If I were a demon prowling about the world seeking the confusion, discouragement, and ruin of souls, how might I have tried to wickedly snare God’s beloved ones in the events leading up to the first Christmas?
If I were a demon, I would say to St. Elizabeth during her early months of pregnancy, “Did people suppose that your husband had some kind of vision when he took so long in the temple and came out unable to speak? He simply had a stroke. Zechariah will never speak again. Now you’re feeling sick every day and your abdomen is expanding. How could it possibly be a baby at your age? A cancer is growing inside of you. You’ll be dead soon. It’s hopeless.”
If I were a demon, I would say to the Blessed Virgin Mary soon after the Annunciation, “You think you saw an angel? That’s crazy! You only dreamed or imagined it. Who are you to be the mother of God’s son? Who do you think you are! Don’t bother going to visit Elizabeth – you’ll only embarrass yourself. You had better hope this isn’t real, because none of your family, friends, or neighbors will believe you. Joseph will divorce and abandon you. You’ll be all alone.”
If I were a demon, I would say to St. Joseph after he learned that Mary was with child, “Do you really believe she conceived by God’s Spirit? Who ever heard of such a thing? She’s lying and taking you for a fool. Even if it were true, who are you to be a foster-father to the Messiah? True or not, the best thing is for you to just get a divorce. Whatever you were thinking when you married her, you certainly made a terrible mistake.”
Even once Christmas arrived, my diabolical efforts would not cease. I would caution Bethlehem’s shepherds to steer safely clear of that holy child and to keep watching over their flocks. I would counsel the Magi to dismiss the starry signs as coincidences and not to hazard a long, uncertain journey from the East. I would pressure Joseph to ignore the dream directing him to take his family into Egypt, and I would goad Mary not to trust in her loving husband’s lead: “God surely would have told you instead of only telling Joseph.” Thankfully, none of these people were kept from doing God’s will, tripped-up by these or other temptation traps, in relation to the first Christmas.
Some people think of temptation strictly as promptings to immoral pleasures. But temptation comes in many forms. We can be led to harmful inaction or disaster by temptations such as fear, doubt, sadness, and despair.
Some people assume that saints do not know temptation like the rest of us. But were Mary, Joseph, and Elizabeth oblivious to thoughts and unassailed by feelings like those I realistically described? Saints come to understand temptation quite well as they discern and persevere through the trials of life.
Some people believe that God only watches over and guides a few, favored saints – while having less care and concern for the rest of us – but this is also a temptation. Even if your life takes a shocking turn and you don’t know what to do, even if you have a stroke, or cancer, or your mind begins to fail, even if you are betrayed or abandoned by everyone, you are his dearly beloved one. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise, even if they speak to you in your own voice.
Sometimes we envision the first Christmas and all the events surrounding it in idyllic postcard pastels, as if they were flawless occasions of comfort and joy. But imagine being far from home and not being able to find a room for your very pregnant wife, or having to undergo labor and delivery on the floor of a stable. God was with Mary and Joseph and both experienced unforgettable happiness that night, but it was not a time preserved free from hardship or trial.
Sometimes we hope or expect our Christmas to be perfect, and strive for everything to go just right. Yet circumstances never fully cooperate. Things are less organized, less harmonious, less supremely happy than we wished them to be. From its beginning, Christmas has never been “perfect,” but its intrinsic goodness is always present for us — for Jesus Christ has come. This year, do not allow disquieting or perfectionistic temptations rob you and yours of Christmas joy.
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