The Nativity of Christ: Making the Invisible Visible

The Nativity of Christ is the celebration of the Birth of the Word of God, come into the world. This same Word of God took on human flesh at his Conception, and waited until he was born to become visible in the world. Just like his Incarnation, his Birth was brought about in obscurity and in silence. Certainly, the shepherds visited and did him homage; the angels sang Glory to God in the Highest; the ox and the ass were the witnesses of his birth in the manger. Yet apart from these signs and witnesses, the birth of Our Lord was largely unnoticed. Even in this humble birth something wonderful happened.


The invisible was made visible.


Through the various readings and prayers of the Mass during the season of Christmas, one can contemplate various aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation, where God took on human flesh for the salvation of world.

One text I like to read and meditate and pray is the First Preface of the Nativity.

The First Preface of Christmas

During the Christmas Season, the First Preface of the Nativity - listed as one of three prefaces for Christmas in the Roman Missal 3rd Edition (2002) as well as the “Præfatio de Nativitate Domini” of the Roman Missal (1962) - is a marvelous synthesis of the purpose of the Incarnation, Birth and Manifestations of the Word of God:

For in the mystery of the Word made flesh
a new light of your glory
has shone upon the eyes of our mind,
so that, as we recognize in him God made visible,
we may be caught up through him
in love of things invisible.

Firstly, one can (and superficially) remark that nowhere in this preface mentions the “Little Baby Jesus” as the object of the Christmas mystery. Instead, one is immediately referred to the Prologue of the Gospel of John (1:1-5,14):

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
[…]
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.

Note the themes of light/dark and visible/invisible.

In the Word of God taking on human flesh, that very mystery shines a light into the minds of men, so that we can see things as they are, that is, in the light of God’s grace. Thus, in the light of the Incarnation, we can see that God himself becomes visible. God takes on a human face. God reveals himself to humanity in a definitive and efficacious way.

Again: God took on a human face. That is the mystery being celebrated. It’s not just that God took on the appearances of being human, like a Halloween mask - which can be taken off once the party’s over. God definitively united himself with our humanity, our flesh. He did this so that we can look upon God and contemplate all of God just by looking at Jesus.

And there is a reason for this: as we contemplate the Word become Flesh, our hearts learn to love the invisible-made-visible. And in this, our love for invisible, spiritual, eternal things grows. Thus, in contemplating the Human face of Jesus, God is inviting us to embrace spiritual realities that our sinfulness tends to avoid.

That is the mystery of Christmas. It’s not just about the “Little Baby Jesus” - though God is inviting us to look upon the face of the “Little Baby Jesus” and allow our hearts to grow open to more spiritual things. God is also inviting to look at the whole of the humanity of Jesus. To look upon the whole life of Jesus: not only his birth and epiphany, but also his public ministry, and his Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Part of our own sanctification on this earth is not merely to hope for “spiritual things” to drop from the sky and reveal themselves to us. A true Christian mystical life is to contemplate the mysteries of the Lord through the celebration of the Liturgy: the Mass, the Office and the other liturgical celebrations. In them Christ is really present; Christ is really acting in the Liturgy; Christ is visible. One can see the Human Face of Christ - not just in the Priest - but also in the face of the Baptized People of God who are present, too. In the Liturgy, the humanity of Christ is “enfleshed” even further through its celebration, the gestures, the vestments, the chants, and the readings. Thus, even in the most “boring” of Masses, the humanity of Christ is being revealed. God’s love is being definitively made visible, so that we can “look upon” him and see how much he love us and invites us to love him in return.

This is the hope of Christmas : to be caught up in the visible-ness of the Word-become-Flesh, so that we can love God - and what God loves - a little bit more each day. So: use your eyes. Look at the beauty of the Nativity and see the invisible God now made visible for you. And for me.

Merry Christmas.