Once again, let me wish all of you a very blessed Christmas! We gather this evening to celebrate a momentous event in human history: the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Although he was born more than 2,000 years ago, his birth impacts each of our lives directly today. As we will all acknowledge in just a few moments, he is the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. As we have heard throughout this Advent season, he is Emmanuel, God with us, who draws us back to our heavenly Father. We hear, once again in this evening’s Gospel, the story of his birth. It is the story of the Son of God humbling himself so that he could exalt us. It is the story of Joseph and Mary putting their trust in God and cooperating in his plan of salvation for all of us. As we hear in tonight’s gospel, they were betrothed – that is, promised – to each other. They probably already had plans for their marriage and future together. Having a baby by the power of the Holy Spirit was not part of their plan, I’m sure. Yet, they both humbly submitted to God’s will for them. How blessed we are because, in doing so, they were the instruments of one of the greatest gifts God has given us: his son, Jesus.
One of the many ways we celebrate Christmas is by exchanging gifts as a sign of this most precious gift that God gave us: his son, Jesus. Let me take this opportunity to thank all of you who have given me gifts for Christmas; I am very grateful and will surely enjoy them. The most precious gift I received this year is this little cross. Some of our children were making them after the 9:30 Mass last Sunday morning so that they could be given to our parishioners who are homebound. One of the girls was very intent on making as many as she could but when I said “hello” to her, she stopped and handed one to me, saying with great joy, “Merry Christmas, Monsignor.” I think she saw me as one of the elderly people these crosses would go to. It is a simple cross but its message is so important for us as we celebrate Christmas. Its message is: “Jesus is the reason for the season.” It’s so important that we remember this as we gather together here this evening and with family and friends during this festive time. Jesus is the reason we are gathered together. Just as he was born into a family – the Holy Family of Joseph and Mary – so we are eager to gather together here in church with the rest of our family of faith this evening and with our families over these days. Jesus came to show us God’s love in person. This is a wonderful time for us to strengthen our love with both God and our community of faith here at St. Katharine’s parish and with our families and friends, remembering how important our bonds of faith and family are and that we are at our best when we are close to God and in harmony with one another.
This evening’s gospel account offers the option of beginning with recounting the genealogy of Jesus, from Abraham to his step-father, Joseph. This demonstrated to the Jews of Jesus’ time that he was, indeed, the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies that the Messiah would be of the house of David.
I’m sure most of you are grateful that I skipped that portion of tonight’s reading but the genealogy reminds us that we, too, are the descendants of God’s promise to Abraham and his offspring and that, just as God delighted in his chosen people, as we hear in this evening’s first two readings, even though they had often turned away from him and forgotten his call to be faithful to him and follow his ways, so he delights in each one of us even when we turn away from him or forget his call to be faithful to him and follow his ways in our lives
Christmas is a time for us to reflect on this great gift – this wondrous surprise that is still is among us today, Jesus, the Son of God, now in the form of bread and wine that will soon become our Lord’s life-giving Body and Blood. Are we open to listening to God and humble enough to accept our heavenly Father’s will in our lives, as Jesus, Mary and Joseph did? God sent his son to save us 2,000 years ago and his saving work continues in our midst today and, just as Jesus, Joseph and Mary were the means through which God was made present in the midst of the ancient Jews, we are called to be the means through which God is made present today. As we can all attest, I’m sure, the world is in desperate need of God’s ways, just as it was in the time of Mary and Joseph. Jesus came among us to offer himself for our salvation and thus lead us back to God. And, he has called each of us – we who believe in him – to continue to lead one another back to God. But, we can do that only if we are ready for surprises and willing to put our plans aside, like Joseph and Mary were, and humbly accept the great gift God gives us today – his Son, our Savior – and able to see God’s hand at work through all the trials of our lives, just as Joseph and Mary, and their son, Jesus, did. As we celebrate this great feast, that is my prayer for all of us. Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season; let’s all remember that! Merry Christmas!