The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Perhaps many of you know that recently I had a make a trip home to visit my ailing father. Altogether, I was home but for a week. It all ended well with my father showing extraordinary recovery within a matter of days. Most of you have since said to me that it was my presence that did it for him. Actually, my brother had come first. He saw my father home through his first hospitalization. By the time he was hospitalized the second time, I had decided to visit him. While I was there, I discovered that people in the neighborhood knew that I was coming. “Our son is coming!” they had told every visitor. It was as if with my coming everything would miraculously be fine again. That is exactly how it played out. My father showed an almost miraculous recovery. While I cannot but acknowledge the work of the medical community, and while I cannot but be grateful to my God, I cannot deny that my brother and my presence made a big the difference. Presence is everything!
I would like to reflect on Christmas as a ‘feast of presence.’ The Son has come! God is present to us. On that first Christmas, God became irrevocably and radically present to the world. The Son… the Son had come! Darkness gave way to light. Hope gave way to despair. Mourning gave way to rejoicing. The gloom had lifted. Abandonment was banished. He is Emmanuel - God with us!
1. “A Son is Given to Us.” All of Advent we have been reading from the book of Isaiah. Todays reading is the climax to which the other readings have been leading us to. Did you notice the tone of today’s first reading from Isaiah? The thrill of the coming of the messiah is compared to a nation which has had a great harvest so that no one has to starve. We many not appreciate this sentiment because, if harvest fails in our country we can always import food from elsewhere. In biblical times, though, if the harvest failed, people died by the hundreds. Elsewhere in Isaiah, the thrill is also in the reverse direction. God rejoices over God’s people. The thrill of God’s enduring presence with people is compared to the ecstatic delirium of a newly-wedded couple who are now forever one. Thus, when Isaiah says, “A child has been born to us; a son is given us…,” he is referring to the thrill of presence. It is no ordinary presence… this is no ordinary son… this is the Son of God! The Son of God is present to us… forever.
2. Enduring Presence. Its Christmas! The specially decorated church, the music, the festivities, our clothes, the people we are with, tell us that it is Christmas. For us Catholics, what Christmas stands for, can be everyday. Prayer is being present to God daily as God does the same. Many people think of prayer as a chore, something we have to do. Prayer, in reality, can simply be making ourselves present to God. The sacraments are the clearest sign of Emmanuel, God with us. God is present when are born in baptism; God is present when we grow, mature and become adults through First Communion and Confirmation; God is present when young and old find love and make life together; When we are ill God is present through the Sacrament of the sick; God is even present when depart from this world; God is present everyday in the Eucharist; and finally, God is present to us for eternity. I believe that God’s presence works in the same way that my presence worked for my parents. It was not what I did for them that mattered. It was the fact that I was there; that I was present. It was the presence that brought hope, comfort, peace, and assurance. God is forever present to us! God’s presence is our hope, comfort, peace and thrill!
3. … And Dwelt Among Us. In today’s gospel reading, the shepherds to whom the angel appeared were among the poorest of the people. We do not know why among all the people is Bethlehem, the angels appear to the shepherds. Perhaps the answer can be found in their response. They hurried to the manger. Today, are we asking ourselves how this Christmas might be more meaningful? The shepherds teach us that the best thing to do tonight is the be present to the child who has been born to us. As we share gifts with family and friends this Christmas, are we wondering what the best gift for the baby Jesus might be? The best gift is the gift of presence. May this Christmas not pass without you and I being fully present to Christ. This Christmas, let us allow God to present to us in the deepest and fullest way possible.
I am always intrigued by the fact that many people missed the first Christmas. In spite of the star, in spite of the choirs of angels, in spite of centuries of prophecies, the first Christmas simply passed people by. Let could happen to us. Today, Christmas happens on this very altar. Here, right here, is our manger. Here, right here, the Word becomes flesh! “O Come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.”
Fr. Satish Joseph