CHRISTMAS
25 DECEMBER 2019
Christmas
teaches us how God chooses to be present to us.
The Word could have taken flesh in a politically stable
environment. Instead, the Incarnation
happened in a troubled little kingdom dominated by Roman occupation. Jesus could have been born in a comfortable
palace. Instead, he was born in a smelly stable full
of animals. His parents could have had supportive
family around to help them. Instead, the
birth occurred far from home in a crowded village. Local dignitaries could have been the first
to welcome the child. Instead his first
visitors were nomadic peasants who moved around with their flocks and could not
be trusted by the locals.
As we
gather to celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation, no one has to tell us that
we live in a messy world. In both our culture
and our Church, we are polarized and deeply divided. We may not live in stables. But we all have our share of messes that smell. Some are separated from families and
supportive friends at this time of the year and feel very lonely. Some of us find ourselves mourning the loss
of loved ones.
Into our
messy world, Christ enters and wants to dwell with us. Christmas is not a one-time event that
happened a long time ago in Bethlehem.
The Christmas miracle happens every time we open our hearts to trust in
God and let him take flesh through the work of our hands. The Christmas miracle happens when we listen
attentively to the Word of God, like Mary did, and allow the Lord’s will to
take place in our lives. The Christmas
miracle happens when we ask Saint Joseph to help us respond to others with
compassion in the midst of doubt and despair.
The Christmas miracle happens when we become angels of peace to bring
radiant hope into a lonely person’s darkness through words of
encouragement. The Christmas miracle
happens when we make haste to seek Christ in the poor, the lowly, the rejected,
and the outcast.
It is not a
coincidence that we celebrate the Christmas miracle at the darkest time of the
year. We can identify with darkness,
because we live with the darkness of war, hatred, prejudice, disease, and the
devastating results of bad choices that we all make. The Christmas miracle reminds us that the
Lord is truly the light of the world.
That light shines in the darkness of our fragile and broken world. That light reminds us that the Lord can dwell
in our midst, if we are only open to his coming to us.
All of us
are in different places as we gather on this Christmas. Some of us have the good fortune of
celebrating Christmas surrounded by positive and supportive family members. If life is good, we need to thank the newborn
Christ for this gift and not take it for granted. Others are in more difficult situations. We can trust that the Lord Jesus can take
flesh in your life, just as surely as he took flesh in the messy situations of
his birth in his own day. Christmas
reminds us to open our hearts to the incredible love God has shown by dwelling
in our midst.
When we
walk away from this Christmas, we return to the same messy world that may not
appear fundamentally changed by the Mystery we celebrate. However, this Mystery has the power to change
us. God shared in our humanity so that
we can share in his divinity. When we
truly believe that this is true, then we can make a difference. We can evangelize. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux said it best: “let your goodness, Lord, appear to us, that
we, made in your image, may conform ourselves to it. In our own strength, we cannot imagine your
majesty, power and wonder; nor is it fitting for us to try. But your mercy reaches from the heavens,
through the clouds, to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child, but you have brought us the
greatest of all gifts, the gift of your eternal love. Caress us with your tiny hands, embrace us
with your tiny arms, and pierce our hearts with your soft, sweet cries. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
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