The celebration of Christmas is upon us because we have received a great gift from our God. The gift is some very good news: Christ is born; come let us adore him! This good news, first shared by angels is repeated among all those who celebrate this Festival day today.
At the first Mass celebrated earlier this afternoon, children helped me to teach some of the adults among us about this message. Through a series of questions and answers, we learned that there are many gifts exchanged at Christmas time, all because we love one another and we want to share these gifts with those who are near to us. The wisdom of a child is what this celebration is all about. Pray therefore for the ability to cherish the little ones among us, to learn from them, and to cherish the lessons that are taught.
Celebrate and give thanks also for the gift of love, and if you have time, feel free to read through (or re-read, or even listen into as the case may be) the reflection that was offered tonight (and again at tomorrow morning's liturgy.
Good news
At the first Mass celebrated earlier this afternoon, children helped me to teach some of the adults among us about this message. Through a series of questions and answers, we learned that there are many gifts exchanged at Christmas time, all because we love one another and we want to share these gifts with those who are near to us. The wisdom of a child is what this celebration is all about. Pray therefore for the ability to cherish the little ones among us, to learn from them, and to cherish the lessons that are taught.
Celebrate and give thanks also for the gift of love, and if you have time, feel free to read through (or re-read, or even listen into as the case may be) the reflection that was offered tonight (and again at tomorrow morning's liturgy.
In the evening hours of September 16 of this year, news hit the wires that Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep had given birth to her first-born child. ‘It’s a girl!’ the headline read, and instantly there was great joy and cause for celebration. In the days that followed, the first pictures of the new-born child were shared not only with family and friends but with the whole country via print and new media. Even Priscilla herself tweeted a message to all her ‘fans’: Thank you everyone for all your support. Bronsen and I are very happy to announce the birth of our daughter Nataliya Ava Schliep!
There’s a thrill in the air when parents announce the birth of a child, and isn’t it equally exciting to gather around a tiny baby? Every newborn child is a wonder, a mystery, a gift from God. No matter whether the family is wealthy or poor, whether the child is first-born or latest in a long line, all who gather around, and even those who are separated by physical distance are moved. Congratulatory words are spoken and sent. Visitors smile, cry, laugh, bring a gift, wish happiness and peace for the child and the parents, for every child is a sign of hope and faith in the future.
For us Christians, Christmas is about remembering and celebrating the birth of a child which took place in time (more than 2000 years ago), but it is also about proclaiming the feast of our salvation, and about looking forward to the second coming of Christ and the inauguration of God’s kingdom.
With wonder and awe, we recognize God’s presence in a tiny vulnerable infant, so unexpected, so overwhelming. The story of Joseph and Mary is not so different from the story of many young couples today, not so different from your story and from mine. Two millennia ago, God’s people had been waiting for a messiah: waiting so long that they had begun to grow weary and doubtful about whether their efforts were bearing any fruit. They were a people walking in darkness, and God surprised them by sending not a warrior, but a child to replace worn-out expectations with renewed light and hope.
Tonight, God invites us to hear afresh the message proclaimed by the angels, to you is born this day … a Savior who is Christ the Lord. In Christ, the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all. Tonight, God invites us to believe that this message, this grace is truly offered for each of us. Indeed it is good news, and we should set out with renewed excitement to find the Christ-child. In the great city of David, surrounded by the goings and comings of all those who had been summoned to partake in the census, he was not born in great luxury, but in a stable. Not surrounded by doctors and nurses, his first attendants were a donkey, a cow and perhaps a dove that had roosted in the rafters to seek shelter and warmth.
Christ’s birth was not announced in the newspapers or on Twitter. It was proclaimed by angels. There was no fanfare to this beginning. Instead, the visitors who first smiled and cried, laughed and brought gifts to wish happiness and peace for him were the outcasts of society, the shepherds who were among the poorest of the poor. The mere fact that there was no glitz and glitter about this birth makes it all the more a reason for us to gather here tonight. This king came among us as one of us. He wanted then as he wants now to be close to us, to be within our reach.
The true miracle of Christmas is that the creator of the universe, the one who made each of us and all that we can see and touch, came among us to live with us. He is present in the wonder and awe of a child who awakens with great excitement to greet a new day. He is present in a newborn child who embodies the hopes and dreams of her parents and family.
Merry Christmas!
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