Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)
Merry Christmas! Christmas has arrived. However, our Advent journey has gone, our celebration of Christmas has arrived. And, we remember the story: everlasting mercy and Joy to the world lying in a manger. We didn’t really forget. No matter how busy we’ve been, no matter how discouraged we have felt, this is the night to let go of our fears. Our God is with is. In our family traditions of gifts and food, and in our coming together to celebrate the Eucharist, we are set free to rejoice.
If we let ourselves, as we imagine entering that stable and gazing on that infant lying in a manger, we can feel all kinds of emotions. We remember the story. We might let tears come as we behold the “wonders of his love.”
The Christmas Season in the days ahead allows us the time and emotional space to accompany the Holy Family as the baby’s life is threatened by an unstable tyrant. We can’t help entering into many reflections about our world today, as they become refugees. And, there are those silent years we imagine Jesus growing up in a very small town, in obscurity, until he’s around 30. And, we remember the story about how the next chapter shows us his deeper entry into our lives as he is baptized.
The Incarnation and Christmas story prepares us for the call to discipleship. The one who becomes one with us invites us to become one with him in ministry. His love for us shows us how to love one another. We remember the story.
Merry Christmas!
Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ
Co-founder of Creighton’s Online Ministries, Retired 2025
I served at Creighton from 1996 to 2025. I served as Vice-president for Mission for three Presidents, directed the Collaborative Ministry Office and co-founded the Online Ministries website.
I loved seeing the number of faculty and staff who over the years really took up the mission as their own and made Creighton the Jesuit university it is today. I was also consoled to witness the website – a collaborative effort - touch the hearts of so many around the world.
I’m now living at St. Camillus – a Jesuit care facility in Milwaukee. Many of my days are spent dealing with my own health issues, as I carry out the mission we’ve been given, “to pray for the Church and the Society of Jesus.”
