CHRISTMAS
25 DECEMBER 2016
We
tend to think of the birth of Jesus Christ as an isolated event that happened a
long time ago. In fact, the actual birth
happened only once in history. But our celebration
today is much more than recalling that birth.
At Christmas, we celebrate the Mystery of the Incarnation. The Gospels assigned for Christmas help us to
understand the significance of this Mystery.
Saint Matthew tells the story of Christ’s birth from the perspective of
Joseph, a descendant of David. Saint
Luke tells the story from the perspective of Mary, the humble handmaid who
responded to the angel’s invitation to become the Mother of God. Saint John reminds us that Jesus is the
Eternal Word who has taken flesh and pitched his tent among us. He recalls the custom of the Israelites
pitching the tent of the tabernacle as a way of representing God’s presence in
their journey through the desert to freedom.
Now, Jesus is the real presence of God in our midst.
The Incarnation
is a Mystery that continues to unfold in our lives and in our journey of
faith. We can see this most clearly in
the Gospel of Luke. He begins his Gospel
with angels telling shepherds to go to Bethlehem, where a couple had given
birth in a stable, because there was no room for them in the inn. He ends his Gospel with angels telling women
that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
Not trusting that news, two of them leave Jerusalem and travel to
Emmaus. On the way, the risen Christ
walks with them and opens their hearts to the truth of his resurrection. The shepherds arrive at Bethlehem and find
the child lying in a manger, which is the place where animals feed. They see and believe and go out to proclaim
the good news of the birth of the Messiah.
The disciples arrive at Emmaus and invite the stranger to join them for
a meal at an inn. In the breaking of
bread, they recognize the risen Lord and believe. They return to Jerusalem to proclaim the good
news of the Resurrection.
The shepherds
and those two anonymous disciples help us to understand God’s love for us. In the ancient world, shepherds were not the
romantic figures wearing bathrobes and head gear in our Christmas pageants. They were shifty characters living on the
edges of their society. Moving around
with their sheep to find better pastures, they were not trusted. They smelled, and they did not keep the Sabbath,
because sheep don’t rest on the Sabbath.
The two disciples left Jerusalem, because they could not believe what
the women told them about their executed teacher being raised from the dead. The Mystery of the Incarnation is a gift
given to us, even when we put ourselves at the edges of our families and
communities. The Mystery of the
Incarnation is given, even when the darkness of our lives and world seems to
overwhelm us.
Christmas
reminds us that we do not walk alone as we walk in our pilgrimage together to
the New and Eternal Jerusalem. Through the Mystery of the Incarnation, Christ
walks with us now, no matter what is happening to our lives. Jesus Christ has shared in our humanity, so
that we can share in his divinity. As
long as we remain open to his transforming love in our lives, he slowly and
gradually changes us to become the people destined for life with him in
eternity.
We use the
word “Christmas” for a good reason. Christ
is most intensely present at Mass. He speaks to us through his Word, as he spoke
to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
He feeds us with his Body and Blood, prefigured in his lying in the
manger and realized in the breaking of bread at Emmaus. I am glad that Christmas falls on a Sunday
this year. For starters, it makes this
week a lot easier for us clergy types.
But much more profoundly, it reminds us of the importance of the Mass we
celebrate every Sunday! Jesus Christ is
the Word made Flesh. He has pitched his
tent among us. Gathering together as God’s
people to celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday, we encounter the one who shares
in our humanity to transform us into his divinity.
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