once told me: “true humility lies not in thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” We spend so much time in the modern world trapped in our own heads. It has become such a problem it damages people’s understanding of what we as humans are fundamentally. We are not, as many now think, floating minds, brains, or souls which control a body like some sort of Bluetooth-enabled computer mouse. We are a unified human being of body, mind, and spirit. Doing things affects who we are. Go out and do things, rather than just spending all day in your head fixated on yourself and how others perceive you and how you perceive yourself. Acts are how we grow in faith and into the fullness of what it means to be human. 

When we rediscover what it means to be human through humility, we can once again understand what it means to have family, community, and even nation. These things build upon one another and reinforce each other. Why should we be surprised when people, who do not understand what a family is, also do not understand what a nation is? This is to be expected. By gaining humility, our society and our nation will begin to once again understand what it is and why it is, rather than wandering aimlessly in the darkness. 

Our Lord was born in a manger, do not fear a bit of mud getting on your shoes. Before our Lord performed miracles and taught great wisdom and conquered death itself, He had a humble birth and a loving family. Let us spend time with and love our own families. We in America have long had a nation of dreams and dreamers. Let us pursue those dreams, growing through struggle and always keeping our eyes on Our Lord and on our duty to others. And let us desire, more than any earthly dream we chase, to join the company of saints in heaven one day. Truly, there is no greater joy than to hear “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” We can do no otherwise.