Christmas Mass. 24-25th December 2010.
The Feast of the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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I pray that this Christmas is a time of joy, peace and wonderful for you all………
The baby Jesus is the last part of the beautiful nativity scene.
Loving God…Thank you.. for sending us Jesus, Your son..Jesus was born in a stable
And shared his life…With all of us…Help us..To show our love, and care
To our family and friends, may Jesus show us how to be kind… and loving always…
Amen…
As we give gifts, in this time of ongoing economic recovery.. (where many are still doing it really tough), may we gain strength from the fact that any gifts we give are always intended to be a token of appreciation that echoes the one perfect gift that God has given us…… the gift of himself… God who has become one of us… God who has become human like us…..(in the person of the baby Jesus)…… So, of course, the greatest gift we can give each other is the gift of our own presence and attention and respect and care for each other…. If we give the gift of true Gratefulness "for the gift and uniqueness of one another"… / if we are feeling overburdened by the challenge of providing ever more material gifts.. Let us recall that the season is about Jesus' birthday, and what he has given us…. Himself…..
(Tonight/today's) readings tell us that God show us a sign//…. // Throughout history… (and perhaps in each of our lives too)…. Have we asked God: "Show us a sign"….. "Show us that you care"…. "Show us that you are real"…. "Show us something that answers all our questions about the difficulties, challenges and tragedies of life"…….. I know many expect that such a 'sign' will be dramatic… world shaking….. spectacular…. (I suspect that in many ways, our modern society is constantly on the look-out for the "next buzz"… the next "world-shaking event"….. the next "amazing sign"……….our society can get stuck on the fix of constantly moving from one all-time-high to the next……//.. But we should know by now that God does not do things by human standards, (but rather: by God's wisdom)…. So….// God DOES give us a sign… and it is extraordinary…. Well… actually… no…. (It is the opposite)…… the sign God gives is actually very, very ordinary….
The great SIGN that God gives us… is surprising… almost anti-climactic…… and not what we expect….. the great sign that God gives to us… for all time…. (Luke's gospel tells us)…… " This will be a sign for you: … (wait for it……)……. you will find a baby, wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a food trough." (in a stable)…….
The angels, and the later arrival of the Wise men….. This is amazing.., but that is really just a side serving to what the real central sign is……. And you know what? It's so very ordinary!!!…….. It's so …… simple…… so humble………… and maybe that is JUST the point….. In a world where celebrities and people who are just famous for being famous… turn up to every big event in town that is going…… it's shocking that the biggest event in all history… was not for celebrities, rich and famous…. But for poor shepherds and foreigner wise men…. And the big event, was a baby born in humble surrounds to a loving, struggling young family….. WOW>.. now THAT is true WONDER>.. and beauty…. It tells us that the simple things… the humble things… and the everyday people…. And values… THAT is where God's heart and presence is…. It's with US>>>>>>
God doesn't go in for smoke and mirrors kinds of trickery…. Rather……. God wants us to realize that his lasting presence amongst us is to be found in the ordinary… in the everyday…. In the miracle of a baby.. in the context of a family….. in the poor and the marginalized….
As Jesus became and adult and started preaching…. He continued to sstruggled with this perception problem all his life…… he wanted people to have 'wonder and awe so that they could open their hearts to God's presence and action in their lives………… But….Some people would marvel at his Jesus works, but that's all they would do, marvel!!!. "Oh, my! Did you see that! Wasn't that something?" and they would go on with their lives unchanged. And there were some who wanted Jesus to perform wonders for their entertainment as you'd get a dog to jump through a hoop. They wanted "wonders on demand." And then there were those who viewed the working of wonders as a kind of litmus test to tell who has God's favour. If you make some magic for us, then you must be OK. If you can't or won't, you must not be worth listening to.
Rather… we should give all our attention and to open our hearts to Jesus and his message…... To stand wordless before this scene of wonder and let the truth of it seep into us, our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our souls.
This scene of the Christmas crib……is an invitation and a promise. The invitation is to leave our pursuit of control and spectacle behind and instead enter into mystery. To be as vulnerable as this child and these parents. To be as open as these shepherds and as generous of heart as these wise men. To praise God like the angels and to pay attention like the townspeople.
The resulting promise is that we will meet God in these moments of ordinary life….. We will discover not only that Jesus is God, but that we, too, can share in God's life—not only in the heaven, but right here and right now.
AND SO HERE'S our invitation:
• let us continue to Nurture our relationship with Jesus by paying attention to his presence in our day. And in the ordinary moments of life.
Let us continue to take time to Pray daily, perhaps before each meal with our family or friends.
• Let us avoid demanding signs from God and observe the many that are right before us. Let us pray that Jesus will give us the eyes to see God at work in our daily lives" And then start looking around. Love the people we encounter each day. Use our talents for the good of the world. And always be grateful for so many everyday gifts and wonders…
Let us not miss this moment of wonder now… and every day of the coming year…. God bless you always…
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REFERENCES:
· FR. PAUL W. KELLY
· Tom McGrath, Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas): Mass at Midnight.
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