Christmas Midnight (Is 52:7-10; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18/1:1-5,9-14)

Once there was a Rabbi who asked his disciples the following question:  "How do you know when the darkness has been overcome, when the dawn has arrived?"  One of the disciples answered, "When you can look into the distance and tell the difference between a cow and a deer, then you know dawn has arrived.” “Close," the Rabbi responded, "but not quite."  Another disciple ventured a response, "When you can look into the distance and distinguish a peach blossom from an apple blossom, then you know that the darkness has been overcome."  "Not bad," the Rabbi said, “not bad! But the correct answer is slightly different.  When you can look on the face of any man or any woman and know immediately that this is God’s child and your brother or sister, then you know that the darkness has been overcome, that the Daystar has appeared."  This Christmas night when we celebrate the victory of Light over darkness, Isaiah says: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.

Jesus is the true Light Who came from Heaven into our world of darkness to give us clear vision.

The Christmas is one of the great feasts of the Christians. But it is not the greatest feast. Easter is feast No. 1, Pentecost No. 2 and Christmas is No. 3. The Roman Church started celebration of Christmas only after Christianity was recognized as the state religion. It was celebrated with Epiphany until then. But feasts of Easter and Pentecost were celebrated from day 1.

In medieval times the celebration of Christmas took the form of a special Mass celebrated at midnight on the eve of Christ's birth. Since this was the only time in the Catholic Church year when a Midnight Mass was allowed, it soon became known in Middle English as Christes Masse (Christ's Mass), from which is derived Christmas.

At the birth of Jesus the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. The angels were the first to be given the message of the birth of the Savior.

Since David was a shepherd, it seems fitting that the shepherds were given the privilege of visiting David’s successor in the stable.  If these shepherds were the ones in charge of the Temple sheep and lambs which were meant for daily sacrifice in the Temple of Jerusalem, no wonder they were chosen to be the first to see the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! Shepherding was a lonely, dirty job, and shepherds found it difficult to follow all the obligatory religious customs.  Hence, they were scorned as non-observant Jews.  So Baby Jesus selected these marginalized people to share His love at the beginning of his earthly ministry.  The shepherds expressed their joy and gratitude by “making known what had been told them" (v 17).  Just as very ordinary people later became witnesses to the Resurrection, very ordinary shepherds became witnesses to the Incarnation.  Other than the angels, they were the first to proclaim the Good News of Jesus' birth.  Once we have been privileged to experience God's presence, we, too, have a responsibility to share that experience with other people -- to spread the word -- to proclaim the Gospel.

Son of God came as Emmanuel, God with us, to share the misery of human beings. Look at the baby Jesus, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger, smiling helplessly at his mother Mary - that is the true God, a God who comes to meet us right where we're at. As Emmanuel he understands us and can relate with our wretched life.

There was a very young minister who had been called once to minister to an old farm widow. Her husband had just died, and the minister went with all his earnest intent to be as much comfort as he could to her. Most of his knowledge of grief was abstract and academic, and so he went and said the best words he knew to say. He tried to convey his care, but while he was doing that, there came into the room another older woman about this widow's age. She walked across and without hardly a word, she embraced the grieving person and all she said was, "I understand, my dear. I understand."

Someone told the minister later that this second person had just lost her husband six months before and, therefore, she came out of a shared understanding of what his friend was experiencing. And he could almost see the bridges of understanding coming to exist between them. That woman who had shared the same experience as his grieving friend had a way of connecting, had a way of making clear that she understood, that this minister was not able to, because he had not walked in her shoes.

Christmas tells us that God came to walk in our shoes and therefore if you find him silent at times does not mean that he doesn’t understand your pain.  Christmas is special because it reminds us concretely that God is indeed with us. So let’s go home to the heart of Christmas and embrace Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, who will not leave us in the best or the worst times. May this year’s Christmas make you feel that God in Jesus is closer to you than you are to your own breath. May he be a comfort and consolation to you always and may you always remember: Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.2