by Liliana Montoya
This reflection was translated from the original Spanish version. Leer en español.
Advent is a liturgical season of great significance to Christians. We have the opportunity to reflect on, and prepare for, Jesus entering the world as a child in need of love and care.
While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn (Luke 2:6-7).
As we contemplate Jesus as a child, vulnerable and fragile, we are able to see his greatness. The example of his life reminds us of the fact that we do not need great wealth, power, or prestige in order to be accepted and loved. We spend our lives chasing positions, seeking recognition and admiration without realizing that one glance at the child Jesus is enough to see our own fragile needs as humans. When we welcome God, we let his purity and love manifest itself in us and in our world. His love saves and transforms us, so that we are able to discover that our ability for greatness lies in our vulnerability and the places we seem poor.
Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness (Phil. 2:6-7).
Advent invites us to look inward at who we really are in the eyes of God; to notice who we really are in our hearts. It is by staring into the tender eyes of the baby Jesus that we allow him to enter our hearts.
Jesus invites us during Advent to embrace him in his own vulnerability, because he fills the vulnerable places in us — our sadness and loneliness. He is with us in our suffering and fear, bringing his light and his peace. He nourishes us with his unfailing love.
This post was originally written and published in Spanish.
Liliana Montoya and her family live in Dayton, Ohio, where she serves as the Hispanic Initiative Coordinator at the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives at the University of Dayton.