Have you ever wondered about that great Advent scripture in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus talking

about John the Baptist says I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Luke 7:28 It kind of sounds contradictory doesnt it however if we delve into this word we can learn a lot about the privileged time we live in and the true meaning of Christmas, the gift that is not only a wonder to behold but beneficial to us only if we appropriate it in our lives cooperating with God and the grace he gives each one of us. When we look at John the Baptist we could ask ourselves how could he be greater than the great prophet Isaiah or Elijah? Or what about Moses or David, and yet Jesus says he is the greatest among all the prophets. What makes him great? We believe that his greatness is not found in who he was, or what he did, but by the fact that he, the last in the line of prophets saw the Messiah face to face. All the prophets looked forward to the coming of that great day but only John actually saw the Christ and that is what makes him the greatest because he saw the fulfillment of the promise. Now if he is the greatest of all the prophets why is the least in the Kingdom of God greater than him? I think the answer lies in the fact that John died before seeing the cross of Christ; it is in this short passage that we can get a glimpse that Christmas is nothing if we separate it from Easter. For the power and wonder of the Incarnation is glorified and made complete in the Cross of Christ. This means that all of us who live in this new covenant by accepting the timeless selfless gift of Christ when he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, humbling himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7,8 ) have the reality of greatness in the Kingdom of God. I believe that many of us take this amazing gift for granted not realizing what a privileged time we live in. We live in a moment of history when not only do we live in the wake of the Incarnation and Cross of Christ but through the gift of the Eucharist we can live that moment in timelessness touching and appropriating this gift of redemption in our lives every day. This is what makes us holy, this is what makes us great. It is nothing we personally do, but what Christ has done and is doing for us. This Christmas take a moment and reflect what you are doing with the wondrous gift of salvation given you, and be grateful, very grateful as you live Christmas and Easter everyday in Christ. Have a blessed Christmas, and keep Christ in Christmas for without him we are nothing.