“But I did show up”: A story is told of an old woman who lived all alone. Each year as Christmas drew near she would sigh and lament her loneliness, wishing that some people would visit her. Since nobody would visit her, she decided to pray to the baby Jesus and his mother requesting that they pay her a visit. Finally the baby Jesus appeared to her in a dream and told her that her prayer had been heard and that the Holy Family would visit her on Christmas day. Oh, how excited she was! She began cleaning and polishing everything in her house squeaky clean in preparation for the divine visitor. She cooked her best dish and baked her best cake in readiness for the visit of Jesus and his mother. Who knows, maybe if she pleased them well enough, they might decide to stay on and live with her!
The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory. We have focused on the Midnight Mass Gospel Text, hopefully you will find it helpful for all Christmas day gospelsScriptural Prayers
“Nothing happens before its time.” Trinidadian saying
Lord, we pray for those who are involved in lofty projects and are becoming impatient:
* parish youth leaders who are not getting co-operation;
* a new party that has won no seats in the elections;
* parents who are trying in vain to dialogue with their teenagers.
Help them to remember Mary and how when the time came
For her to have her child she gave birth to a son.
She was at peace, felt no great concern that there was no room for them in the inn,
Merely wrapped her child in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger.
Lord, these days we are all very busy.At work or in school we have to expend much effort to achieve success.
At home we are bombarded with information from television and radio.
We have time only for the sensational
and we allow the oridinary events of life to come and go:
• the signs of maturity in our children;
• the life crises of those close to us;
• new stirrings of resentment or of hope among ordinary people in our country.
Even in our relationship with you we concentrate on the miraculous
and the extraordinary, glorify and praise you
because things turn out exactly as we were told they would.
Mary teaches us on the contrary to see in every event a call to grow,
a sacred word you speak to us,
to be welcomed as a treasure and pondered in our hearts,
reflected on and integrated into our consciousness.
Lord, help us to be more like Mary.
“My cell will not be one of stone or wood, but of self-knowledge.” … St Catherine of Siena
Lord, we thank you for all the contemplatives in the world,
those in enclosed convents, and those called, like Mary,
to live in their families and in secular surroundings.
While others chatter and repeat endlessly what they have been told,
these, like Mary, know how to be silent,
treasuring things and pondering them in their hearts.
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3. Thomas O’Loughlin,
Homily notes
1. The homily today always seems to be inadequate: the festival is bubbling over with symbols of the season (holly, ivy, Santa, and whatnot) and with people’s heightened emotions on the big day. Moreover, the mystery that one has to speak about is so much more than anything capable of being put into words that anything actually said seems paltry and trite. Yet the day still needs a word. The day needs to have its focus drawn to the mind as well as to the senses. And, there may be many there in the assembly today who will never hear the word from one end of the year to the other, and to them alone is owed the duty of preaching. The task is to take the theme of God-with-us and present it in such a way that (1) the homily can be followed using a framework already familiar to the audience; (2) that seems appropriately seasonal; and (3) that has a certain lightness suited to holiday time.
2. Here is a strategy that can produce a short homily that is easy to follow.The individuals who make up the congregation are asked to imagine where they stand in the array of people that are mentioned in the Bethlehem scene.
3. Do you imagine yourself as one of the people inside the inn?
For this group the birth of Jesus is an irrelevance: it does not touch them and they show no interest. To them it was just an external knock on the door, and they just kept going on with what they were doing. Then as now, this is the majority of people.
4. Do you place yourself among the shepherds? Here are people who are open to wonder. They can accept good news. They are people who are already part of a faith tradition, they shared the practices, hopes, and fears of the people, but were also ready to respond with faith to the voice of God.5. Do you imagine yourself as one of the wise ones, the kings, who came from the east? These are people who are dedicated to searching out the great human questions, but they are not just engaged in idle speculation: they set out and searched for the truth. They listened to the promptings of conscience; they did not come empty handed. These are dedicated searchers after the truth and conscientious doers of the good. All their talents they are placing in the service of God-with-us.
6. Do you imagine yourself like Joseph: caring for the welfare of the church, working in the community, taking on special responsibilities towards the Word made flesh. He is helping to make the good news known, and prepared to response to the inner call of vocation.
7. Do you imagine yourself as sharing in the vocation of Mary? She first brought the Anointed One into the world; but it is through us that Jesus enters our world.
8. We are all at the birth scene: each of us is called upon to fulfill all these vocations in varying ways.
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John Litteton
Reflection
Thankfully, many of us are lucky enough to open gifts every Christmas Day. These gifts are signs of respect, affection and love for the person or people to whom they are given. They are normally given without any conditions and, occasionally, they are important tokens of gratitude.
Christmas may be described as encapsulating several significant themes: for example, homecomings, festive celebrations and holidays from school and work. Nevertheless, it is fundamentally about the greatest gift that humankind could receive from God after the most basic gift of creation and life itself: the gift of redemption from the consequences of sin, which has entered the world and human history in the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
It is always fascinating to watch young children opening their Christmas presents. They usually do so with great excitement and much impatience. In their eagerness to discover what gifts they have received, they often tear off the wrapping paper and packaging, casting them aside and disregarding them as if they were not part of the presents.
Although understandable, their enthusiasm is insensitive to the people who took so much care choosing appropriate wrapping paper and carefully folding the edges to ensure that the present looked perfect. No offence is ever taken, though, because adults love to see the innocence of childhood in such anticipation and excitement.Basically, then, there is much more to giving a present than the gift itself that lies under several layers of wrapping. There is also the selection of suitable packaging and the extra care taken when parcelling. Frequently, too, there is the specially chosen card that has a significant message written on it. All these extra layers are as much part of the gift as what is found inside. But it is possible that their meaning is overlooked in the rush to get at the gift.
There is a crucial lesson here for us about how we welcome the newborn infant Jesus. He is the fulfilment of God’s promise to send the Messiah. But his coming into the world was carefully choreographed by God the Father so that people would be properly prepared for his arrival. The various layers of wrapping are the details of the unfolding story of salvation history over many centuries.
For instance, Jesus, the gift of our heavenly Father, was carefully anticipated by the long series of Old Testament prophets, culminating in John the Baptist, who spoke faithfully about his impending arrival and challenged the people to undergo repentance for their sins. Similarly, Jesus’ birth was heralded to the world by the angels who sang ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to people who enjoy his favour’ (Lk 2:14).Amidst the excitement and confusion associated with Jesus’ birth, we learn that his mother, Mary, ‘treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart’ (Lk 2:19). She acknowledged that God had done great things in her life, as we recite in the famous Magnificat prayer (see Lk 1:46-55). None of the many layers of wrapping had gone unnoticed by the mother of Jesus. She never forgot the goodness of God and the tremendous blessing that he had given, not only to her but to his Chosen People.
As we go home from Mass today, let us remember to notice everything about the presents that we receive from those who love us. In thanking them, let us acknowledge their efforts in surrounding their gift with layers of love that are symbolised in the wrapping and packaging.
Then let us, like Mary the mother of Jesus, ponder the wonder of what God has done for the human race by sending his only Son among us to save us from our sins. In doing so, let us recognise how God deliberately, carefully and lovingly prepared the world and its people for this great day.
(Jn 1:18)
Welcome to God and from God
We pray at the Mass that we may come to share the divinity of Christ who comes to share our humanity.
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From the Connections:
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.”
Matthew 1: 1-25 [18-25]
Matthew’s version of Jesus birth at Bethlehem follows. This is not Luke’s familiar story of a child born in a Bethlehem stable, but that of a young unmarried woman suddenly finding herself pregnant and her very hurt and confused husband wondering what to do. In Gospel times, marriage was agreed upon by the groom and the bride’s parents almost immediately after the age of puberty; but the girl continued to live with her parents after the wedding until the husband was able to support her in his home or that of his parents. During that interim period, marital intercourse was not permissible. Yet Mary is found to be with child.
Joseph, an observant but compassionate Jew, does not wish to subject Mary to the full fury of Jewish law, so he plans to divorce her “quietly.” But in images reminiscent of the First Testament “annunciations” of Isaac and Samuel, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and reveals that this child is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Because of his complete faith and trust in God’s promise, Joseph acknowledges the child and names him Jesus (“Savior”) and becomes, in the eyes of the Law, the legal father of Jesus. Thus, Jesus, through Joseph, is born a descendent of David.
Matthew’s point in his infancy narrative is that Jesus is the Emmanuel promised of old – Isaiah’s prophecy has finally been fulfilled in Jesus: the virgin has given birth to a son, one who is a descendent of David's house (through Joseph). Jesus is truly Emmanuel – “God is with us.”
MASS AT MIDNIGHT
“For today in the city of David a savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord.”Luke 2: 1-14
Centuries of hope in God’s promise have come to fulfillment: the Messiah is born!
Luke's account of Jesus’ birth (Gospel) begins by placing the event during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Augustus, who ruled from 27 B.C. - 14 A.D., was honored as “savior” and “god” in ancient Greek inscriptions. His long reign was hailed as the pax Augusta – a period of peace throughout the vast Roman world. Luke very deliberately points out that it is during the rule of Augustus, the savior, god and peace-maker, that Jesus the Christ, the long-awaited Savior and Messiah, the Son of God and Prince of Peace, enters human history.
Throughout his Gospel, Luke shows how it is the poor, the lowly, the outcast and the sinner who embraces the preaching of Jesus. The announcement of the Messiah’s birth to shepherds – who were among the most isolated and despised in the Jewish community – is in keeping with Luke’s theme that the poor are especially blessed of God.
MASS AT DAWN
“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place which the Lord has made known to us.”
Luke 2: 15-20
Typical of Luke’s Gospel, it is the shepherds of Bethlehem – among the poorest and most disregarded of Jewish society who become the first messengers of the Gospel.
From the Christmas story in Luke’s Gospel, we have a romantic image of shepherds as gentle, peaceful figures. But that manger scene image is a far cry from the reality: The shepherds of Biblical times were tough, earthy characters who fearlessly used their clubs to defend their flocks from wolves and other wild animals. They had even less patience for the pompous scribes and Pharisees who treated them as second and third-class citizens, barring these ill-bred rustics from the synagogue and courts.
And yet it was to shepherds that God first revealed the birth of the Messiah. The shepherds’ vision on the Bethlehem hillside proclaims to all people of every place and generation that Christ comes for the sake of all of humankind.
MASS DURING THE DAY
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us . . .
John 1: 1-18
The Gospel for Christmas Day is the beautiful Prologue hymn to John’s Gospel. With echoes of Genesis 1 (“In the beginning . . . ,” “the light shines on in darkness . . .”), John’s prologue exalts Christ as the creative Word of God that comes as the new light to illuminate God's re-creation.
In the original Greek text, the phrase “made his dwelling place among is” is more accurately translated as “pitched his tent or tabernacle.” The image evokes the Exodus memory of the tent pitched by Israelites for the Ark of the Covenant. God sets up the tabernacle of the new covenant in the body of the Child of Bethlehem.
The true miracle of Christmas continues to take place in the Bethlehems of our hearts. In the emptiness of our souls, God forgives us, reassures us, exalts us, elates us, loves us.
Christmas is more than a birth of a child; it is the beginning of the Christ event that will transform and re-create human history, a presence that continues to this day and for all time.
In Jesus, the extraordinary love of God has taken our “flesh” and “made his dwelling among us.” In his “Word made flesh,” God touches us at the very core of our beings, perfectly expressing his constant and unchanging love.
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From Fr. Jude Botelho:
In the first reading the prophet Isaiah prophesies that the northern kingdom of Israel, which had been destroyed would be liberated and its inhabitants would be set free when the Messiah comes. But their liberator would not be a mighty warrior but a little child. God’s ways are not our ways! This little child is God’s answer to man’s needs. A surprising answer but full of promise; this child has many titles foremost among them will be ‘Prince of Peace’.
In deep shadow, a light has shone
High in the Andes, an Indian prince is anointed in the darkness. Then, on a large raft in the centre of a sacred lake, his naked body is plastered with gold dust by members of his tribe. They turn away so that they do not look on his face. They all wait in silence. Then the sun comes over the horizon and bathes in its light the Indian prince, gold in glory. He plunges into the lake, and the people cast jewels and sacred objects of gold into the water to sanctify the place where he swims. He is the legendary Eldorado, the gilded one. The ceremony is the annual ritual to the god of the sun on behalf of the people who depend on its power. The feast of Christmas originated when the cult of the sun was particularly strong in Rome. The pagan festival was baptized by the church in Rome which used the same date to celebrate the birth of Christ. We do not know the date of Jesus’ birth, but we do know why December 25th was chosen as the date to celebrate the birth. For us the Yule logs and candles symbolize the warmth and light of another sun: the Son of God. In the darkness of this night we celebrate the birth of the light of the world.Anonymous
Today’s gospel focuses on the deep significance of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ into the world. The details of the narrative are symbolic and biblical; they are meant to communicate the mystery of our salvation and are not a diary of earthly events. The birth of Jesus is situated in time –when Quirinius governor of Syria ordered a census of all the people of the empire. Mary and Joseph accepted this order and set out from the town of Galilee and travelled to Judea to the town of David called Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph respond with faith and accept the situation as God’s plan for the coming of his son and theirs in the world. They do not understand but accept and believe that this frail weak infant is God coming into the world through them. The coming of Jesus is firstly a coming as a messenger of peace, announced to the shepherds by the host of angels. The initial reaction of the shepherds was fear and terror. We will always be terrified of meeting God if we keep thinking that we must be worthy of meeting him. The angel had to urge the shepherds to let go of their terror, only then did the wonder of the night enter into their souls. They are directed to Bethlehem, they believed and set out on their journey to find the new-born king and their faith was rewarded. The shepherds were outcasts, the poor and despised, to them was revealed the great mystery and they became the first to acknowledge the saviour of mankind. They also became the first missionaries who proclaimed the birth of the messiah. Only those who know their littleness can be exposed to the wonder of greater realities. Mary the littlest of all, treasured these things and pondered them in her heart. Besides bringing peace to the world, the coming of Jesus was to bring hope to the poor and the oppressed. We don’t have to do anything to deserve this peace, we only have to believe and accept it in hope. His blessings descend on all on whom his favour rests. No matter who we are, or in what state we are, he comes to bring us peace and hope!
A Saviour is born to us
The Russians have for centuries told a legend about a young medieval prince, Alexis, who lived in a sumptuous palace, while all around, in filthy hovels, lived hundreds of poor peasants. The Prince was moved with compassion for these poor folk and determined to better their lot. So he began to visit them. But as he moved in and out among them he found that he’d got absolutely no point of contact with them. They treated him with enormous respect, but he was never able to win their confidences, and he returned to the palace a disappointed young man. Then one day a very different man came among the people. He was a rough and ready young doctor who devoted his life to serving the poor. He started by renting a filthy rat-ridden shack in one of the back streets. His clothes were old and tattered and he lived simply on the plainest food. He made no money from his profession because he treated most people free and gave away his medicines. Before long this young doctor had won the respect and affection of all those people as Prince Alexis had never succeeded in doing. He was one of them. And little by little he transformed the whole spirit of the place, settling quarrels, reconciling enemies, helping people to live decent lives. No one ever guessed that this young doctor was in fact the Prince himself, who had abandoned his palace and gone down among his people to become one of them. That’s just what God did on that first Christmas Day. He came right down side by side with us to help us to become the sort of beings he intends us to be.Anthony Castle in ‘More Quotes and Anecdotes’
That’s what Christmas is all about!
One Christmas Eve a man was sitting quietly, listening to Christmas carols. Suddenly he heard the sound of geese. He went to the door and saw several geese wandering about in the snow, cold, hungry, dazed, and confused. The man went out and tried everything he knew to get the geese to go into his warm garage, but they were too frightened to understand. Then he thought himself, “If just for a moment I could become a goose to tell them what to do in their own language.” Suddenly it hit him. That’s what Christmas is all about. It’s celebrating the fact that God chose to become one of us so that he could speak to us our own language and tell us what was for our own good.
Marl Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
Christ missing at Christmas
Fr. Prakash could hardly believe his eyes. Christmas evening, he stared at the crib in the Church vestibule and was shocked to see the baby Jesus missing. Worried, Fr. Prakash commissioned the sacristan out to retrieve it. Scouting around the parish, the sacristan saw little Christopher, riding his new tricycle with the statue of the child Jesus precariously placed besides him. “Chris, you scoundrel,” cried the sacristan, “Why did you steal that statue?” Unfazed the boy replied, “I promised baby Jesus that if I got a tricycle for Christmas, I’d give him the first ride!” Two points are worth reflecting on: Christ seems missing from our Christmases, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that Jesus is taken forth to transform today’s world.
Francis Gonsalves in ‘Sunday Seeds for daily Deeds’
Beethoven’s Gift
A story is told about Beethoven, a man not known for social grace. Because of his deafness, he found conversation difficult and humiliating. When he heard of the death of a friend’s son, Beethoven hurried to the house, overcome with grief. He had no words of comfort to offer. But he saw a piano in the room. For the next half hour he played the piano, pouring out his emotions in the most eloquent way he could. When he finished playing, he left. The friend later remarked that no one else’s visit had meant so much.
Philip Yancy from ‘Helping the Hurting’
The First Crib
Once there was a parish which had a beautiful crib. The parishioners, who for the most part were white and well-off, were very proud of it. Mary was depicted as a handsome young maiden with snow-white hands. Joseph was a strong man with a serene expression on his face. The smiling child had the face of an angel. The shepherds were dressed in the garb of gentlemen. All the figures of course were white. The background consisted of low hills with a gorgeous castle perched on the summit of one of them. The star-strewn sky completed the idyllic picture. Then a new parish priest was appointed to the parish. One of the first things he did was to change the crib. Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus were now coloured. As were the shepherds. The backdrop consisted of a shanty town with row after row of impoverished shacks. The whole scene spoke of poverty and marginalization. The devout parishioners took an instant dislike to it. They insisted that their traditional crib be put back. When we look at the crib, everything seems so pretty, so peaceful so orderly. Not a cry is heard from the child, not a sound from the donkey or the oxen, not a smell of any kind. The straw is clean. The coloured but subdued lights add a surreal quality to the whole scene. With our inward ear we hear the singing of the angels, and with our inward eye we see the star which led the Magi to Bethlehem. We have a tendency to pretty up the Christmas story. But in doing that we remove it from us. We empty it of much of the meaning it carries for us. -It was St Francis of Assisi who assembled the first crib in a cave on an Italian hillside in the year 1223. His aim was to make the Christmas story come alive for the people of the locality. His idea was to show them how close it was to them and their lives. And it seems that he succeeded. On Christmas Eve the friars and the people assembled with candles and torches around the crib. Francis spoke to the people, who were mostly farmers and shepherds, about God’s Son coming among us to teach us that we too are children of God, and that as such we have an eternal destiny. The shepherds and farmers got the messages: God had time for simple folks like them. At the end of the vigil they all returned to their homes, full of peace and joy, feeling very close to God and to one another.
Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Days
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After explaining childbirth, the biology teacher asked her 3rd graders to write an essay on "childbirth" in their families. Susan went home and asked her mother how she was born. Her mother, who was busy at the time, said, “A big white swan brought you darling, and left you on our doorstep.” Continuing her research she asked grandma how she got her mother as a child. Being in the middle of something, her grandma similarly deflected the question by saying, “A fairy brought your mom as a little baby, and I found her in our garden in an open box”. Then the girl went and asked her great-grandmother how she got her grandma as a baby. “I picked her from a box I found in the gooseberry bush," said the surprised great-grandma. With this information the girl wrote her essay. When the teacher asked her later to read it in front of the class, she stood up and began, "I am very sad to find out that there was not even a single natural birth in our family for three generations. All our children were extraterrestrials." (Rev. Fairchild). Today the words of Isaiah tell us of another non-normal birth. It’s a non-normal birth, never before, nor after, seen or experienced, because it is the birth of God as man – Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, as our Savior.
In the Cable TV episodes Inside The Actor’s Studio, James Lipton invites celebrities – famous actors, writers and directors – to talk about their careers and how they do what they do. And he always ends each episode the same way, with one particular question: “If you believe that God exists, what do you think He will say to you when you finally see Him?” It’s a good question, by the way, to ask ourselves periodically. It can make for an interesting examination of conscience. Anyway: on this episode, the person James Lipton was interviewing was Steven Spielberg, the famous film director. Lipton asked him that final question: What do you hope God will say to you when you finally see Him? And Spielberg thought for a moment and smiled. He replied: “’Thanks for listening.” So much of the Christmas story is, truly, about listening. When Gabriel arrives to bring Mary the news that she will bear a child…she listens. When the angel tells Joseph in his dreams what is about to happen…he listens. The shepherds listen when the angel announces the “good news of great joy.” Two thousand years later, we confront this stunning message – “tidings of comfort and joy,” as the carol describes it – and our hearts swell with the sentiment of the season. We hear. But are we paying attention? Are we listening? Christmas invites us to listen to God telling us how much He loves the world. (Deacon Greg Kandra).2013
It was St Francis of Assisi who assembled the first crib in a cave on an Italian hillside. It was in 1293 that the first crèche was set up in the woods of Greccio near Assisi, on Christmas Eve. The crib was ready, hay was brought, the ox and the donkey were led to the spot. Greccio became a new Bethlehem. The aim of St. Francis was to make the Christmas story come alive for the people of the locality. His idea was to show them how close it was to them and their lives. And it seems that he succeeded. On Christmas Eve, the friars and the people assembled with candles and torches around the crib. Francis spoke to the people, who were mostly farmers and shepherds, about God’s Son coming among us to teach us that we too are children of God, and that as such we have an eternal destiny. The shepherds and farmers got the messages: God had time for simple folks like them. At the end of the vigil they all returned to their homes, full of peace and joy, feeling very close to God and to one another. (http://www.catholicdoors.com/misc/christmascrib.htm)
54- Additional Christmas anecdotes (L-20)
1) Origin of the Christmas celebration: Many scholars believe that Christmas came to be placed on December 25th in order to counteract a pagan celebration called the Birth of the Unconquered Sun. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring the god of agriculture, Saturn. Later the Kalends of January were observed to celebrate the triumph of life over death. The entire season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun., or Saturnalia. Since December 25th was around the date of the winter solstice (the year’s shortest day, after which the days begin to lengthen again showing the victory of the sun over darkness), it was chosen as the date of rejoicing. When Christianity was approved as the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Church chose this day to celebrate the birth of the true Sun – the Son of God Who conquers the power of darkness. Another theory gives Biblical support for celebrating Christmas on the 25th of December. It claims that the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah occurred during the feast of Yom Kippur, around September 25th, placing the birth of John after nine months on June 25th. Since the angel tells Mary that Elizabeth is in the sixth month of her pregnancy, the Annunciation event and the conception of Jesus took place around March 25th leading to Jesus’ birth after nine months, around December 25th. Where did the name Christmas originate? In medieval times, the celebration of Christmas took the form of a special Mass said at midnight on the eve of Christ’s birth. Since this was the only time in the Catholic Church year when a midnight Mass was allowed, it soon became known in the Old English as Christes Masse (Christ’s Mass), from which is derived Christmas. (Fr. Tony Kadavil) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2) Thanks for listening: In the Cable TV
episodes Inside The Actor’s Studio, James Lipton invites
celebrities – famous actors, writers and directors – to talk about their
careers and how they do what they do. And he always ends each episode the same
way, with one particular question: “If you believe that God exists, what do you
think He will say to you when you finally see Him?” It’s a good question, by
the way, to ask ourselves periodically. It can make for an interesting
examination of conscience. Anyway: on this episode, the person James Lipton was
interviewing was Steven Spielberg. Lipton asked him that final question: What
do you hope God will say to you when you finally see Him? And Spielberg thought
for a moment and smiled. He replied: “’Thanks for listening.” So much of the
Christmas story is, truly, about listening. When Gabriel arrives to bring Mary
the news that she will bear a child…she listens. When the angel tells Joseph in
his dreams what is about to happen…he listens. The shepherds listen when the
angel announces the “good news of great joy.” Two thousand years later, we
confront this stunning message – “tidings of comfort and joy,” as the carol
describes it – and our hearts swell with the sentiment of the season. We hear.
But are we paying attention? Are we listening? Christmas invites us to listen.
(Deacon
Greg Kandra). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3) “Man, you don’t mess around when you’re
hungry!” Have you heard about the little boy who loved going to
Church? He enjoyed the music, the stained-glass windows, the homily and the
fellowship. The only part about going to Church that the little boy didn’t
like, were those long personal prayers which the pastor added to the
intercessory prayers! Then on Christmas, the little boy’s parents invited the
pastor home for lunch… and would you believe it, his mom asked the pastor to
pray the prayer of thanksgiving before the meal. “Oh, no,” thought the little
boy, “We will never get to eat. I am starving, and he will pray forever.” But
to his surprise, the pastor’s prayer was brief and to the point. He said, “O
Lord, bless this home. Bless this food, and use us in your service, in Jesus
Name. Amen.” The little boy was so astonished by the pastor’s short prayer that
he couldn’t help himself. He looked at the pastor and blurted out what he was
thinking: “Man, you don’t mess around when you’re hungry!” Well, I don’t want
to “mess around” on this Christmas Day because I know that whether we realize
it or not… we are hungry. We are all hungry for God. We are all hungry for our
Savior. We are all hungry for Christmas… because, you see, this is precisely
what Christmas is all about. We need a Savior, we are starved for a Savior, a
Savior is given in Jesus, and the name “Jesus” means literally “The Lord is
Salvation,” or “Yahweh Saves,” or “Savior.” Jesus came at Christmas to do for
us what we cannot do for ourselves. He came to save us from our sins. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4) “And all mankind will see God’s salvation.” Every
year, the former President Bush and his wife Laura used to send out a Christmas
card with a Bible verse on it. For Christmas 2001, when the country was still
coming to terms with the Sept. 11th attacks, the Bushes decided to choose a
verse that conveyed their Faith and Hope. They picked this verse from the Psalms: “I
believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” [An
interview with First Lady Laura Bush by Ellen Levin, Good Housekeeping (Jan.
2002), pp. 105, 130.] That is the promise of Christmas. Isaiah put it like
this: “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made
low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all
mankind will see God’s salvation.'” That is the hope that sustains us in
good times and bad. We shall see God’s salvation. Christ came because the world
needed saving(http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
5) “We’ll all be home for Christmas.” Senator
John McCain spent 5½ years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam in the 1960s. During
that time, he was frequently tortured or held in solitary confinement. He
reports that his lowest point came on Christmas Eve 1969. McCain was giving up
hope of ever getting out of Vietnam alive. To compound his homesickness, the
captors played the song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” over the PA system. Just
then, McCain heard tapping on his cell wall. This was the communication code
the POWs used to communicate with one another. On the other side of the wall
was Ernie Bruce, a Marine who had been imprisoned for four years already. In
spite of his dire situation, Bruce was tapping out, “We’ll all be home for
Christmas. God bless America.” These simple words of comfort restored John
McCain’s hope. [Senator John McCain, “The tapping on the Wall,” Ladies’
Home Journal (July 2002), pp. 107-111.] The message of Christmas is
always one of Hope. This world needs saving, but God began that process of
salvation two thousand years ago with the birth of a Baby in Bethlehem. There’s
something about Christmas that elevates us. Christmas is about hope of a better
world to come. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
6) Camel on the roof of royal palace: The king
of Balkh (northern Afghanistan) named Ebrahim ibn Adam was wealthy according to
every earthly measure. At the same time, however, he sincerely and restlessly
strove to be wealthy spiritually as well. One night the king was roused from
sleep by a fearful stumping on the roof above his bed. Alarmed, he shouted:
“Who’s there?” “A friend,” came the reply from the roof. “I’ve lost my camel.”
Perturbed by such stupidity, Ebrahim screamed: “You fool! Are you looking for a
camel on the roof?” “You fool!” the voice from the roof answered. “Are you
looking for God in silk clothing, and lying on a golden bed?” The story goes
on, according to Jesuit theologian Walter G. Burghardt, to tell how these
simple words filled the king with such terror that he arose from his sleep to
become a most remarkable saint. Every Christmas Jesus asks the same question to
each one of us: “Where are you looking for Me? In the majestically adorned and
illuminated cathedrals or in the stables of the poor and the needy?” Tonight’s
Scripture readings tell us where to look for Christ the Savior. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
7) “No Room in the Inn:” The Taj Mahal is one of
the most beautiful and costly tombs ever built, but there is something
fascinating about its beginnings. In 1629, when the favorite wife of Indian
ruler Shah Jahan died, he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built as a
memorial for her. The Shah placed his wife’s casket in the middle of a parcel
of land, and construction of the temple literally began around it. But several
years into the venture, the Shah’s grief gave way to a passion for the project.
One late evening while he was surveying the sight, he reportedly stumbled over
a wooden box in the dark , and he had some workers to remove it and put it in a
common storehouse. It was months before he realized that his wife’s casket that
had been carelessly kept in a common store along with useless articles. The
original purpose for the memorial became lost in the details of construction.
[Dr. James Dobson, Coming Home, Timeless Wisdom for Families (Tyndale
House: Wheaton, 1998), 122, & “Story of Christless Christmas,” taken from
Max Lucado, The Applause of Heaven, pp. 131-132.]
This seemingly unrealistic ancient legend is a painfully relevant
parable of the way some people celebrate Christmas today. Sometimes
we become so involved in the tasks and details of Christmas that we forget
the One we are honoring. Five little words in the Gospel of Luke say it
all: “No Room in the Inn.” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
8) The golden rice grains: There is a beautiful
poem by the mystic poet of India, Rabindra Nath Tagore, extolling the reward of
generous giving. It tells the story of a king who regularly visited
his people, passing through the streets in a chariot. One morning as the
king was passing by, a beggar woman who planned to ask him for alms, stood on
the roadside with her begging bowl. As the king approached
her, however, he descended from his chariot and stretched out his
hand as though he was expecting a gift from the woman.
Excited and surprised, the woman put her hand in the cotton bag on her
shoulder, took out a pinch of rice, and with trembling hands gave it to the
king. The king was well pleased; he smiled at her put her offering in his
pocket and gave her back a pinch of grains from his other pocket.
When the woman returned to her small hut that evening and
examined the grains, she had gotten that day, she was surprised to find a few
grains of gold in the rice. You can imagine both her
surprise and despair when she realized she should have given all her
rice grains to the king. We are here to offer our gifts to Child Jesus in the
manger as His birthday gift. Let us remember that Jesus does not want our
material gifts as much as He wants ourselves, with all our weakness and
temptations, our merits and demerits. Let our Christmas gift to him be a heart
full of love and a strong and sincere resolution to share it generously with
others. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
9) “I want somebody who has skin on.” Leonard
Griffith, the outstanding pastor in Toronto, tells the story of a mother who
was putting her little daughter to bed in the midst of a thunderstorm. She told
her daughter that she did not need to be frightened, that her mother and father
were close by in the living room. The girl replied to her mother, “Mommy, but
when it thunders this way, I want somebody who has skin on.” This simple,
homely story, in essence, is the essential truth of our text. The invisible
spirit of God did clothe himself in skin, flesh, and blood and came to dwell
among us with grace and truth. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
10) God’s Christmas Gift: Would you like to know
what is on record as the most expensive Christmas gift in the world? It is the
Phoenix 1000. This is a 213-foot personal luxury submarine. Maybe there is a
couple out there that lives on Lake Lanier and this is something you could buy
to impress all of your friends. This is the single largest private underwater
vehicle ever built that has a total interior area of 5000 square feet. It can
make transatlantic crossings at 16 knots. A small automobile can be kept in the
aft section of this submarine; it even has a mini sub complete with its own
docking area that can take your guests down to 2000 feet. Wrap it up and bring
it home for only $78 million dollars! — The Phoenix 1000 may be the most
expensive Christmas gift in history, but it is not the most valuable Christmas
gift, nor even is it the costliest. The Christmas gift that I want to talk
about tonight is God’s Christmas Gift. It is His Son Jesus as our Savior.
Though it is the most valuable and most costly gift ever given – get this – it
is absolutely free. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
11) A Christmas Carol, by Charles
Dickens, is all about Ebenezer Scrooge, the mean banker who hoards all his
money, and goes around saying, “Bah! Humbug!” On Christmas Eve, he is visited
by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. Then
he wakes up on Christmas morning, and finds out he’s been given a second
chance. He buys the biggest goose for Bob Crachett and Tiny Tim, is reconciled
with his family, serves everyone, and loves everyone for the rest of his life.
What makes this such a great story is that Scrooge wakes up on Christmas and
decides to spend his life consciously loving and serving others, to live every
day as if it were Christmas, loving and serving Christ in everyone. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
12) “I Wish I could Be a Brother Like That:” Paul
received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas
Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the
shiny new car, admiring it. “Is this your car, Mister?” he asked. Paul nodded.
“My brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was astounded. “You mean your
brother gave it to you, and it didn’t cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…” He
hesitated. Of course, Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to
wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way
down to his heels. “I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like
that.” Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added,
“Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?” “Oh yes, I’d love that.”
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, “Mister,
would you mind driving in front of my house?” Paul smiled a little. He thought
he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride
home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those
two steps are?” the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul
heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little
crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up
against him and pointed to the car. “There she is, Buddy, just like I told you
upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a
cent. And someday I’m gonna give you one just like it…then you can see for
yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying
to tell you about.” Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his
car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them
began a memorable holiday ride. That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus
meant when he had said: “It is more blessed to give…” [Dan Clark. From Chicken
Soup for the Soul (1992), pp. 25-26.] (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
13) Erik’s Jesus in rags: A Christmas story: [“Erik’s
Old Man,” by Nancy Dahlberg. From Chicken Soup for the Christian
Soul (1997), pp. 307-309.] It was Sunday, Christmas Day.
After the holidays in San Francisco we were driving back home to Los
Angeles. We stopped for lunch in King City. The restaurant was
nearly empty. We were the only family and ours were the only children. I
heard Erik, my one-year-old, squeal with glee. “Hithere,” the two words
he always thought were one. “Hithere,” and he pounded his fat baby hands-
whack, whack, whack – on the metal highchair. His face was alive with
excitement, his eyes were wide, gums bared in a toothless grin. He
wriggled and giggled. Then I saw the source of his merriment: an old, dirty
smelly bum in rags. He spoke to Erik: “Hi there, baby. Hi
there, big boy, I see ya, Buster.” My husband and I exchanged a look that
was a cross between “What do we do?” and “Poor devil.”
Our meal came, and the banging and the noise
continued. Now the old bum was shouting across the room and Erik
continued to laugh and answer, “Hithere.” Every call was echoed.
Nobody thought it was cute. The guy was a drunk and a disturbance.
I was embarrassed. My husband, Dennis, was humiliated. Dennis went
to pay the check, imploring me to get Erik and meet him in the parking
lot. “Lord, just let me get out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,”
and I bolted for the door. It soon was obvious that both the Lord and
Erik had other plans. As I drew closer to the man on my way out, Erik, with his
eyes riveted on his new friend, leaned over my arm, reaching up
with his in a baby’s “pick-me-up position.” In the split-second of
balancing my baby, I came eye-to-eye with the old man. Erik was lunging for
him, arms spread wide. The bum implored me: “Would you let me
hold your baby?” There was no need for me to answer since Erik propelled
himself from my arms into those of the bum. Suddenly a very old man and a
very young baby consummated their love relationship.
Erik laid his tiny head upon the man’s ragged shoulder.
The man’s eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath the lashes.
His aged hands, rough and worn from hard labor, gently
cradled and stroked my baby. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked
and cradled Erik in his arms for a moment. Then he opened his eyes,
looked into mine, and said in a firm voice: “You take care of this
baby.” And somehow, I managed to say, “I will.” At last the bum handed
Erik to me. As I held my arms open to receive my baby, the old man
said, “God bless you, Ma’am. You’ve given me my Christmas gift.” I said
nothing more than a muttered “thanks.” With Erik in my arms, I ran for the
car. Dennis wondered why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly.
And why I was saying, “My God, forgive me. Forgive me” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
14) Will you take Christ home with you this
Christmas? When a little boy named Davis
came to Christmas morning Mass with his parents, he was surprised to
find that baby Jesus was not in the Nativity Set. His parents
immediately went into the sacristy and asked the pastor who had removed the
Baby Jesus. The pastor rushed to the crib only to realize that some
miscreants had stolen the Baby from the manger after the Midnight Mass.
Later, during the morning Mass, the pastor informed the congregation of
the theft and told them that he couldn’t understand the motive behind such a
callous act. Then, he asked them to see that the Baby Jesus was returned.
The manger, however, remained empty.
Later that afternoon, depressed and sad, the pastor was
walking through the wintry streets when he saw his neighbor, little Tommy.
Shabbily dressed against the cold, Tommy was proudly walking with a new, bright
red wagon. The pastor knew how much his parents must have scrimped
and saved to buy him the wagon. With a surge of Christmas spirit, the
pastor wished Tommy a Merry Christmas and congratulated him on his beautiful
Christmas gift. It was then that he noticed that Tommy’s new red wagon
wasn’t empty. The Baby Jesus stolen from the church lay on a
pillow in the wagon. The pastor was disappointed. He told Tommy that
stealing was wrong, and that the entire parish had been hurt by his
action. Wiping from his cheeks the flowing penitential tears, Tommy said,
“But, Father, I didn’t steal Jesus! It wasn’t like that at all. I’ve been
asking Jesus for a red wagon for Christmas for a long time, and, you see, I
promised Him when I got it, He’d be the first one I took out for a ride. I kept
my promise and now I am on my way to the church to bring Baby Jesus home!”
Each Christmas invites us to take Jesus to our home, because the
only inn where He cares to find shelter is the inn of our
hearts. If, like the pastor in our story, we have misjudged others,
we can take Jesus home with us by asking their forgiveness. If
someone has hurt us, we can forgive him or her. Let’s make this
a Christmas of reconciliation, love, peace and joy. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
15) O. Henry’s story of sacrificial Christmas sharing:
“Gift of the Magi”: A brief retelling of this old, but touching
story is as follows: It was Christmas Eve, during the days of
the Depression of the 1930’s. Della and James, a newly married couple, were
very poor. They loved each other dearly, but money was hard come by.
In fact, as Christmas approached, they were unhappy because they had
no money to buy presents for each other. They had two possessions that
they valued deeply: James had a gold watch which had belonged to his
father, and Della had long and beautiful brown hair. Della knew that
James’ watch had no matching chain–only a worn-out leather strap. A matching
chain would be an ideal gift for her husband, but she lacked the money to buy
it.
As she stood before the mirror, her eyes fell on her
long tresses. She was very proud of her beautiful hair, but she knew
what she had to do. She faltered a moment, but nothing could stand in the way
of love. She hastened to the “hair-dealers,” sold her hair for twenty dollars,
and went around shop after shop, hunting for the ideal gift. At
last she found it: a matching chain for her husband’s watch. She was
very happy and proud of the gift. She knew he would love it, the fruit of her
sacrifice.
James came in, beaming with love, proud of the gift he
had bought for Della. He knew she would be very happy with the gift.
But when he saw her, his face fell. She thought he was angry at what she had
done. She tried to console him by saying that her hair would grow fast, and
soon it would be as beautiful as before. That is when he gave her his gift. It
was an expensive set of combs, with gem-studded rims. She had
always wanted them for her hair! She was very happy, but with a tinge of sadness.
She knew it would be some time before she could use the precious gift.
Then, with tears in her eyes, she presented him with the
gift she had bought. As he looked at the beautiful chain, he said with a sigh:
“I guess our gifts will have to wait for some time. The combs were very
expensive; I had to sell my watch to buy the combs!” These were the
perfect gifts: gifts of sacrificial love. Both James and Della were very
happy for, like the Magi, they had discovered LOVE through
self-sacrifice. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
16) Two babies in the manger? In 1994, two
Christian missionaries answered an invitation from the Russian Department of
Education to teach morals and ethics in a large orphanage. About 100 boys and
girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run
program were in the orphanage. It was nearing Christmas and the missionaries
decided to tell them the story of Christmas. It would be the first time these
children heard the story of the birth of Christ. They told the children about
Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple
went to a stable, where the Baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.
Throughout the story, the children and the orphanage staff sat in amazement as
they listened. When the story was finished, the missionaries gave the children
three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a
small paper square, cut from yellow napkins that the missionaries had brought
with them since no colored paper was available. Following instructions, the
children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw.
Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown discarded by a tourist,
were used for the baby’s blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt which
the missionaries had also brought with them. It was all going smoothly until
one of the missionaries sat down at a table to help a 6-year-old boy named
Misha. He had finished his manger. When the missionary looked at the little
boy’s manger, she was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger.
Quickly, she called for the translator to ask Misha why there were two babies
in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed
manger scene, Misha began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young
boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the
happenings accurately until he came to the part where Mary put the Baby
Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending. He
said, “And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked
me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so
I don’t have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me that I could stay with Him.
But I told him I couldn’t, because I didn’t have a gift to give Him like the
shepherds and the magi did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I
thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if
I kept Him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, “If I keep You
warm, will that be a good enough gift?” And Jesus told me, “If you keep Me
warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave Me.” “So I got into the
manger and then Jesus looked at me and He told me I could stay with Him – for
always.”
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of
tears that
splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head
dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.
The little orphan had found Someone Who would never abandon nor
abuse him, someone who would stay with him – FOR ALWAYS. Today we celebrate the
great feast of Jesus the Emmanuel – “God with Us. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
17) A Christmas Parable written by
Louis Cassels: Once upon a time there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a
lot of humbug. He wasn’t a Scrooge. He was a kind and decent person, generous
to his family, upright in all his dealings with other men. But he didn’t
believe all that stuff about Incarnation which Churches proclaim at Christmas.
And he was too honest to pretend that he did. “I am truly sorry to distress
you,” he told his wife, who was a faithful churchgoer. “But I simply cannot
understand this claim that God becomes man. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
On Christmas Eve his wife and children went to Church for the midnight service.
He declined to accompany them. “I’d feel like a hypocrite,” he explained. “I’d rather
stay at home. But I’ll wait up for you.”
Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began
to fall. He went to the window and watched the flurries getting heavier and
heavier. “If we must have Christmas,” he thought, “it’s nice to have a white
one.” He went back to his chair by the fireside and began to read his
newspaper. A few minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. It was
quickly followed by another, then another. He thought that someone must be
throwing snowballs at his living room window. When he went to the front door to
investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the storm. They had
been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly
through his window. “I can’t let these poor creatures lie there and freeze,” he
thought. “But how can I help them?” Then he remembered the barn where the
children’s pony was stabled. It would provide a warm shelter.
He put on his coat and galoshes and tramped through the
deepening snow to the barn. He opened the door wide and turned on a light. But
the birds didn’t come in. “Food will lure them in,” he thought. So, he hurried
back to the house for breadcrumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a
trail into the barn. To his dismay, the birds ignored the breadcrumbs and
continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shooing them into the
barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction –
except into the warm lighted barn. “They find me a strange and terrifying creature,”
he said to himself, “and I can’t seem to think of any way to let them know they
can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I
could lead them to safety. . . .” Just at that moment the church bells began to
ring. He stood silent for a while, listening to the bells pealing the glad
tidings of Christmas. Then he sank to his knees in the snow. “Now I do
understand,” he whispered. “Now I see why You had to do it.” (Quoted by Fr.
Tommy Lane) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
18) Did you see the queen? Remember that nursery rhyme?
“Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?”
“I’ve been to London to look at the queen.”
“Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there?”
“I frightened a little mouse, under her chair.”
The pussy cat went to see the queen, but it saw only a
mouse. We have come to Christmas to see Jesus coming to our lives as our Lord
and personal Savior. But do we see only the lights, the statues in the manger
scene and the poinsettias around the altar? We have come to experience the
Light of the world shine on us. But do we see only the darkness of our lives
and that of the world? God has communicated His love for us and His desire to
be with us through the Babe in the manger. Do we get the Message? (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
19) Christmas Reconciliation. A young woman
drove a rented car slowly up a snow-covered mountain road on a cold Christmas
Eve. She was going to see her father, whom she had not seen in twelve years.
She had been sixteen when her father and mother divorced after his affair with
a woman at work. Neither she nor her mother had ever been able to forgive him.
The affair had not lasted, and her father had soon given up
his corporate job in an eastern city and moved to Colorado — “to rest my weary
soul in the solitude of the mountains” was what he had written in the first
letter he sent after he left home. He had taken a job with the National Park
Service for the summer and hoped he might find something at a ski resort in the
winter. That was all she knew about his life for all of those years. Letters
had come regularly from the same address in a town called Ward, and she had
carefully saved each one, unopened, in a cookie tin on the back shelf of the
large walk-in closet in the bedroom of her townhouse. She had done well for
herself, ironically, in the same company that had once employed her father.
The last line of that one letter she had read flashed into
her mind, as it had so many times before, as she saw the road sign for Ward
with an arrow pointing to the right. “I hope you will be able to forgive me
some day, Gracie. I love you.”
Could she forgive him? Was that why she had come? Even after
the long flight and the equally long drive from the airport on unfamiliar
mountain roads, she still didn’t know.
Grace and her mother had always spent Christmases together,
vacationing in Florida or the Caribbean. It was a way of distracting themselves
from what they had lost. Now that her mother was remarried, there was no place
to go. They had invited her for Christmas, her mother and Ted, but she hadn’t
wanted to intrude on their first holiday together. So, here she was on the road
to Ward.
Grace could see the lights of the little town shimmering
below her, shiny and yellow against the snow, like the gold that had once been
mined from the mountain. She turned off the main highway and shifted into low
gear. The road down to the village was steep and narrow and snow-covered. Sand
had been spread on the curves, but she still had to go slowly. She wondered in
which of the thirty or forty houses and old miner’s shacks she would find her
father. She pulled up in front of the general store. The porch light was on and
the door was open. A young woman about her own age, dressed in bib overalls
with braided hair hanging down to her waist, was crocheting behind the counter
near a small wood-burning stove. Candy bars, cigarettes, and several brands of
cough medicine lined the shelves behind her. The woman smiled at Grace and
said, “Good evening. What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for my father,” Grace said. The plaintive tone
of her own voice surprised her. She told the woman her father’s name and
immediately saw a knowing look of recognition. “Old Jim. He comes in here all
the time. You must be Grace. He told me about you.” It seemed strange to hear
her father called old. Grace remembered him as middle-aged. Of course, he would
be older now, in his late sixties. It pleased Grace to know he had spoken of
her.
“Almost everybody is up at the Church,” the woman said. “I
saw your dad go up about a half-hour ago. A retired preacher comes up from
Nederbet every Christmas Eve. It’s about the only time they have services here.
You can leave your car out in front. It’s easier to walk from here.” Grace
slowly made her way over the footbridge spanning the ice-covered stream that
wound through the center of the town. She could see the small clapboard Church
about 200 yards up the mountain. On top of the steeple there were green, blue,
and red Christmas lights flashing in the form of a star. They appeared to be
attached to the cross. Her hands trembled as she opened the door of the Church.
Would her father be glad to see her after all these years? Would he recognize
her?
She spotted him, sitting by himself in one of the back pews.
“Old Jim.” The woman at the store was right. His hair was thin and completely
gray. He was much heavier now. He looked tired, and, the thought pained her,
very much alone. The congregation stood up to sing “Hark, the Herald Angels
Sing.” The words of the familiar carol rang in her ears as she slipped into the
pew beside her father. “Glory to the newborn King, Peace on earth and mercy
mild, God and sinners reconciled.” She squeezed her father’s hand and a smile
came over his face in the same instant he turned to see her. “Grace,” he said,
“I’m so glad to see you.”
“Daddy,” was all she was able to say. When the pastor gave the
invitation to come forward for receiving Jesus in the Christmas Holy Communion,
Grace and her father walked up the aisle hand in hand. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
20) “God has revealed Himself in his Son.” Theologian
Karl Barth stood before students and faculty at Princeton in 1963 during his
Princeton Lectures. A student asked: “Sir, don’t you think that God has
revealed himself in other religions and not only Christianity?” Barth stunned
many who were present when he thundered, “No, God has not revealed himself in
any religion, including Christianity. He has revealed himself in his
Son.” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
21) Christmas trees are a big business (as you can
imagine) in this country. Thirty-six million Christmas trees are
produced in this country every year and more than one million acres of land
have been planted in Christmas trees. Over 100,000 people work full time in the
Christmas tree industry. More than 1 million acres of land in this country are
dedicated just to planting Christmas trees. Roughly 21% of United States
households will have a real tree in their home this year versus 48% that will
have a fake tree. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
22) Shuttle service to Heaven: The brilliant
writer, C. S. Lewis, wrote a thought-provoking book called The Great
Divorce. It is not about the divorce that occurs between husband and wife.
It is about the divorce that occurs between our souls and God. In this book, C.
S. Lewis gives us a picture of Hell as a big city, with all its pressures and
problems. In this big city, the weather is always cold and wet with a heavy
rain. The light is always grey and murky. The people in this city of Hell
become more and more aware of the great divorce that has taken place between
their soul and God, and they sink deeper and deeper into their dismal
surroundings. Except … there is a way out! There is a way out of this terrible
condition! God has provided a shuttle-bus service from Hell to Heaven: regular
bus service. All you need to do is get on the bus and let the power of God
carry you into the light. The incredible thing about the story is that very few
people get on board the buses, even though they are arriving and departing all
the time. The people find all kinds of excuses for putting the journey off to
some vague future time — and they miss the opportunity to be carried by the
power of God from death to new life; from the misery of being estranged from
God to the joy of being in union with God. Though we may stand in the darkness
of the “great divorce,” the Christmas Promise of God is that He will carry us
into the light if only we are willing to get on the bus. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
23) Jesus sells: One never tires of Jesus as a
subject. The cover stories of Time, Newsweek, and US
News & World Report regularly mark His nativity. One reason for
featuring Him so often is that their circulation invariably increases. Born
twenty centuries ago, Jesus still sells. Mel Gibson broke all records with his
DVD version of The Passion of the Christ. He sold nine million
copies in three weeks at $22 a clip. The first book published by Pope Benedict
XVI is called Jesus of Nazareth. It quickly found a home on the
Best Seller list of The New York Times. Artists at their
easels struggle to paint His portrait again. Have you seen Andy Warhol’s
Nativity? Composers struggle to salute Him with a fresh musical score. Will it
ever be otherwise? I believe not. Tell others of Jesus. But first, allow Him to
be born in you. He can’t be born again, but we can. (Fr. James Gilhooley). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
24) “But I did show up”: A story is told of an old
woman who lived all alone. Each year as Christmas drew near, she would sigh and
lament her loneliness, wishing that some people would visit her. Since nobody
would visit her, she decided to pray to the Baby Jesus and His mother
requesting that they pay her a visit. Finally, the baby Jesus appeared to her
in a dream and told her that her prayer had been heard and that the Holy Family
would visit her on Christmas Day. Oh, how excited she was! She began cleaning
and polishing everything in her house squeaky clean in preparation for the
Divine visitor. She cooked her best dish and baked her best cake in readiness
for the visit of Jesus and his mother. Who knows, maybe if she pleased them
well enough, they might decide to stay on and live with her!
When Christmas Day finally arrived, her house was squeaky
clean. Everything was in place to give her sacred guests a befitting welcome.
She sat by the door and read a book, just to make sure the visitors would not
have to ring the doorbell twice before she would open the door and let them in.
It was a cold and rainy day. At about noon she spotted a gypsy couple in the
rain making their way to her house. The man was dirty and disheveled. The
thinly clad woman was nursing a baby who was crying in the rain. “Why can’t
these gypsies just get a decent job,” she said to herself. Then she screamed at
them, “Turn back, turn back immediately. Come another day if you like. Today, I
am expecting very important visitors.” The gypsy family turned back and left.
The woman continued to wait. She waited all day and no divine visitors showed
up. At sunset she fell asleep on the chair, and there in her dream was Jesus.
“Jesus,” she screamed, “how could you disappoint me? You said You were coming
to visit me for Christmas, and I waited all day, and You never showed up.” “But
I did show up,” replied Jesus. “I came with My father and mother in the rain,
and you turned us away.” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
25) “You’re a good man.” In Alan Paton’s
beautiful novel, Cry the Beloved Country, there is a young man who
was born late in his parents’ lives. He left his home in the hill country and
went down to the city. He never wrote or sent back news. Finally, his elderly
father decided to go to the city to find his boy. Because he hadn’t spent much
time in the city, the father had a hard time of it there. He was bewildered and
confused, and he didn’t know where to begin. Then he was befriended by a city
minister who heard his story and resolved to help him. The old man moved in
with the minister who went out of his way, spending time trying to help the
father pick up clues, to get on the trail of his son. And when they seemed to
be making progress, the old man, with tears in his eyes, was trying to thank
the minister for all he has done. He couldn’t quite find the words and said
simply, “You’re a good man.” The minister replied, “I’m not a good man. I am a
sinful and a selfish man. But Jesus Christ has laid His hands on me, that’s
all.” A good man is hard to find. But God sent one — one good Man — to show us
the answer to the supreme riddle of life. One good Man who will never fail us.
For, as St. Paul has written, “Love never fails” (I Cor. 13:8).
(Voicings.com). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
26) Your God Is Too Small. JB Phillips
authored a book entitled Your God Is Too Small. One of the great
reasons for Advent is to celebrate the birth of Jesus and explore the BIGNESS
of our GREAT God. The irony of Christmas is this: the bigness of God can be
seen in a tiny Baby. According to Paul in Colossians 1:15-23 this tiny Baby is
the dynamic, omniscient, omnipotent Creator of the universe! (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
27) He jumped into the hole: A student asked a Christian
professor how Confucius and Buddha would differ from Christ. He responded with
a parable. A woman fell into a deep hole. Try as she might, she could not climb
out. Confucius looked in. He told her, “Poor woman, if you had paid attention
to me, you would not have fallen in there in the first place.” Then he
disappeared. Buddha approached. He too spotted the woman. He said to himself,
“If she can just manage to get out of that hole, I can give her genuine aid.”
He continued his journey. Along came Jesus. He spotted the woman. He was moved
with pity. He jumped into the hole immediately to assist her out. This story
illustrates the Incarnation. We gather here to celebrate the concern of God for
each of us. His willingness to parachute into enemy-occupied territory in human
form for our sakes is illustrated by the birth of His Son today. (CS
Lewis). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
28) Ancient Christmas reading from the Roman Martyrology:
Pope Gregory XIII in 1584 brought together the Roman Martyrology. “The
customary reading for Christmas from the Roman Martyrology, often proclaimed
prior to the celebration of Christmas Mass at Midnight: In the year 5199 since
the creation of the world, when God made Heaven and earth; in the year 2759
since the flood; in the year 2015 since Abraham’s birth; in the year 1510 since
the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt under the guidance of Moses; in
the year 1032 since David was anointed king, in the 65th week of years according
to Daniel’s prophecy; in the 194th Olympiad, in the year 732 after the building
of Rome; in the 42nd year of the reign of Octavian Augustus, when there was
peace in the whole world; in the 6th era of the world’s history; Jesus Christ,
eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desired to sanctify the world by His
gracious coming. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and now
after nine months (all kneel) He is born at Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah as
Man from the Virgin Mary. THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IN THE FLESH. (Fr.
Cusick). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
29) The face of God: I heard the story once of a
great Cherokee wood carver. He took a log and sat it on a stump outside his
back door and sat in front of that log sometimes for hours just staring at it.
Finally, he would pick up his carving tools and start carving the most
beautiful of things out of the wood. He was known for his intricate details in
feathers of eagles, or the look of sadness in the eyes of the faces he carved.
A tourist once asked him how he decided what to carve, and the young man said
that he looked for the picture that is already in the wood, then just took the
excess wood away, leaving the beautiful finished image. He said people would
continually ask him how he came up with the ideas as to what he was going to
carve. — People are curious about everything. For hundreds of centuries, people
wanted to know what God looked like, too. Many thought He might have the face
of a demanding judge or strict disciplinarian. It seems we always put the face
on God that we fear the most. On a Christmas Eve, some 2,000 years ago, God
took off His mask and showed the world what He looked like. He let us see Him
how He really looks. We have all heard what we call “the Christmas Story”, and
we all feel very comfortable with Jesus in a manger, don’t we? (Rev. Diane
Ball). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
30) But a young Jewish woman cradled the biggest news of
all: Take the year 1809. The international scene was tumultuous.
Napoleon was sweeping through Austria; blood was flowing freely. Nobody then
cared about babies. But the world was overlooking some terribly significant
births. For example, William Gladstone was born that year. He was destined to
become one of England’s finest statesman. That same year, Alfred Tennyson was
born to an obscure minister and his wife. The child would one day affect the
literary world in a marked manner. On the American continent, Oliver Wendell
Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And not far away in Boston, Edgar
Allan Poe began his eventful, albeit tragic, life. It was also in that same
year that a physician named Darwin and his wife named their child Charles
Robert. And that same year produced the cries of a newborn infant in a rugged
log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. The baby’s name? Abraham Lincoln. If
there had been news broadcasts at that time, I’m certain these words would have
been heard: “The destiny of the world is being shaped on an Austrian
battlefield today.” But history was actually being shaped in the cradles of
England and America. Similarly, everyone thought taxation was the big news–when
Jesus was born. But a young Jewish woman cradled the biggest news of all: the
birth of the Savior. Adapted from Charles Swindoll (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
31) You left your palace and your glory to visit me: Long
ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted
to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often, he
dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar and went to the homes of
the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he
visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor
man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited
the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, “I am your king!” The
king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn’t.
Instead he said, “You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark,
dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart!
To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!” The
King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself to you and me. The Bible
calls Him, “the unspeakable gift!” Source Unknown. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
32) Christ is born anew within. On the wall of
the museum of the concentration camp at Dachau is a large and moving photograph
of a mother and her little girl standing in line leading to a gas chamber. The
child, who is walking in front of her mother, does not know where she is going.
The mother, who walks behind, does know, but is helpless to stop the tragedy.
In her helplessness she performs the only act of love left to her. She places
her hands over the child’s eyes so she will at least not see the horror to
come. –When people come into the museum they do not whisk by this photo
hurriedly. They pause. They almost feel the pain. And deep inside I think that
they are all saying: “O God, don’t let that be all that there is.” God’s hears
those prayers and it is in just such situations of hopelessness and
helplessness that His almighty power is born. It is there that God leaves his
treasure, in Mary and in all of us, as Christ is born anew within. Sermon
Illustrations, 1999. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
33) Jesus pitched his tent among us: The
custom of placing lighted candles in the windows at Christmas was brought
to America by the Irish. When religion was suppressed throughout Ireland during
the English persecution, the people had no Churches. Priests hid in the forests
and caves and secretly visited the farms and homes to say Mass there during the
night. It was the dearest wish of every Irish family that at least once in
their lifetime a priest would arrive at Christmas to celebrate Mass. For this
grace they hoped and prayed all through the year. When Christmas came, they
left their doors unlocked and placed burning candles in the windows so that any
priest who happened to be in the vicinity could be welcomed and guided to their
home through the dark night. Silently the priest would enter through the
unlatched door and be received by the devout inhabitants with fervent prayers
of gratitude and tears of happiness that their home was to become a church for
Christmas. To justify this practice in the eyes of the English soldiers, the
Irish people explained that they burned the candles and kept the doors unlocked
so that Mary and Joseph, looking for a place to stay, would find their way to
their home and be welcomed with open hearts. The candles in the windows have
always remained a cherished practice of the Irish, although many of them have
long since forgotten the earlier meaning.
(William Barker in Tarbell’s Teacher’s Guide; quoted by Fr. Botelho) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
34) A Legend from Russia: “A Legend from Russia”
is a poem by Phyllis McGinley about Christmas. The poem begins as the old
grandmother, Babushka, is about to retire for the evening: “When out of the
winter’s rush and roar, /came shepherds knocking upon her door. /They tell her
of a royal child a virgin just bore/ and beg the grandmother to come and
adore.” Babushka is good-hearted, but she likes her comfort, and so her
reaction is to go later: “Tomorrow,” she mutters. “Wait until then.”/ But the
shepherds come back and knock again. /This time they beg only a blanket “with
comforting gifts, meat or bread,”/ and we will carry it in your stead.”/ Again
Babushka answers, “Tomorrow.” And when tomorrow comes, she’s as good as her
word. She packs a basket of food and gifts: “A shawl for the lady, soft as
June, /For the Child in the crib a silver spoon,” Rattles and toys and an ivory
game. / but the stable was empty when she came.” Anonymous (Quoted by Fr.
Botelho (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
35) Every one of us is going to have a Baby this
Christmas! During a pastoral call, a three-year-old boy climbed in the
lap of a pastor and whispered confidentially, “I know a secret!” The pastor
asked, “Will you tell me your secret?” “Yes,” the little fellow giggled
delightedly, “but you mustn’t tell my mamma.” When the pastor promised not to
tell, the boy continued, “My mamma’s going to the hospital to have a baby. But
don’t tell her. Me and Daddy want her to be surprised!” Would you be surprised
if someone told you that you were going to have a baby? Women over 50 would
say, “Who do you think you are kidding?” When an angel came to the Virgin Mary,
it was a surprise when he told her that she was to have a baby. The fact is
that regardless of sex or age, every one of us is going to have a Baby this
Christmas! (Fr. Tony Kadavil) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
36) Christmas gift of the first ride for Baby Jesus: Once,
the people of a very poor parish set their hearts on acquiring an expensive set
of figures for their Christmas crib. They worked hard and managed to get a set
of rare porcelain for their crib. The Church was left open on Christmas day so
that the people could visit the crib. In the evening when the parish priest
went to lock up, to his consternation he found the baby Jesus was missing. As
he stood there, he spotted a little girl with a pram entering the Church. She
made straight for the crib, took the baby Jesus out of the pram and put him
lovingly in the crib. As she was on her way out the priest stopped her and
asked her what she was doing with the Baby Jesus. She told him that
before Christmas she had prayed to baby Jesus for a pram. She had promised Him
that if she got the prom, he would have the first ride in it. She had got her
pram so she was keeping her side of the bargain. -Christmas evokes generosity
in all people, especially in children. What is our gift to him? (Flor McCarthy
in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
37) Christmas in the Vietnam jail: In 1967, during
the Vietnam War, John McCain was captured by Vietnamese Communist forces and
spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war. He survived beatings,
malnutrition, and torture, and was eventually released. McCain went on to great
success in life and became a U.S. Senator in 1986. In an interview with
television host Larry King, Sen. McCain told about his experiences in the
Vietnamese prison camps. One year, the American prisoners wanted to celebrate
Christmas. McCain secured a Bible and found another prisoner who could sing
some Christmas hymns. The prisoners gathered together to hear Scripture
passages about the birth of Jesus and to sing a few hymns together. As John
McCain looked around, he saw tears of joy and tenderness in the men’s eyes. In
the midst of this hellhole of a prison camp, these men still found hope in the
story of Jesus. [Larry King with Rabbi Irwin Katsof, Powerful Prayers (Los
Angeles: Renaissance Books, 1998), pp. 213-214.] And why shouldn’t they
find Hope in Christmas? They were celebrating the birth of One Who knew what is
was like to be a prisoner–Who knew what it was to be beaten–Who knew what it was
to die for others. People of every generation of every imaginable condition
have found a soul-mate in the (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
38) The heart and soul of Christmas: Each
Christmas season, Charles Krieg, a pastor in New Jersey, takes his mother into
New York City to look at all the decorations and to visit Santa at Macy’s
Department Store. The windows of the department store were unforgettable one
year. The first window had a scroll which read, “The Smell of Christmas is in
the Kitchen.” The scene was an old-fashioned kitchen with a black stove and
food cooking on it; it was so life-like you could almost smell the food. The
second window was titled, “The Taste of Christmas is in the Dining Room.” There
was a long table laden with food. The third window showed a beautiful tree
decorated with ornaments and lights, little toys and popcorn strings. The
scroll read, “The Color of Christmas is in the Tree.” The fourth window scroll
said, “The Sound of Christmas is in the Carols.” This scene was a group of
animated figures singing Christmas carols. Then came the store’s main entrance.
If you ignored the entrance and kept on going, you would have seen one more
window. The scroll in this window proclaimed: “But the Heart and Soul of
Christmas is Here!” In this window was a stable with shepherds, wise men,
Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus lying in a manger. ((Source unknown). Here is
not only the heart and soul of Christmas. Here is the heart and soul of the
universe. God knows what it is to walk where we walk. God offers us new life in
Him by Faith in Jesus Christ. It is the most remarkable story ever told: The
Great Physician who took all humanity’s infirmities upon himself, that by his
stripes, we might be healed. (Fr. Tony Kadavil) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
39) A metronome at Christmas rush aerodrome security
check-in: Tom Ervin, Professor of Music at the University of Arizona was
attending a conference for music teachers in New York. While at the conference
he purchased a talking metronome. A metronome is a device for counting the
beats in a song. Before Tom and his son boarded their flight home, Tom hefted
his carry-on bag onto the security-check conveyor belt. The security guard’s
eyes widened as he watched the monitor. He asked Tom what he had in the bag.
Then the guard slowly pulled out of the bag this strange looking device, a
six-by-three-inch black box covered with dials and switches. Other travelers,
sensing trouble, vacated the area. “It’s a metronome,” Tom replied weakly, as
his son cringed in embarrassment. “It’s a talking metronome,” he insisted.
“Look, I’ll show you.” He took the box and flipped a switch, realizing
that he had no idea how it worked. “One . . . two . . . three . . . four,” said
the metronome in perfect time. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As
they gathered their belongings, Tom’s son whispered, “Aren’t you glad it didn’t
go ‘four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . ‘?” (Timothy Anger)
For the past few weeks we have been counting down the days until Christmas. Now
we could count the hours until the dawning of a New Year. But we need to linger
with Mary and Joseph for a little while longer, because what happened
immediately after Christmas is a stark reminder of the world in which we
live. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
40) “Would you hold my baby for me, please?” Years
ago a young man was riding a bus from Chicago to Miami. He had a stop-over in
Atlanta. While he was sitting at the lunch counter, a woman came out of the
ladies’ rest room carrying a tiny baby. She walked up to this man and asked,
“Would you hold my baby for me, I left my purse in the rest room.” He did. But
as the woman neared the front door of the bus station, she darted out into the
crowded street and was immediately lost in the crowd. This guy couldn’t believe
his eyes. He rushed to the door to call the woman, but couldn’t see her
anywhere. Now what should he do? Put the baby down and run? When calmness
finally settled in, he went to the Traveler’s Aid booth and together with the
local police, they soon found the real mother. You see, the woman who’d left
him holding the baby wasn’t the baby’s real mother. She’d taken the child.
Maybe it was to satisfy some motherly urge to hold a child or something else.
No one really knows. But we do know that this man, breathed a sigh of relief
when the real mother was found. After all, what was he going to do with a baby?
In a way, each of us, is in the same sort of situation as this young man. Every
Christmas God Himself walks up to us and asks, “Would you hold My Baby for Me,
please?” And then thrusts the Christ Child into our arms. (1) And we’re left
with the question, “What are we going to do with this Baby?” But an even deeper
question is, just “Who is this Baby?” If we look at Scripture, we find all
kinds of titles and names for this baby we hold in our arms. Emmanuel, “God
with us;” Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,
Christ the King, Jesus. (King Duncan). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
41) Where Does God Fit In? I just read a story
about a schoolteacher in England who supervised her students’ construction of a
manger scene in a corner of her classroom. The students were excited and
enthusiastic as they set up the little barn and covered the floor with real
straw and then arranged all the figures of Mary and Joseph and the shepherds
and the Wise Men and all the animals. The students had all the characters
facing the little crib in which the tiny Infant Jesus lay. One little boy
just couldn’t get enough. He was absolutely enthralled. He kept returning to
it, and each time stood there completely engrossed but wearing a puzzled
expression on his face. The teacher noticed him and asked, “Is anything wrong?
Do you have a question? What would you like to know?” With his eyes still glued
to the tiny manger scene, the boy said slowly, “What I’d like to know is, it’s
so small, how does God fit in?” (Rev. King Duncan). God fits in because, no
matter how hard we try, no matter how hard we work, no matter what our
intentions in life are, somehow, we just get it wrong. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
42) Early American Christmas
Celebrations : Back in the early 1700s, when the United States
were the Colonies, the settlers in Williamsburg, capital of Colonial Virginia,
celebrated Christmas with customs they had brought from England. They had no
Santa Claus (a Dutch tradition), no Christmas trees (a German tradition), no
Nativity crèche (an Italian tradition), and no chimney stockings (an American
tradition). Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg was primarily a holy day,
but the atmosphere was not solemn. Churches and homes were decorated with
greens, while candles burned in all the windows to welcome carolers.
There was a public celebration, too. Musicians played special concerts,
and fireworks were set off and cannon were shot to heighten the general
merriment. Feasting was in order with dishes of roasted fowl and hare, marrow
pudding, ham, oysters, sausage, shellfish, often capped by whole roast boar on
a platter. Some gifts were given then as part of the Christmas celebration, but
not nearly on the present-day scale(http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
43) “How could I possibly leave them? I was a
part of them.”: In Tom Brokaw’s book The Greatest Generation, a
story is told of Mary Wilson, presently of Dallas, Texas. You would never know
by looking at this modest woman that she was the recipient of the Silver Star
and she bore the nickname “The Angel of Anzio.” You will recall that when the
Allies got bogged down in the boot of Italy during World War II, they attempted
a daring breakout by launching an amphibious landing on the Anzio Beach.
Unfortunately, the Allies got pinned down at the landing site and came
dangerously close to being driven back into the ocean. It looked like another
Dunkirk was in the making. Mary Wilson was the head of the fifty-one army
nurses who went ashore at Anzio. Things got so bad that bullets zipped through
her tent as she assisted the surgeon in surgery. When the situation continued
to deteriorate, arrangements were made to get all of the nurses out. But Mary
Wilson would have none of it. She refused to leave at the gravest hour. As she
related her story years later, she said: “How could I possibly leave them. I
was a part of them.” Our God is a good God. He does not desert us in our hour
of need. He hears the cries of Israel. He hears the cries of the Church. He
hears the cries of His children. Christmas is about God’s eternal
identification with the human dilemma. (Staff, www.Sermons.com). (Fr. Tony Kadavil(http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
44) The Harvest of Love by Helen Keller: Helen
Keller once wrote: “Christmas is the harvest time of love. Souls are drawn to
other souls. All that we have read and thought and hoped comes to fruition at
this happy time. Our spirits are astir. We feel within us a strong desire to
serve. A strange, subtle force, a new kindness animates man and child. A new
spirit is growing in us. No longer are we content to relieve pain, to sweeten
sorrow, to give the crust of charity. We dare to give friendship, service, the
equal loaf of bread and love.” May His peace, His power and His purpose dwell
in our hearts. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
45) How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Although
I’ve never read the tale or seen the film, reliable sources tell me that
Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas is about a jealous
critter, posing as Santa Claus, who steals all the gifts set aside for
children. A little girl spies the theft; the rest the children, undaunted by
their loss, celebrate Christmas anyway. There are all sorts of Grinches who
steal Christmas. Just think of the moves to call it “Xmas” or of Christmas
stamps without the Madonna and Child. Less overtly, we are treated to phrases
like “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings.” In a way, that’s robbery. After
all, the only reason we are celebrating is a Baby whose birth changed the
course of history. Even some theologians seem to steal Christmas away with
pronouncements that such a miracle could never have happened. If the Roman
emperor insisted on having his birthday celebrated, the little people decided
that they would celebrate the birth of Jesus. If the cultural powers worshiped
the sun god at the year’s end, Christians would exalt the Son of God. The high
and mighty eventually caught on. By the year 500, the church made Christmas a
special feast. Three decades later, the Roman Empire followed suit.
Commemorating the birth of Jesus spread throughout Europe. By the sixteenth
century, however, with its political, national, and ecclesiastical wars,
Christmas was disappearing from many places. The Puritans condemned and
abolished Christmas as something pagan and idolatrous. They even tried to make
observing it a sin. In 1642 services were banned. No decorations were allowed.
Two years later Christmas was declared a time of fast and penance. In 1647 the
British Parliament, that corporate Grinch, totally banned Christmas. Although
Christmas was outlawed in New England until 1850, and people were forced to
work that day while their children were ordered to school, subversive practices
from olden times persisted. Like the young girl and all her friends in the
story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the little ones—the little
people—somehow celebrate Christmas anyway. Perhaps that’s how Christmas
celebrations actually got started in the early fourth century. (John Kavanaugh,
SJ). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
46) The Inner Galaxy: The story is told of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt entertaining guests at the White House. After a late
dinner he invited his guests outside to walk beneath the brilliant nighttime
sky. After a silent, reverent stroll Roosevelt said, “I guess we’ve been humbled
enough now. Let’s go inside.” And that’s what Christmas Eve is all about —
about stargazing toward the Infinite to be humble in our finiteness. So in
response to the angel chorus and the angel announcement, the simple, rustic,
stargazing shepherds said, “Let us go even now into Bethlehem to see this thing
that has happened….” And they went inside the stable and beheld in the manger
the inner galaxy — the interior meaning of the universe. And what did they
experience? (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
47) Our Greatest Need: If our greatest
need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest
need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest
need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need
had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; but our greatest need
was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
48) Next Time It Will Be Different
The First Time Jesus Came
He came veiled in the form of a child.
A star marked His arrival.
Wise men brought Him gifts.
There was no room for Him.
Only a few attended His arrival.
The Next Time Jesus Comes
He will be recognized by all.
Heaven will be lit by His glory.
He will bring rewards for His own.
The world won’t be able to contain His glory.
Every eye shall see Him.
He will come as Sovereign King and Lord of all.
– John F. MacArthur Jr. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
49) St. Augustine’s Reflections: In this poem written some
fifteen centuries ago, Augustine, the great theologian, tried to capture the
mystery of the Incarnation:
Maker of the sun,
He is made under the sun.
In the Father he remains,
From his mother he goes forth.
Creator of heaven and earth,
He was born on earth under heaven.
Unspeakably wise,
He is wisely speechless.
Filling the world,
He lies in a manger.
Ruler of the stars,
He nurses at his mother’s bosom.
He is both great in the nature of God,
And small in the form of a servant. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
50) Some Christmas Reminders
* May the Christmas GIFTS remind us of God’s greatest gift,
His only Son.
* May the Christmas CANDLES remind us of Him who is the “Light of the world.”
* May the Christmas TREES remind us of another tree upon which he died.
* May the Christmas CHEER remind us of Him who said, “Be of good cheer.”
* May the Christmas FEAST remind us of Him who is “the Bread of Life.”
* May the Christmas BELLS remind us of the glorious proclamation of His birth.
* May the Christmas CAROLS remind us of the son the angels sang, “Glory to God
in the Highest!”
* May the Christmas SEASON remind us in every way of Jesus Christ our
King! (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
51) The Christmas Problem: Once upon a Christmas Eve,
a man sat in reflective silence before the fireplace, pondering the
meaning of Christmas. “There is no point to a God who becomes man,” he
mused. “Why would an all-powerful God want to share even one of His
precious moments with the likes of man? And even if He did, why would He
choose to be born in an animal stall? No way! The whole thing is absurd!
I’m sure that if God really wanted to come down to earth, He
would have chosen some other way.” Suddenly, the man was roused from
his reverie by a strange sound outside. He went to the window and
saw a small gaggle of blue geese frantically honking and
aimlessly flopping about in the snow. They seemed dazed and
confused. Apparently they had dropped out in exhaustion from the
flight formations of a larger flock on its way from the Arctic Islands
to the warmer climes of the Gulf of Mexico. Moved to compassion,
the man tried to “shoo” the poor geese into his warm garage, but
the more he “shooed” the more they panicked. “If they only
realized I’m only trying to do what’s best for them,” he thought
to himself. “How can I make them understand my concern for
their well-being?” Then, this thought came to him: “If for just
a minute, I could become one of them, an ordinary goose,
and communicate with them in their own language, they would know
what I am trying to do.” And suddenly … suddenly, he
remembered Christmas and a smile came over his face. Suddenly, the Christmas story
no longer seemed absurd. Suddenly, he pictured that ordinary-looking
infant, lying in the manger, in that stable in Bethlehem, and he knew the
answer to his Christmas problem: God had become one of us to tell us that
He loves us. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
52) Some Gifts to Give: Some gifts you can give this
Christmas are beyond monetary value: Mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion,
tell someone, “I love you.” Give something away–anonymously. Forgive
someone who has treated you wrong. Turn away wrath with a soft answer.
Visit someone in a nursing home. Apologize if you were wrong. Be
especially kind to someone with whom you work. Give as God gave to you in
Christ, without obligation, or announcement, or reservation, or hypocrisy.
– Charles Swindoll, Growing Strong, pp. 400-1. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
53) The Ten Commandments for Christmas: The following item
appeared in a church newsletter and contains some good advice that will
help us keep selfishness in check this Christmas:
I. Thou shalt not leave “Christ” out of
Christmas, making it “Xmas.” To some, “X” is unknown.
II. Thou shalt prepare thy soul for Christmas.
Spend not so much on gifts that thy soul is forgotten.
III. Thou shalt not let Santa Claus replace Christ,
thus robbing the day of its spiritual reality.
IV. Thou shalt not burden the shop girl, the mailman,
and the merchant with complaints and demands.
V. Thou shalt give thyself with thy gift. This
will increase its value a hundred-fold, and he who receives it
shall treasure it forever.
VI. Thou shalt not value gifts received by their
cost. Even the least expensive may signify love, and that is more
priceless than silver and gold.
VII. Thou shalt not neglect the needy. Share thy
blessings with many who will go hungry and cold unless thou are generous.
VIII. Thou shalt not neglect thy church. Its services
highlight the true meaning of the season.
IX. Thou shalt be as a little child. Not until thou
have become in spirit as a little one art thou ready to enter into
the kingdom of Heaven.
X. Thou shalt give thy heart to Christ. Let Him be
at the top of thy Christmas list. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
54) One Solitary Life” He was born in an obscure
village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another
village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. Then for
three years he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held
an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn’t go to college. He
never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of these
things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but
himself. He was only 33 when public opinion turned against him. His friends
ran away. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery
of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. When he was
dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had
on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the
pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the
central figure of the human race, the leader of mankind’s progress. All
the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the
parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together,
have not affected the life of man on earth as much as that One Solitary
Life. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/). L/20
More Illustrations from Last Year:
Theme: Expected and unexpected gifts
Let us pray.
Most holy, Lord God, we gather this night to celebrate the birth of your son: may the Prince of Peace be the best gift we can ever receive, through him who came to save the world, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
It was a cold December afternoon. Rain mixed with snow splashed against the windshield. Overhead dark clouds hovered seemingly just above the treetops. All day long two men, a pastor named Jerry and a layman named Jim, had been delivering Christmas boxes. Many of the families who would receive these boxes would get nothing else for Christmas that year. The pickup truck had been loaded when the two men started out on their journey but now, only one box remained. It was covered with an old piece of tarp to protect it against the rain.
The address on the card meant a drive of several miles beyond the city limit. “What do you think?” Jim asked. He was the driver and it was his truck. Pastor Jerry knew what Jim was thinking. Why drive way out in the country when they could give this last box to someone close by and be home in thirty minutes? It was a tempting thought. Pastor Jerry had a Christmas Eve Communion Service scheduled for 8 p.m. and he could use the time to prepare.
Jim, however, answered his own question, “Well, let’s give it a try. If we can’t find the place, we can always come back and give the box to someone else.”
The rain was pouring down by the time they reached the address on the card. The old white framed house stood on a hillside overlooking the valley. It had once been an elegant place, the centerpiece of a large farm. Now, the farm was gone and the house had deteriorated over the years.
The two men slipped and slid, huffed and puffed as they carried the box up the hill. The red clay offered no foothold and the box, wet from the rain, was beginning to come apart. They climbed the high steps to the porch, set the box down and slid it across the floor. They straightened up just in time to glimpse the face of a small boy at the window. He had been watching them coming up the hill. Now, he announced their arrival with shouts of excitement, “They’re here, Grandma, they’re here!”
The door opened and an older woman greeted them. Her gray hair was pulled back in a bun at the back of her neck. She had on a dark, plain dress with a white apron. She was drying her hands with a dishtowel and explained to them that she had been doing the supper dishes. “I told you, they would come,” a child’s voice said from behind her. A little boy with black hair and bright dark eyes rushed to the box and began pulling at the goodies inside.
The woman told them that she and her grandson were all that was left of her family. The father and mother had divorced and gone their separate ways. The little boy had been left behind for Grandma to raise. She said, “Oh, I am so glad you are here. He was up early this morning looking for you. He sat by that window all day. I wasn’t sure you would come and I tried to prepare him in case of a disappointment. But he just said, ‘Don’t worry, Grandma, I know they will come.’”
That young boy didn’t know it, but, in a sense, he was speaking for all Christianity. A thankful people, more than one billion of us around the world pause for a few moments this night and pray, “We knew he would come.”
The prophet Isaiah, speaking on behalf of God, had promised it hundreds of years before, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And he has come, just as promised.
God Is Interested in Our Life
The New Age
Every year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, there is displayed, beneath the great Christmas tree, a beautiful eighteenth century Neapolitan nativity scene. In many ways it is a very familiar scene. The usual characters are all there: shepherds roused from sleep by the voices of angels; the exotic wise men from the East seeking, as Auden once put it, "how to be human now"; Joseph; Mary; the babe -- all are there, each figure an artistic marvel of wood, clay, and paint. There is, however, something surprising about this scene, something unexpected here, easily missed by the casual observer. What is strange here is that the stable, and the shepherds, and the cradle are set, not in the expected small town of Bethlehem, but among the ruins of mighty Roman columns. The fragile manger is surrounded by broken and decaying columns. The artists knew the meaning of this event: The gospel, the birth of God's new age, was also the death of the old world.
I think the Grinch said it best:
And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags!"
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."
"Maybe Christmas. . . perhaps. . means a little bit more!"
Humor: Hanging Lights for Christmas
6. "You've got the whole thing on the tree upside-down. The electric plug thing should be down here at the bottom, not up at the top."
3. "Have you been drinking?"
The Inner Galaxy
After explaining childbirth the biology teacher asked her 4th graders to write an essay on "childbirth" in their families. Susan went home and asked her mother how she was born. Her mother, who was busy at the time, said, “A big white swan brought you darling, and left you on our doorstep.” Continuing her research she asked grandma how her parents got her. Being in the middle of something, her grandma similarly deflected the question by saying, “A fairy brought me and my mother found me in our garden in an open box”. Then the girl went and asked her great-grandmother how her parents got her as a baby. “My mother picked me from a box found in the gooseberry bush”, said the surprised great-grandma. With this information the girl wrote her essay. When the teacher asked her later to read it in front of the class, she stood up and began, "I really wonder why there was not even a single natural birth in our family for four generations..." (Rev. Fairchild). Today the words of Isaiah tell us of another non-normal birth. It’s a non-normal birth never before seen or experienced because it is the birth of God as man – Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, as our Savior.
