Christmas Supplement

God’s love made visible during birth of grandson on Christmas

By Jim Welter

Special to The Criterion

The Scripture readings for the Christmas season speak to us of those who waited and longed for the birth of a child.

The story of Elizabeth and Zechariah, who were “advanced in age,” comes to mind as does the story of Simon and Anna, who spent years in the temple waiting and praying for the birth of Mary’s child.

My wife and I walked that Advent journey in a very special way last year as we waited and longed for the birth of our first grandchild.

And what a special joy it was to finally welcome Calvin Joseph Welter into the world at 11:49 p.m. on Christmas Day!

As we surrounded the hospital bed to get our first glimpse of Calvin Joseph, emotions poured forth: “Welcome to our world, Calvin!” “We’ve been waiting for you, little guy! We love you.” “Don’t be afraid, we’ll take care of you.”

That night, the words of Advent seemed to be written just for us: “A child is born to us, a son is given to us.” “God is with us.” “Don’t be afraid.” “What will this child be?” “A child shall lead them.”

Someone reminded us that there would not be another day like that one, on which the feasts of Christmas and Hanukkah converged, for another 400 years. Suddenly, even Isaiah’s idyllic vision of peace—“the lion will lie down with the lamb”—seemed somehow possible.

For some years now, I have been identifying with the “more mature” characters as I read the stories in Scripture. And now, as a grandparent, I’m also experiencing that sense of generational connectedness and the sense of life being “passed on” that is so often expressed in those stories.

The most enduring message I heard in the hospital room on that most special Christmas Day was the one spoken more than 300 times in both Hebrew and Christian Scriptures: “Do not be afraid.”

It is spoken to the life that is beginning: “Do not be afraid—we have been waiting for you; we love you and we’ll take care of you!”

And it is spoken to the life that is ending: “Do not be afraid—we are waiting for you; we love you and we’ll take care of you!”

Life is a circle. We have nothing to fear.

A Child is born to us—God’s love made visible.

(Jim Welter is a member of St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis and is a regular contributor to the e-mail reflection ministry of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis, which sends daily readings to more than 6,000 subscribers each business day. This memory is an excerpt from his new book titled Come Next Spring … Scripture Reflections of Hope and Promise, which is available from the publisher at www.AscendingView.com.) †