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Beyond the baby Jesus: Discovering easter hope in advent and Christmastide

I can't think about the Christmas season without picturing Linus's soliloquy from the classic cartoon A Charlie Brown Christmas. Linus takes center stage in the school auditorium and tells the nativity story. He concludes with, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." This terrific show rightfully reminds us, along with the popular bumper stickers to "Put Christ Back into Christmas; Jesus Is the Reason for the Season."

However, I wonder if we get too caught up with Baby Jesus in the manger. After all, the birth of Jesus is not the end of the Christian adventure, but just the beginning. Taking cues from the season of Advent and the Christmas story itself, let us consider some ways to bring our learners beyond the nativity to a deeper experience of Christ.

Stuck in the Manger!

Many leaders in parishes or schools forbid Christmas parties or celebrations before Christmas. The idea, of course, is that Advent has its own charisms, distinct from Christmas. This is the season of expectant longing; let's not celebrate the birthday party too early! This approach has merit. However, even those places that keep the Christmas celebration distinct from Advent can suffer from another difficulty-getting stuck in the manger.

Once Advent is over, we pull out all the stops for the celebration of Christmas. Pageants and nativity scenes, even live ones, abound. The story of the birth of Jesus captures the imagination of people of all ages. What was it like to be a baby back in Jesus' time? What was it like for our powerful God to take flesh, and be born of a woman? What was it like to be Mary and Joseph, as they worried and wondered about the remarkable child coming into their lives? All of our Christmas celebrations focus on events surrounding the birth of Jesus. In our enthusiasm, we sometimes forget that the incarnation is not the whole story, just part of it.

The whole story is that Jesus became one of us, walked among us. was crucified and died a horrendous death, rose in glory, and is coming again. This is not just the story of Easter; it is an important part of the story of Advent and Christmas as well.

Let the Season Tett the Story

Each year, the liturgical calendar takes us through events in the life of Jesus. Just before Advent, the previous year ends with the Feast of Christ the King. The readings for this celebration are highly apocalyptic in tone, offering comfort for the afflicted, and proclaiming Christ as ruler over all the principalities of the world. They also herald the second coming of Christ in glory. These images of the second coming and glorification of Christ should still be fresh in our minds when Advent begins.

Knowing that the story of Jesus will end with his return in glory, and with the ultimate fulfillment of all humanity, we enter into Advent. The Advent Scriptures are rife with images of profound longing and hope, and with dramatic passages depicting the Day of the Lord:

And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness (and) put on the armor of light. Romans 13:11-12, First Sunday of Advent, Year A

There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.

People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Luke 21:25-27, First Sunday of Advent, Year C

The Sunday Scriptures make no mention of the birth of Jesus until the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Up to that point, they contain images of a Messiah who is very obviously an adult! The Lord will come again in glory, to bring justice and peace to the world. This is the fully glorified Jesus, the risen Jesus.

The liturgies of Advent reveal that the world groans and longs for wholeness and redemption. We, too, await this healing of our hearts, bodies, and minds. All of our hopes and dreams rest in the One who is to come, God's anointed One. Finally, at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the Scriptures proclaim:

For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests.

They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:5

He is here, among us! We rejoice! We take delight in God's choice to walk among us, through Jesus. However, we do this with the full knowledge of all that will follow Jesus' birth. Immediately following the Christmas season, Ordinary Time begins with stories about Jesus' adult ministry, his teaching, rejection, persecution, and death. We celebrate the Baby Jesus, because we know who he is, and what he becomes.

Make the Easter Connection During Advent and Christmas

As you prepare for Advent and Christmas this year with your learners, how can you help them connect not only with the Baby Jesus, but with the resurrected Jesus, too? How can you help them to see the Easter Jesus in the manger? Here are a few approaches that might make the point:

The Day of the Lord

Help your learners discover what the Advent Scriptures mean by the "Day of the Lord." Can they imagine the beauty and wonder of an entire world transformed? Connect them with hope in the Lord's second coming. As the passages offer images of justice for the world, help them become sensitized to injustice in the world. As the Scriptures talk about peace, consider the gift of peace that the Lord promises. Advent is a natural time to get in touch with the Church's social teaching. Help your learners to see that by doing the works of peace and justice, they are sharing in the coming of the Day of the Lord.

Advent "Prepare the Way for Jesus" Activities Help your students figure out what exactly we are preparing for today: not the birth of a baby-that happened once, long ago-but an encounter with Jesus alive in the Spirit, who brings new life to us, and is coming again soon. Older kids could prepare "interviews" with John the Baptist, or with Jews from Jesus' day, asking them about the Messiah they are expecting. They could also conduct "post-Resurrection" interviews with the disciples of Jesus about why they celebrate Christmas.

Life-of-Jesus Christmas Cards

How about having your learners design Christmas cards for family or friends that depict not just the nativity, but the whole Jesus story? Parents might be surprised to find a cross or an empty tomb on their Christmas card, but might be even more surprised when their Children explain all that baby Jesus would do for us when he is older.

Alternative Ending to the Pageant

Instead of ending a Christmas pageant with the gloria of the angels, how about an epilogue in which the Angel Gabriel explains to the congregation/audience all that will become of this little child, all that he will do for the world (See sidebar). Can we challenge our people to discover Jesus alive, born in our hearts? Can we make a connection between the wood that held Jesus in the manger and the wood that held him on the cross? As we think about the hospitality of the innkeeper, it would be very appropriate here to reprise the theme of Jubilee 2000: Open wide the door of your heart to Christ.

Put the Whole Christ Back into Christmas

Advent and Christmas provide a ripe opportunity to reach out to our families. Use this time to call all of the members of your community to renewed conversion of heart. Help them to hear in the cries of the newborn babe the consolation and challenge of the Lord of Glory: "Come, follow me."

Christopher Weber writes from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where he is Director of Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland. He holds a Masters in Systematic Theology from St Paul University, in Ottawa, Ontario. In addition to his artides for Catechist, Chris is a contributor to the USCC's Catechetical Sunday packet, and writes a monthly column at his catechetical web site, www.centralmdcatholic.org. He invites your comments on this article; write to Chris at cweber@archbalt.org