Although Jesus was not born on December 25, but rather sometime in September or October on the Feast of Trumpets, it is the day that his birth is celebrated. But apart from the shepherds, angels and sages in the field, something that they would not do in December but in September, the scriptures tell us what Christ himself said on that day of his birth.
His words are found in the Book of Hebrews that tell us: “Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but a body you prepared for me. Here I am, it is written about me in the scroll, I have come to do your will, my God ‘”(Hebrews 10: 5-7).
It is incredibly important to understand that his words are a quote from a psalm that says: “Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but you opened my ears, burnt offerings and sin offerings you do not require. I am, I have come, it is written of me on the scroll. My God, I want to do your will, your law is in my heart ”(Psalm 40: 6-8).
This idea of a body in preparation is a clear reference to the incarnation, the Word made flesh. The Psalm says, “You have opened my ears,” an alternative reading of David’s words. Both ideas are true and both are full of mystery and meaning.
In summary, the psalmist is talking about a practice that Moses taught in which a servant who wanted a lifetime contract with a homeowner could publicly show his commitment and publicly receive the master’s commitment. This was not slavery as we commonly call it. This is a voluntary surrender of life to serve another out of deep love for that person.
Moses declares how the contract was sealed: “And it will happen that if he tells you: ‘I will not leave you’, because he loves you and your house, since it suits him well; then you will take an awl and pierce it through the ear until the gate, and he will be your servant forever “(Deuteronomy 15: 16,17).
The piercing was a visible mark of servitude, ‘because he loves you and your house.’ It was a voluntary slavery to a call to a person’s life. Image, all over Israel for centuries people would take a hammer and nail and pierce the meat into the wood to show a contract.
Jesus affirms the same when he shares that his body was prepared to be pierced, his ears were opened, showing his voluntary servitude to the cause for which he came, to seek and save the lost. It is incredible to contemplate the beauty and mystery of these verses. The King incarnated in Bethlehem as a slave to his Father’s cause to carry out his mission until death.
Do not forget that the “House of Bread” was also born in Bethlehem, whose economy was sustained by raising lambs to be sacrificed during the Temple services in the name of the sins of the people. Truly he is the mystery revealed in countless ways.