CHRISTMAS
25 DECEMBER 2015
Christmas always presents a real
challenge to put into words what it means for God to take on human flesh. The Church understands this dilemma and
provides a large selection of words from the Word of God for our reflection. In fact, there are four different sets for us
to use at Christmas – a total of sixteen different readings counting the Old
Testament Reading, the Psalm, and the New Testament reading, and the
Gospel. The Gospel for the Vigil Mass is
taken from Saint Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, tracing his family back to
Abraham. At the Midnight Mass, Saint
Luke tells the familiar story of the holy family turned away from an inn, of
Mary giving birth in a stable, and of shepherds coming to worship the infant
Christ. At the Mass at dawn, Saint Luke
tells about Mary keeping all these things in her heart after the shepherds have
left. At the Mass during the day, Saint
John presents his magnificent Prologue to his Gospel. We priests have the good fortune of hearing
all of these readings. Allow me to give you my take on distilling all these
readings into 8 minutes.
There is a
common thread in all these Scripture readings.
That thread has to do with the presence of too much darkness in a world
created and loved by God. The genealogy
of Jesus contains some pretty shifty characters guilty of doing evil and
selfish deeds. Mary had to give birth in
the darkness of a stable. The Prologue
to the Gospel of Saint John begins with the darkness of the world and its
rejection of Christ. But into all this
darkness comes a bright and shining light.
To quote the Gospel of Saint John, the Eternal Word of God took on human
flesh and pitched his tent in our midst, dwelling with us in our darkness. Words cannot describe darkness and light. But images do. That is why painters have depicted light
coming from the infant Jesus and illuminating those who huddle around the
manger.
At this
time of the year when the time of darkness far outweighs the length of light
each day, we do not have to look far to see darkness in our world. Those whose jobs have been eliminated by a
world economy know the darkness of trying to piece together a living for their
families. We see far too often the
darkness of murderous terrorists trying to destroy the fabric of our
lives. Those of you who struggled with
illness or injury or the challenges of agents know the darkness of being alone
and in chronic pain. Those families torn
apart by separation, divorce, addictions, or death know the darkness of
loss.
In every
one of these forms of darkness, the light of Christ’s birth shines brightly and
clearly. In fact, we are seeing more
light each day since the Winter Solstice on Monday. As the light increases, so does the light of
Christ. This light, heard in Word and
seen in the Eucharist, cannot be dimmed.
It cannot be extinguished. It
touches our hearts and souls at such a deep level that we cannot express it. However, we can exchange with one another the
light of Christ’s peace and bring that light home with us to our Christmas
celebrations. Jesus Christ actually took
on our human flesh, enabling us to trust that our family gatherings, our meals,
and all those particular Christmas customs somehow express the reality of the
Light of Christ shining in darkness.
Aware of the blessings we take for granted so often, we can express a
new gratitude for those many good things which we often take for granted.
May that
Light warm the depths of your hearts.
May that light sustain your faith and give you renewed courage and love
to face whatever darkness this New Year may bring. May you find the Mystery expressed in Word
and Sacrament dwelling in your families and homes. The Lord has taken on human flesh. He dwells in our midst. He is the light shining in darkness.
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