April 19, 2026
Dear Friends,
In a conversation with overloaded Catholic friends of mine who tolerate me one friend asked, What happened at the birth of Jesus?
I answered, Read the Gospels of Matthew and Luke they are the sole sources of information, nothing else.
That did not answer her question which she repeated and I repeated my original answer, Read the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
The conversation kind of ended.
The Gospel story this weekend is a variance of my friend’s question about the birth of Jesus only this Gospel story answers the question, What happened at the death and resurrection of Jesus.
I am aware that the dynamics of what constitutes “truth” and “falsehood” in our country are in a state of disarray and reality is a disputed notion that means different things to different people and that there are versions of Catholicism readily available that purport to offer the “truth” that is claimed to be unchangeable and constant since the time of Jesus Christ but that kind of static truth simply does not exist because we are dealing with a person, actually, three persons in one God.
In our ordinary ways of thinking we want details, facts, a comprehensive story, a narrative that we are not going to get in the Gospels unless we make up stuff and then we end with a fantasy that is not worth believing at all at least in my mind but many do which is sad to me and doesn’t really get us much of anything but more false gods to have before us.
We like cute and cozy stories of “baby Jesus” playing or romping with little lambs, making tiny chairs and tables with his dad (remember there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever in all of the New Testament and Gospel texts that Jesus was a carpenter), and we like grown up Jesus to be securely nailed to the cross or locked in a tabernacle where we can keep an eye on him.
Institutional Catholicism and Christianity, indeed, offers many a cute story that answers your questions with details that we understand but it is not the truth it is a fantasy that cannot tell you what happened at the birth of Jesus or at the death and resurrection of Jesus or about anything at all that actually happened to Jesus and why.
I think the truth to the answers to those questions is extremely important and sometimes I display anger at what I consider to be nonsense Catholic “faith” because I do not believe or think anything is better than nothing.
I am not suggesting that the truth of Jesus’ birth and death and resurrection is only for learned scholars, but I do believe the truth will only be found in humble persistent attention to those questions throughout our entire lives with a healthy confidence that “not knowing” is the real “way, truth, and life” of Jesus Christ.
I understand that sometimes grandparents and parents want their kids and grandkids to have “something” by which they mean, usually, the parent’s and grandparent’s answers to the questions about what happened at the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus and they find it hard to accept that the kids and grandkids cannot accept “their” answers as truthful to the younger people’s experience.
I think it is far more mature and healthy and important to believe “nothing” than it is to believe what are fantasies, pious as they may be; in the service of institutional Catholicism.
So did Jesus, think that by the way, as we hear in this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus was a bit angry with the two who were heading toward Emmaus when he said, “”Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”
Real religion does make a difference and nonsense religion really does do damage and really does cause suffering and really is wrong.
The truth can really be known and there are real answers to the questions, What happened at Jesus birth? and What happened at the death and resurrection of Jesus?
You have to read the texts that tell of those events because those texts are the revelation of God, they are God’s answers to our questions.
We don’t like that because we want our answers, answers that we think work, but history amply demonstrates that Catholic Christians have not done a very good job of trying to make it “on earth as it is in heaven.”
We have built lots and lots of buildings, lots of empty and emptying buildings, I might add, we have created systems that compete well with similar systems that have no connection to the Gospel or the birth of Jesus or his death and resurrection of Jesus.
There is no description of Jesus the individual, no hair color, no skin color, no eye color, nor height or weight or anything whatsoever.
Artists have interpreted those details but they are interpretations often based on commissions to suggest likenesses to the donors or the patrons or the details of ethnicity, race, economic background, nothing, no descriptives details at all, none.
I know institutional Catholicism and Christianity with the inherent paternalistic and co-dependent tendencies like to give the impression that they know the answers to the questions but I am not so sure that any of us are much different from the two characters on the way to Emmaus or Martha of the Martha, Mary, Lazarus family where Martha knew it all but she didn’t because Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus…learning to live with questions she was not compulsed to answer them.
Peace,
Father Niblick