(Editor's Note: The following thoughts on Christmas come from Father Methodius, OCSO, a monk at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.)

The celebration of Christmas is not only the commemoration of the birth of Christ. The exact date of the historical event is unknown, and, after centuries of controversy, it is obvious that it is of relatively little importance to Christianity. The earliest indication of Christian interest in the event is the account presented in the four Gospels. While there is some attempt to situate the birth geographically in Bethlehem of Judea, the date or even the year cannot be determined from the mention of the census of Caesar Augusts.

The texts of the four Gospels, it is now known, were used liturgically. That is, they were incorporated into the worship service of the early Christian community and were meant to present the Christian truth in a manner intended to inspire the religious devotion of the community. Everything in the Gospel account of the birth of Jesus means something other than it means in the simple historical context: " … why a betrothed virgin was the mother, why the bridegroom was Joseph, why the virgin's name was Mary … " is explained by Peter Chrysologus in the fifth century, "in order to show that everything connected with the birth of Christ was symbolic."

Interestingly enough, the English name of the feast gives a clearer insight into its nature than the Latin "Dies Natalis Domini," the Birthday of the Lord. "Christmas" -- Christ Mass -- suggests the sacred mystery central to Christianity, the mystery of the Incarnation -- God becomes man. This holy day is not an historical holiday but a mystery holiday. It does not rank with civil holidays which commemorate historical events: the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Washington's birthday. It does not rank with other Church holidays such as the commemoration of the saints (though these too have their mystery aspect). It is liturgical celebration of the highest order and all the details of the story of the birth of Christ contribute to the communication of the Christian truth. To recount the story is revelation in a strict Theological sense. And so did the Fathers of the Church, those writers of the early Christian centuries, consider the Gospel accounts of the birth of Christ.

Commenting on the Gospel according to St. Matthew, St. Jerome says that when the Evangelist begins his narrative he is speaking of the Incarnation. Matthew begins with the details of the birth of a human baby so that: "He begins with these human things in order that we might learn of God through man."

St. Gregory the Great, writing about the Gospel according to St. Luke points out the significance of the town in which Jesus was born: "Fittingly, he was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is translated 'the house of bread.'" For it is he who said: "I am the living bread who has come down from heaven." And considering the sacramental use of bread as central to our liturgy, it is small wonder that the sacred author recorded this town as the birthplace of Jesus.

St. Ambrose probes further into the details: "Christ is born and the shepherds watch … The flock is the (Christian) people, the night is the world, and the shepherds are the priests." On second thought Ambrose allows: "Or perhaps he is a shepherd to whom it is said, 'Be Ye vigilant and steadfast.'"

The symbolic meaning may not be all that clear, may even admit of different interpretations, but there is no doubt that it is there.

Finally, St. Augustine commenting on the Gospel of St. John, which is already abstract and philosophical in its attempt to present the birth of Christ in its mysterious Theological dimensions, states his willingness to accept the birth of Christ as the celebration of the Incarnation. The Word became flesh and: "God was the Word. I believe the Evangelist."

The celebration of the birth of Christ is the celebration of the mystery of the Incarnation. Three ancient formulas seem to say it best: "God became man," "God became man to save us," and "God became man that man might become God." Christ Mass day is not able to be summed up in one Eucharistic celebration. Three Masses are accustomed to be celebrated on this day throughout the Catholic world.

The second Mass, the Mass at dawn, is the expression of deepest gratitude on our part for God's gift to us of a Savior. We don't have to look very far to realize how, left to ourselves, we are lost. Christmas 1978 has to fight its way into our consciousness. "Rev. Jim Jones," "Inflation," "unleaded gas," "assassination," are only some of the emotionally charged words which would tear us from ourselves. Only God in our lives can save us from the dissipating effects of bad news. God himself must come to save us. And in the Mass at dawn we rejoice. What a relief! A Lord is born to us. "A just Savior of the world is he." This second Mass is our praise of God for having sent us a Savior.

The third Mass, the Mass during the day, is our praise and recognition of the Savior Himself. We recognize his divinity and we extol his dignity: "Yours, O Christ, are the Heavens and Yours is the Earth; the world and its fullness You have founded, justice and judgment are the foundation of Your throne."

But it is the Midnight Mass which is the most mysterious since it gives voice to the Father as he ponders the wonder of God the Son becoming man. The Mass brings us into the internal dialogue (trialogue?) of Godhead. The Son speaks first in the entrance antiphon: "The Lord said to me, 'You are my son, this day (the eternal day which knows no beginning nor no end) I have begotten you.'" The Father answers in the meditation chant: "Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor, before the day star, I have begotten you." At the Offertory, there is a call (addressed by the Father?) to the whole cosmos: "Let the Heavens be glad and the Earth rejoice before the Lord, for he comes." The most poignant touch of all is the Communion verse. The Father, in what seems like reluctance to let his son go, reminds him once again as he leaves his side: "In holy splendor, before the day star I have begotten you." In eternal heaven, in a resplendent night more luminous than our material day, before the creation of our sun, which is the glorious sign of the rule of light in the world, the Father has begotten, in some mysterious process which is darkness to our uncomprehending minds, his only begotten Son, who is Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior.

Christmas Day commemorates the birth of Christ. The birth of Christ is the mystery of the Incarnation -- God became man that man might become God. Jesus is born in each of our lives and we live the new life of grace which is God's own life. We are not stuck in some day in the past. God comes into the world today. Everyday is Christmas Day. We celebrate this mystery on December 25^th.