CHRISTMAS-2023

Our Christmas liturgies most often begin with this beautiful hymn or most likely would include this song. “O Come All Ye Faithful, Joyful and Triumphant, Come Ye O Come Ye to Bethlehem.” We are called to be faithful, joyful and triumphant. We are called to celebrate the central event of humankind, the Christ Event. God has entered human history as one of us. He has come to destroy the grip of sin. He has come to restore spiritual life. So, we return to Bethlehem to find Mary and Joseph with their newborn son, our newborn Savior. Some people say that they were homeless, but most probably they weren’t. They just didn’t have a place to stay because the whole town was overcrowded because of the census mandate from Ceasar Agustus. That’s why they did not get a room. Joseph was a carpenter. He could afford a room, but no room was available in the Inn, so the stable had to do. I’m sure he was devastated that he couldn’t provide better for Mary and Jesus. But they had all they needed. They had each other. They had love. They had God in the center of their love.

The birth of a child should be celebrated. But Joseph and Mary were far away from their relatives. Who would celebrate their child? Then the shepherds came telling their story of angels singing “Glory to God on High,” The Angels told the shepherds: "Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy... ; for to you is born this day... a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:10-11).

To you is born a saviour. The angel told Joseph that Mary would bear a son, and he was to name him Jesus because he would save his people from their sins.” So the child of Joseph and Mary was not just for their family. He was meant for the world. He is meant for you and for me. He is the saviour of the world who will save them from their sins.

A family celebrated Christmas every year with a birthday party for Jesus. An extra chair of honor at the table reminded the family of Jesus’ presence. A cake with candles and the singing of “Happy Birthday” expressed the family’s joy in Jesus’s presence. One year, on Christmas afternoon, a visitor to the home asked the five-year-old girl, “Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?” After a moment’s hesitation, she answered, “No, but it’s not my birthday, It’s Jesus’ birthday!”

The magi brought gifts to the baby Jesus. We give gifts to each other as a way of saying that I find Christ in you. It also demands on the recipient a moral force to form Christ in them.

The angel’s message to the shepherd was, “For today in the city of David a saviour has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. Today! This "today" which resounds in the liturgy does not refer only to the event which took place two thousand years ago and which changed the history of the world. It also refers to this Holy Night/day in which we are gathered here, in Saints Peter and Paul, in spiritual communion with all those worldwide who are celebrating Christmas's Solemnity. Even in the farthest reaches of the five Continents, there resound tonight/today the angelic words heard by the shepherds of Bethlehem: "Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy... ; for to you is born this day... a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:10-11).

 

The Saviour brought hope to a world that exists in a hopeless situation.  He has entered the world; the creator has become a creature to give the world a new dignity.  God has emptied himself to fill us with hope.  It is a day of peace to the world that is struggling with conflicts and disturbance. The angels proclaimed this message of peace at the birth of Jesus:  peace to those of goodwill.

A student asked a Christian professor how Confucius and Buddha would differ from Christ. He responded with a parable. A woman fell into a deep hole. Try as she might, she could not climb out. Confucius looked in. He told her, “Poor woman, if you had paid attention to me, you would not have fallen in there in the first place.” Then he disappeared. Buddha approached. He, too, spotted the woman. He said to himself, “If she can just manage to get out of that hole, I can give her genuine aid.” He continued his journey. Along came Jesus. He spotted the woman. He was moved with pity. He jumped into the hole immediately to assist her out. — This story illustrates the Incarnation. We gather here to celebrate the concern of God for each of us. His willingness to parachute into enemy-occupied territory in human form for our sake is illustrated by the birth of His Son today.

The Hebrew meaning of the name Jesus is: the Lord is our salvation. His other name is Emmanuel. God with us – God coming down to us; God seeking us out; God coming alongside us; God revealing Himself to us; God bringing us forgiveness, healing, comfort, moral strength, and guidance — God dwelling within us. Each one of us has, deep down in our soul, an incredible hunger: a hunger for purpose and meaning; a hunger to feel and celebrate the redeeming, forgiving, sustaining love of God; a hunger to be in the presence of God. Christmas is special because it reminds us concretely that God is, indeed, with us. In every circumstance of life, even when we are frightened or lonely or in sorrow, God is with us. So, let’s go home to the heart of Christmas and embrace Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

God is alongside His people. One of the names for the Holy Spirit is Paraclete, which means one who is called alongside another. Jesus told His disciples that when He went away, He would send them another Comforter, who would be alongside them, never to leave them nor forsake them.

God is near to His people. He is so near that He knows what we think, how we think, when we hurt, and when we experience joy and gladness. He knows us completely, what is happening to us moment by moment. Indeed, He is Immanuel, which means God [is near to] us.

God is in the company of His people. When God made Adam and Eve, He came every day and walked and talked with them in the Garden. He was in the company of His first man and woman. God longs to be in the company of His people when they assemble to worship Him.

When the true meaning of Immanuel, God with us, strikes home to us, our hearts will burn within us as it did for the disciples Caepos and his companion going to Emaus.

May this Christmas celebration make our hearts burn within us with the presence of Emmanuel, God with us.