Let me wish all of you, once again, a very blessed Christmas! We gather this evening to celebrate the most blessed event of all time: the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We hear, once again in today’s Gospel, the story of his birth. It is the story of Joseph and Mary putting their trust in God and cooperating in his plan of salvation for all of us.
In the minds of all of you children, I’m sure Christmas has taken forever to get here. Soon, you’ll be opening your gifts and your homes will be filled with your joyful shouts. Your parents may even have to call your names to calm you down. But, before that happens, let’s look at two very important names that we just heard in this evening’s gospel: Jesus and Emmanuel.
The angel of the Lord who appeared to Joseph not only told him to take Mary into his home as his wife but also told him the name he was to give to the child to be born: Jesus. This name comes from the Hebrew name Joshua which means Jehovah – or Yahweh – saves. Jesus’ very name highlights the most important aspect of his mission here on earth: to save us from our sinful ways and reconcile us to God. We don’t like to admit it, but we’re all enslaved by sin that leads us to greed, pride, gluttony, lust, sloth, envy or malice; we’re all familiar with these capital sins. Jesus first showed us – by his teachings and his actions – how to live a holy life and then he offered himself on the cross for us, overcoming the power of the devil and demonstrating how giving ourselves entirely in love for others leads to new life in God. Yes, this child born of Mary under the protection of her husband Joseph is, indeed, God who saves.
Today’s Gospel passage goes on to quote Isaiah who prophesied “they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” As you may have noticed, tonight’s gospel passage is taken from Matthew who ends his gospel with Jesus, who is about to ascend into heaven, assuring all of his followers – even us today – with these words: “Behold, I am with you always.” Ours is the only religion on earth that declares that God became a human being and lived on this earth. Most other religions claim that God is so lofty, so insulated and aloof that he would not condescend to belittle himself to become a mere mortal man. But, as we hear the gospel of John declare so poetically, “the Word – that is, the second person of the Blessed Trinity – became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” He fittingly named Jesus because he came to save us. And, he is called Emmanuel because he is still with us. What a great gift this is; better than any gift you children will find under your Christmas tree.
Christmas is a time for us to reflect on this great gift – this wondrous gift still among us today, now in the form of bread and wine that will soon become our Lord’s life-giving Body and Blood. Let us open our hearts to listen to God and accept God’s will in our lives. After all, Jesus came among us to lead us back to his heavenly Father. 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, like Joseph and Mary are willing to put our trust in God and cooperate in his plan of salvation. Indeed, his plan of salvation is still being played out through his faithful – that is, us – even today. As we celebrate this great feast, that is my prayer for all of us. Merry Christmas!