Fourth Sunday of Advent
Father Stephen Bankemper
Guest
“Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord,
your grace into our hearts,
that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son
was made known by the message of an Angel,
may by his Passion and Cross
be brought to the glory of his Resurrection.”
Those who pray the Angelus with any regularity will recognize the Collect of the Mass this weekend as its closing prayer. One of the interesting things about this prayer is the way it connects us to Holy Week, interesting in part because there is no parallel prayer in Holy Week that refers so specifically to Jesus’ birth. The reason for this is probably historical – the Church had been remembering Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection for three or so centuries before she began formally to celebrate his birth — but it also makes theological sense. Jesus took our human nature to himself and was born for a specific reason, to accomplish something, and that something was accomplished on the cross, in the grave, and by his Resurrection and Ascension. Read the prayer without the reference to the Incarnation: Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord,/ your grace into our hearts,/ that we may by his Passion and Cross/ be brought to the glory of his Resurrection. For those who know the prayer, this version is certainly diminished, but if one did not know something was left out, one could think that it was a perfectly good prayer for the beginning of Holy Week.
The connection between Christ’s birth and death has been noted by many. Some of the Church’s great homilists have remarked on it. A few of our Christmas carols, especially in the tradition of the spiritual, sing of the baby who “was born to die.” The artists who created most of the stained-glass windows in our own Cathedral make the connection in a subtle but unmistakable way. In the Eucharistic Chapel there is a window that depicts the Passover. One of the family holds the platter carrying the Passover lamb, lying on its side with its legs bound. A woman looks down on it, seeming to pray silently. Likewise, in the Nativity window (south side of the nave), we notice a lamb in similar pose, feet bound together. Mary may at first seem to be gazing upon Jesus in the manger, but as we look with more attention, we see that she is actually gazing, hands folded in prayer, upon the lamb. This baby Jesus will be our sacrificial lamb.
Does this remembrance of Jesus’ death lessen our enjoyment of Christmas? If Christmas is Santa Claus and reindeer, perhaps, although it is more likely simply to be ignored. But for those who desire to celebrate the fullness of the Incarnation and birth of our Lord, remembering why he was born makes the most sense of the story. Christ’s birth is not a stand-alone event but is the beginning of something.
Another interesting thing about this prayer is the plea for God to pour his grace into our hearts. It suggests to us that Christmas is not something we fit into our lives, rather, God’s grace pulls us into Christmas. The story of Christ’s life is the world into which we are invited to enter. Beginning with our baptism and continuing through the various sacraments and observances of succeeding liturgical years, God’s grace draws us into his story. Christmas without this kind of observance may be pleasant, but allowing ourselves to be drawn more deeply into Christ’s life is transforming. Remember that in this Collect we are praying to be “brought” somewhere.
May your celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ bring you joy now, and also forever.
Father Stephen Bankemper is pastor, St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Ft. Thomas, Ky.
