Urban Hermit at 3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH 43608-2006 US - Christmas

Isaiah 62:1-5—You shall be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the Lord.

Psalm 89:  Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Acts 13:16-17, 22-25—God, according to the promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.

Matthew 1:1-25—God is with us, out of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary.

One recent custom in the North American Church has been to celebrate the Christmas Vigil for children, which generally has resulted in the choice of variant readings “more suitable” to children than these set out in the Lectionary.  More than likely we’ll see a sketchy presentation of the Christmas story, enacted by toddlers in lisping voices.  Along with that practice comes the inevitable mouthing of the old truism that “Christmas is for children.” 

But, in truth, Christmas is for adults.  Biblical scholars agree that the infancy narratives were developed as a sort of prologue to mirror the fundamental truths of the individual Gospel story.  Thus the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew, which we read for the Vigil of Christmas, reflects Matthew’s assertion that Jesus is son of David, son of Abraham.  We hear also the story of Joseph’s dream, and later we will hear of the Magi and the holy innocents—mirroring the story of Moses.  And we hear of the women among Jesus’ ancestors, strong-willed progenitors who pave the way for Jesus’ egalitarianism.

It’s sad that we pass by the opportunity to preach this good news to the parents who bring their children to this Mass, those C&E Catholics, the poinsettia-and-lily crowd, whom we will not see again until Easter.  They need to have the Word broken open for their lives, inspired so that they might begin to live more fully the mystery we celebrate in this feast.

These adults need to hear about Jesus’ ancestors, especially the women.  They hunger for a word that will lead them to reflect on the injustice of exclusion of the poor and preferential treatment for the wealthy.  They yearn for a word that will lift their spirits in this time of vengeance and bloodshed carried out under the disguise of national security.  The vision of the babe of Bethlehem, born naked and defenseless and drawing all nations to peace through the blood of his cross, is not a vision for children.  It is a vision for adults, calling us to new life in the Way of the Lord.

Let’s welcome God-with-us.

Isaiah 9:1-6—The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Psalm 96:  Today is born our savior, Christ our Lord!

Titus 2:11-14—A people eager to do what is good.

Luke 2:1-14—Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom God's favor rests.

Dear People of God,

Today we welcome into our midst the scattered sheep of the house of Israel, those C&E [Christmas-and-Easter] Catholics, the poinsettia-and-lily crowd.  Our church buildings are bursting at the seams once more, almost as they did in those halcyon days before Vatican II, days now rapidly fading in the memory of those now alive who were adults in the 60s. 

Why do they come, twice a year, like salmon returning to spawn or birds heading south for the winter?  Is it custom?  Family tradition?  An old habit?  Reliving childhood memories?  Are any of them hungry for God?  Or do they just look for a warm fuzzy experience to round out the holiday celebration for them?

Yet even now we notice that they are not quite SRO any more.  Everyone can find a seat, even at the Midnight Mass.  What is going on with our Church?

Of course, significant numbers left with the promulgation of Humanae Vitae in the 60s and never returned.  The impact of the episcopal cover-up of clergy abuse is increasingly felt.  And, unfortunately, pronouncements have continued to appear from Rome without consideration of the pastoral needs of the people.  Oftentimes this seems to stem from the attitude of ordained men that lay people are sheep in ways not envisioned by the parables:  too naïve to be able to grasp basic theological concepts, too frightened to face an adult concept of God, too superstitious to swallow the fruits of current Biblical scholarship.  Even worse, knowing that we are a jubilee people—seriously and unreservedly committed to the weak and the powerless—we have ignored the cry of the poor to hoard our wealth and close our eyes to the instruments of oppression in our world.

It would seem that, with too few exceptions, our institutional church has been unable to make the transition from interpreting scripture literally to embracing the depths of meaning revealed by scholars.   It has been unable to get past the rigid, legalistic mentality that told us to “pray, pay and obey” for centuries up until 1965.  It continues to treat women as non-persons.  It continues to chastise those whose ministries demand compassion toward all. 

On the other hand, we must look to where the rubber meets the road.  Catholics do great works of charity in and through parishes around the world.  Catholics work for justice in human rights and labor, and we continue to hold uppermost the sanctity of life itself.  In our parishes we continue to serve one another in the manner Jesus showed us, literally and figuratively washing each other’s feet.  We continue to open our doors to all, without exception.  We are indeed a people eager to do what is good, as Titus describes us.

We remain sinners traveling together in the search for sainthood.  Part of the long stream of people who have lived the Way before us, we walk and stumble and run along, trusting that “God saves.”  The challenge of Christmas is before us:  to commit ourselves once again to the jubilee, reaching out to the poor and oppressed, living the Way of Jesus in the stable and at the table and on the cross.

Isaiah 62:11-12—Holy people, the redeemed of the Lord.

Psalm 97:  A light will shine on us this day:  The Lord is born for us!

Titus 3:4-7—Justified by his grace and heirs in hope of eternal life.

Luke 2:15-20—Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.  Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

Do we really believe the promise?  Do we really believe that God is in the world, among us, walking alongside us and saving us?  We must seek to understand, even when we do not know the details of all that is yet to come, that God is working in our lives to justify us and give us life.  Sometimes we have to struggle to hear the silent hush of God's presence over the growing din of our society's, our family's, and even our church's commercialism.  Like Mary, we must stop in the quiet of dawn and reflect on these things in our hearts. 

The sign in front of my home parish reads "God sent a child, not an army."  It is easier to look for solutions and answers in power and wealth, yet that has not been God's way.  If we are to follow God's way, then the message of this Christmas morning must be born in our hearts and lived in our lives.

So Christmas dawn breaks upon us again, this holy people redeemed of the Lord!  We gather in the midst of security alerts, winter flu, and gift return plans to stand together, justified by God's grace, heirs hoping for fulfillment of the promise of eternal life.  How fresh this old world looks this morning!  How hopeful is the celebration of the birth of the baby who will redeem us!

The Nativity of the Lord—Christmas Day:  Imprint of the Being of God

Isaiah 52:7-10—How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one who brings glad tidings!

Psalm 98:  All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God!

Hebrews 1:1-6—The very imprint of the being of God.

John 1:1-18—The Word.

Dear People of God,

Glory be to God!  From the very beginning was the Word, with God and in God, God.  This day we celebrate God-with-us, Emmanuel, the Word spoken from the beginning to each of us.  How beautiful!  How incomprehensible!

Our advent preparations have borne fruit; we rest with the indwelling God among us, confident now that the promise has been fulfilled.  The imprint of God's being has sealed itself on flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ, and we share that humanity.  In the Mass the priest prays, as he drips water into the wine prior to the consecration, that we might share in the divinity of the one who came to share our humanity. 

Breaking out together in song, let us join in that prayer today:  that we might grow in the divinity of the Christ who shares our humanity! 

A blessed Christmas to you!