In John 1:1-18, we read, “…and the WORD took flesh and dwelt among us.” At Christmas, the Lord—Jesus—Immanuel, God-with-us—“enters” our human space, our airspace, not as an intruder but as Immanuel. He comes to His own, taking and assuming our human nature.
As a prelude to the Gospel pericope of the Evangelist John, chapter 1:1-18, we look at John, the beloved apostle of the Lord. The Johannine Gospel/community, theologically, is designed with a “down-to-top” approach, unlike the Matthaean Gospel, which is “top-to-down.” John moves from what we see to what we don’t see—a different modality. Through this, he created “a community of love” at its center, bonded together.
To understand the Gospel pericope in the “limelight,” we take our minds back to “Creation,” in the first chapter of Genesis. Before creation, the “Spirit of God” hovered over the face of the earth, and then, through His WORD, creation came into being—from nothing. That Spirit, in Aramaic called “Ruah,” is also equivalent to “breathe,” “wind,” or “air.” God breathed into creation, and things began to manifest and be. He spoke the WORD, and through it, creation came to be. That same “Spirit” that hovered over the waters is the same “enabling Spirit” in German, termed “Überschatten,” used in the liturgical translation for the meeting of the Angel Gabriel and the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this context, the Blessed Mother was figuratively “Überschattet”—“consumed in the smoke of the Holy Spirit”—subsumed in a cloud. The Holy Spirit came upon her in the form of a thick cloud after the Angel’s message. This same Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, enabled the Word to “take flesh” and “dwell among us.”
In this sense, the Gospel of John, chapter 1, the so-called “Johannine Prologue,” is intimately connected to Genesis and Creation. The Spirit of God gives life. The Word took flesh; that Word experienced life and lived, dwelling among us as “Immanuel—God-with-us!” The dwelling of the Word among us, the crux of Christmas, is the theological inner-dwelling of God in human flesh and blood. God, who is Spirit, no longer comes as a “spoken Word” in creation but chooses to be “alive with humans”—physically and touchably, under human form. This is a great mystery that offers hope to a humanity that has historically lost hope due to the fall of Adam and Eve.
The “taking of flesh of the Word and coming to live among us as ‘human,’” Immanuel, God-with-us, rekindles hope for humans who had been written off by the Fall. Through this spoken Word—“ipsissima Deo Verbum” (the Word of God Himself)—God incarnated into our human family as “the only Hope” for the human family and “human flourishing,” to use modern language. In essence, hope is “re-resurrected” for “hopeless humans.”
That’s why, in his pontifical homily at the Christmas Night Vigil Mass on December 24, 2024, Pope Francis centered his message on “Hope!” The expression “Immanuel”—the name of the Child born in the stall at Bethlehem (meaning “house of bread”)—theologically means: “Hope-for-us!” Immanuel, God-with-us, signifies that “Hope has arrived.” Hope is reignited in a hopeless people, in a hopeless humanity. The message we take away from Christmas is that “HOPE” has arrived on our “human shore” of hopelessness. We shall never live as “abandoned, hopeless humans.” In each and every one of us, God has come to our aid. Our duty as Christians is to carry this message of “hope” to all: to the sick, the downtrodden, to our suffering and hurting people, especially now as they go through troubled times.
This message of “Hope” at Christmas resonates deeply for them. Immanuel comes to soothe hearts in excruciating moments as “misericordia” (mercy). He comes as “consolatio” (consolation). We must not fail in this task of proclaiming “hope” within our families, outside our families, and to our people—young and old, rich and poor. We are called to be “hope” to all that we meet and to all who come to us in need. We must be ready to reach out to them, offering “hope and reassurance,” knowing that Immanuel—God-with-us—is HOPE!
Additionally, in this Child, the “Prince of Peace,” we experience another aspect of the mystery of Christmas. “Hope” is transposed into “Gift.” The Giver of all good things in creation, and still in the continual giving of life and renewing human flourishing daily, becomes not just “Hope to the hopeless,” but, most importantly, the concrete “Gift” of God to humanity.
In this newborn Child, God mangled Himself as the most magnificent Gift of all times—the Child in the manger at Bethlehem. In this Child at Bethlehem, God assumes not just “Hope”; but this Hope becomes concrete in the “Giving of Himself” as an everlasting Gift—Jesus: Immanuel—God-with-us.
Here lies the inner mystery and theological background to “Giving Gifts” at Christmas. Normally, “Gifts” are meant to be given to people, both loved ones and strangers, especially those in need. This Christmas, we witnessed some concrete examples of gift-giving in cities like Abuja, Ibadan, and Okija, which tragically led to stampedes and deaths. While giving gifts is often well-intentioned, these incidents remind us that, in life, things can sometimes go awry—incidents and accidents happen.
There are also exceptional cases where “Gifts” may be wrongly intended. For example, during the Trojan War, the Greeks gave the Trojans a mighty wooden horse as a “gift.” Unbeknownst to the Trojans, armed soldiers were hidden inside the horse. That night, the soldiers emerged and slaughtered the citizens of Troy. This is the origin of the term “Greek gift.” In contrast, God’s gift of Himself to human flourishing, made concrete in the Child in the stall at Bethlehem, was the purest Gift of all times. It was a clear case of “Hope” transformed into a concrete Gift.
At Christmas, God transposes the long-awaited prophecies of the Old Testament prophets into the concrete “Giving of Himself” in the Child in the stall at Bethlehem. He gave Himself. In imitation of God’s “Giving,” people give gifts at Christmas, as a reflection of God’s gift to us. He gave Himself wholly and completely, as the Germans say, “ohne Mangel” (without spot or blemish). He left nothing behind in His giving.
Perhaps you’ve received gifts this Christmas—good ones? And yearly, perhaps? Even if you did not receive tangible gifts, the life you have today, and the good health you enjoy, are God’s greatest gifts to you, in addition to the Child in Bethlehem. He did not begrudge in giving. Some humans, however, grudge when they give, attaching strings and conditions.
Do you grudge when you give? Do you attach strings to your giving? Think again and stop doing so! Do you hold back from giving? God loves “a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Are you good at taking but give nothing meaningful or edifying in return? Think again! There is joy in giving! Give freely, without counting the cost. What have you given that God has not already given you much more? Your life, your career, your children—these are all gratuitously from Him! Rethink how you give.
The mystery of Christmas is meant to awaken in us the “godly spirit” of “Hope” that God has given us in Christ, made concrete in the “Gift” of Himself in that fragile child in the stall at Bethlehem.
May the peace of the “Prince of Peace,” the Holy Child in the Stall at Bethlehem, “Hope,” and the “Gift” of God to us humans, abide with you and those dearest to you in 2025 and beyond. Amen!
