In Nativatate Domini 2022
Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral
25 December 2022
Bring on the joy! Bring on the cheer! Dear Santa, I want one of everything! It's your Christmas! March to the beat of your own little drummer boy. These are just some of the headlines that you might have seen out and about leading up to the celebration of Christmas this year. They are a far cry from the true message of the Birth of Christ: A son is given to us. God’s grace has been revealed to all people. The shepherds found Mary and Joseph, and the baby laying in the manger.
Despite our best intentions we can become preoccupied with the busyness of life and at this time of year it is easy to fall in with the commercialisation of the season and be distracted from what Christmas is really all about. And yet, here we are, gathered around this altar once again, in anticipation of the greatest miracle when Christ becomes present in his flesh and blood in the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.
In this Mass, the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. God is with us, in Word, in Sacrament, in the priest, and in his holy people. Emmanuel, our Saviour, is revealed to us, if only we have eyes to see, ears to hear, and tongues to profess our faith in God’s promise of salvation.
Saint Paul reminds us that God’s grace has been revealed to all people. (cf. Titus 2:11-14) The first and most enduring Christmas gift is God’s gift of His Son to the world, and through His gift, God has made salvation possible for the whole human race.
It is Jesus, true God and true man, who brings us salvation; who makes us holy; empowering us with his own Spirit to live good and devout lives; and it is Jesus who is our hope for eternal life. He became truly human and lived among us so that we might be lifted up into God’s divine life and live forever in paradise.
The tiny child of Bethlehem is our model. By becoming one of us, and being one with us, Jesus is vulnerable before all people. It is the most honest and powerful act of love. To be vulnerable means to be exposed to being wounded. And that, my dear brothers and sisters, is what lays at the very heart of love.
To open oneself to another in love, is to take the risk of being rejected or of being loved in return. Jesus is our model. He guides us in the way of Christian life and love, so that our defects may be transformed into virtue. So that our challenges might become opportunities and our sufferings may be changed into joy.
My dear people, this is the saving power of God that we celebrate at Christmas. In our own time, God speaks to us through His Son. (cf. Hebrews 1:1-6) He is the messenger and the message of God’s love, and joy, and peace.
We see the words love, joy, and peace on Christmas cards and shop displays, and that makes us feel comfortable, perhaps sentimental. Instead, those words should be a real a challenge to us, a call to conversion.
Might we encourage each other to reflect not only upon the words, but on the One who makes us citizens of heaven, who accompanies us every day of our lives, who leads us and gifts us love and forgiveness, who is the salvation of our souls.
Many people in our world are longing for peace, stability, and security in life, which can be challenging. In Christ Jesus, God brings light out of darkness, order out of chaos, beauty out of brutality. It may be difficult for many to see, but Christmas is the miracle of life, the immense gift of faith.
Jesus Christ is our perpetual messenger. He is the message of Good News. The tidings of joy are not just for the shepherds, they are to be shared by all of us. Christmas is a promise that is renewed every year but accompanies us every day of our lives.
As we commemorate the birth of our Saviour, we recognise and pray for those in our world who are experiencing great loss and devastation. Can we stand in solidarity alongside those who face their own trials and tribulations, not silently, but as sisters and brothers who herald peace, bring happiness, and proclaim salvation through our faith in Christ Jesus Our Lord.
That is worth celebrating. That message is the true meaning of Christ in Christmas.
May the birth of Christ our Saviour bring peace to your families and to your homes. And may you spread the light of Christ among all peoples, every day, in every way, in all that we think and do and say. Amen.