“Nativity”, by Giotto. ca. 1311-1320.
Every year, on this day, churches are full, sometimes overflowing, with so many people. Why? Because our hearts are filled with joy! Children understand this very well. Ask any child about Christmas and they almost leap for joy and excitement, and wait for it with great anticipation. Given the freedom, I think many would give gifts to anyone they could. And this spirit of innocence and joy is contagious. Parents delight in watching the joy, excitement, and awe that their children feel when they open their gifts and play with their toys.
But, as you know, it’s not about the gifts. We don’t rejoice because of the gifts. Rather, the gifts symbolise our joy. We rejoice because of the Gift, the gift that God has given of Himself in His Son, and the love that He’s shown us through Him.
In the darkness of our lives, of sin and suffering, God has come down to us to bring us light and consolation, to bring us hope and salvation. God has come to us to bring us forgiveness and life. This is our joy! This is the cause for our hope! God hasn’t forsaken His people but has lowered Himself to become one of them to lead them from captivity into freedom, from death into life. God loves us too much to leave us in our sin and darkness; He Himself has come to get us. This is His great act of mercy! In the birth of Jesus, the doors of mercy have been opened! This is why we rejoice.
And what joy this Gift brings! We’re no longer under the shadow of evil, but in the light of love, God’s love. And this is what brings us together to celebrate and rejoice in this gift. Now there is hope for the sinner; now there is life for those who are dead in spirit; now there is faith for those who suffer. This is God’s great gift of Himself to us.
This is what we symbolise by giving gifts and lighting lights. We need no longer fear the darkness of sin and death; God has come to set us free. God has revealed Himself to us; He’s shown us His face, and it’s a face of love and mercy; a face that heals and that forgives; a face that brings us light and joy. And not just for a day, or even a season, but for eternity!
By entering into time, by become a man, God has forever changed us; nothing has ever been the same. By taking up flesh, God has married Himself to humanity in a Marriage that can never be undone. And He does this not with power and intimidation, but with gentleness and humility, with weakness and vulnerability. The Almighty has become a little child, weak and poor, completely dependant on His mother and father. He’ll experience fear, temptation, suffering, pain, and even death. And all of this for us! All of this because of His love for us, and for our salvation.
This love, this mercy, that God has shown us in becoming man, this is the light that He brings into our darkness. It’s no accident that Jesus was born in the middle of winter, in the darkest time of the year. When all of creation lies in the death of winter, God has come to bring life.
Jesus gives us this life by the gift of Himself: a gift that began in a manger and found its fulfilment on the Cross; a gift that He continues to share with us today through the Sacraments — most especially in Confession and the Eucharist. And He continues to give us this gift of Himself so that He might be born in us; so that in us, He may once again be made visible. When we receive Jesus in the Sacraments, our hearts are changed, our souls are healed, and His light once again shines in us so that God’s love and mercy may be made visible through us.
Celebrating Christmas, then, isn’t just about an event that took place two thousand years ago that changed the course of history. It’s about celebrating an event that’s still taking place; an event that’s still transforming humanity and all of creation; an event that continues to scatter our darkness so that we might live in the light of God’s love.
And so, as we gather today to rejoice in the gift of the birth of the Child Jesus, may we open wide our hearts to receive this Gift of gifts, this gift of love and mercy, allowing Jesus to shine within the depths of our being so that we might be transformed into a new people, a people who live in the Light of God, a people who live according to the love of God, a people who live as a light for the world, helping others to encounter the love and mercy that God has brought into our lives.
May we always seek — especially in this Jubilee Year of Mercy — to be children of the light in the midst of a dark world that so desperately needs to hear and experience the love and the mercy of God. Through Mary and her intercession, may God be with us; may Jesus be birthed in us, so that our lost and suffering world might come to know the joy and hope of His love and mercy. Amen.
In Domino Spera! 