Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Buon Natale, Frohe Weihnacten! A blessed and happy Christmas to each and every one.
I always find Christmas shopping challenging. Years ago, I went into a store in NYC and asked a saleswoman: I’d like to buy a gift for one of my brothers. What do you recommend? She took a flashy tie off the shelf.
I said: how much? The reply: $100. I hesitated: I would like to see something cheaper? She showed me another gift. I said: how much? That's only $75. I finally said: you don’t seem to understand. I’m a graduate student and want to see something cheap. And she handed me a mirror.
Seriously, every year we relive the wonderful Christmas story.
--A baby in a trough.
--A mother holding the child in her arms, as her
husband stays nearby.
--Angels singing, and shepherds running over the hillside to tell the child how much they love him.
The Gospel according to John summed up this magnificent story in a single line: The Word became flesh.
Remember the prophet Isaiah in the Bible: Can a mother forget her child? And even if she should, I will never forget you. And so continued the story of our salvation. God never reneged on his promise to send us a Messiah.
And the Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us.
The word of God for the Christmas liturgies is like a prism refracting the multiple facets of this great mystery.
Isaiah proclaims glad tidings: the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Paul writes that the grace of God appeared in Jesus Christ who made us “heirs” to the promise of eternal life.
In the Gospel, the Virgin Mary gave birth to her son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and placed him in a manger.
And the Gospel of John sums up the meaning of Christmas: the Word became flesh. This is God’s greatest gift to us.
Some of us may be stressed out from seeking a so-called “perfect gift” for someone this Christmas.
Marian Wright Edelman, the children’s advocate and author, wrote that the best presents she received as a child were not wrapped in pretty boxes or found under the Christmas tree.
From her father,
she received the gift of a love of reading. For him, books to improve the mind
were more important than buying toys.
From her mother,
young Marian received a passion for children’s rights. Her mother asked her to
share her childhood room with a child whose own parents weren’t able to care
for her – this was one of nearly a dozen foster brothers and sisters her mother
raised.
And from a neighbor, young Marian received the gift of courage, not to be afraid when something important or good just had to be done.
She writes in her
autobiography:
“I carry with me and treasure the lessons in life my parents and caring neighbors gave me throughout my childhood. And may these memories give me the strength to give a child a true gift – time spent with them, time spent sharing some of the great lives of mentors who have enriched, informed and helped shape my life.”
Yes, some gifts really can transform the lives of people. This kind of gift-giving begins in our own families and communities. Enduring gifts that we can give to one another.
Christmas means not simply God in Bethlehem centuries ago, but God within us, by virtue of the life-giving waters of baptism.
We gather to proclaim the awesome Word of God, to celebrate the presence of the living Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, in this liturgy. For we are by grace what Jesus Christ is by nature: sons and daughters of God, heirs to the kingdom of God.
And that great truth of our faith, God within us, ought to challenge us always to look for the immense good in ourselves, in others, in every situation.
Remember that magnificent hymn of the Virgin Mary: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. Because the mighty one has done great things for me. Mary rejoiced, and so too should we rejoice in the gifts God has given us.
Look for the good in others! Someone wrote that people in many ways are like wildflowers. If you have ever studied a wildflower, you see the delicate veins; the fragile petals; the beautiful blossom. The wildflower has a beauty all its own. So do people.
And finally, look for good in all situations of life. When one door closes, another door inevitably opens if we pay close attention.
God so loved us that he became one of us.
Yes, this Jesus had a unique relationship with the God of this awesome universe. A God-man. A healer, a teacher, a peacemaker. Think of all the people in the Gospels that Jesus met. He found goodness in all of them that others often didn't see. Through him we have eternal life.
Here is our Christmas challenge:
What better season for wrongs to be righted;
and friends reunited;
for new dreams to start…
What better season for
mending and healing,
for saying and feeling
what’s in the heart.
What better season for
love to keep glowing,
for hope to start
growing, for troubles to cease.
What better season for
sharing and giving,
for once again living in
joy and in peace!
