Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Early this December, Pope Francis issued an apostolic exhortation. In lay person’s terms, an apostolic exhortation is a teaching in the tradition of the apostles. In the Catholic Church, only the Pope issues such a teaching. The 200 page long exhortation is entitled, “Evangelii Gaudium,” or The Joy of the Gospel. The exhortation begins with the statement, “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.” This is very similar to the message of the angel the night Christ was born: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”
Today, the church celebrates Christmas. Jesus Christ came into the world and in him the world has encountered… GOD! God and humanity have met. And this is cause for great joy, both for God and for humanity. It is cause of great joy for God because in Jesus Christ every barrier that stood between God and humanity has been broken down; and it is cause for great joy for humanity because in Christ we have found our original destiny. Before Christmas is about religion, theology, and doctrine, it is about the meeting of two long-lost friends. The encounter between God and humanity is Good News!!! And so, first, the gospel and then the Pope are telling us that any person who genuinely encounters, meets, gets to know, enters into a relationship with, becomes friends with, comes to love and follow JESUS CHRIST, will experience JOY! As the Pope says, “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.”
This Christmas, basing myself on the scripture and the Pope’s exhortation, I would like to connect three things: Jesus Christ, human existence and joy. I would like to do this in three points.
a) The Danger. Both the gospel and the Pope are not being naïve when they suggest that joy is a once-for-all human condition. Joy can disappear. Joy can be lost. As the Pope acknowledges, sometimes this happens because of great personal and human tragedies. Many times, though, joy is lost because of the choices we make. Think about Herod - so filled with fear and so filled with himself. He is so filled with the quest for power that he would not stop from murdering little children. How could someone like him experience joy? While we may not go to such lengths, the Pope makes us aware of the dangers that we face today. He says, “The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too.”
This danger is all too real for us and in our times. Addictions, the undying hunger for possessions, the unbridled surrender to pleasure, the over-estimation of oneself, the putting of oneself before others including God, the willingness to trample upon others to fulfil our ambitions… these are all real dangers. When we make choices that are inconsistent with the message of Christmas, joy will elude us no matter how well we do with the rest of our lives.
b) The Invitation. After making aware of the dangers to joy the Pope gives an invitation. His invitation first of all is not to some vague doctrine, some lofty theology or some empty ritual. His invitation is first and foremost to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus. Here is what the Pope says, “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day.” This is consistent with the gospel story of the birth of Jesus. When Christ lay in a manger, the shepherds, the people from the East and all people of goodwill are invited to the manger. There they came and did him homage. And right here is the key to joy and salvation – coming face to face with Christ.
Perhaps you are asking yourself how you can come face to face with Christ today. It is simpler than we think. When we read the gospels, it is Christ, his life, his words and his work that comes through; when we come to the Eucharist, it is his presence we encounter; when we bring ourselves to stillness in prayer, it is Christ whom we converse with’ and when we make choices that are consistent with the life and teachings of Christ, it is him that we bear witness to.
Finally, the Pope adds, “No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord.”
c) The Promise. And then there is promise. Here is how Pope Francis puts it: “Thanks solely to this encounter – or renewed encounter – with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption.” Let me give you an example of what the promise is not. Did you see the TJ MAX commercial? It shows “Lady Gifter” going on a shopping spree and at the end says, “Christmas accomplished!” The truth is different. The promise of Christmas or encounter with Christ, in the Pope’s words, “is a blossoming friendship with God brought about by an experience with God’s love.” In other words, our encounter with Christ promises us a a love relationship. It is the promise of life in union with God both in the here and now and in eternity. This encounter also sets us free from our preoccupation with ourselves. It sets us free to love generously, to kindness, to compassion, to forgiveness, to honesty, to simplicity and to service. Think about the shepherds, the wise people from the East, the tax-collectors and sinners – they either encountered Christ or let Christ encounter them. That encounter set them free once and for all. This promise is being made to us as well. The Pope puts it in these words, “We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being.” This is Christmas!
Let me say this in conclusion. This altar and the bread and wine transformed into the body and blood of Christ is not less a Christmas than the first Christmas. Here, Christ encounters you and me today. May this encounter transform us and bring is great joy. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph