There are many
beautiful Christmas traditions in the Church and in each family, too many to
enumerate. Some of the traditions are authentic, going back to the first
Christmas. These are the traditions that we learn about in scripture, such as
the baby Jesus being born in a stable in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, and
the angels singing Glory to God to the shepherds who go to worship the child.
Other traditions are beautiful and carry a certain romance, but emanate from
popular cultures rather than historical accuracy. For example we sing about the
Little Drummer Boy, but that was written in 1958. The concept of blending
Christmas and snow, or a white Christmas, and the burning of the Yule log, come
from the celebrations of Christmas in the Northern European countries, and, of
course, Bing Crosby, who for most of the people here was an ancient singer.
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas was first performed by Bing Crosby in 1942.
Many of your
families have special Christmas traditions, unique to your family, such as
which Christmas Mass you attend, or when the children lead everyone in singing
Silent Night, etc. There are so many Christmas traditions and so many beautiful
Christmas carols and hymns, that it is a shame the Christmas season is so
brief. We don’t have the time to enjoy them all.
But we do have
plenty of time, all year in fact, to enjoy the whole purpose of the Christmas
celebration. Jesus is the reason for the
season, many of you sport on your car bumpers, or on pins. That is
wonderful because it reminds people of why we have Christmas in the first
place. It also reminds us that we keep Christmas alive all year by celebrating
the Presence of the Lord in our lives.
About a month
and a half ago, I was stuck by a concept very close to Jesus is the reason for
the season. Simply speaking, we are also the reason for the season. We are the
reason why the Eternal Word of God, the Second Person of the Trinity was sent
by the Father to take on flesh through the Virgin Mary. God saw how mankind
stumbled in the darkness of a pagan world with its glorification of
materialism. He sees how we are still tempted to walk aimlessly in life. Jesus
came and continues to come in each of our lives to give us light, and meaning,
and purpose and goodness, and beauty and truth. He is the Light from Light, as the Prologue to the Gospel of John calls him[1].
The baby that was born that blessed night was the greatest of all gifts. For God so loved the world that He gave His
only Son so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have
eternal life[2].
Jesus gave himself totally to us. We are the reason He suffered and died. He
gave us a reason to live. We are the reason that He came to earth. We are the
reason that He suffered and died.
Many times I
have said, and I have heard others say, "I need to make room for God in my
life, or "I need to fit God into my life." This is good, excellent in
fact, but we should remember that Jesus was not born on Christmas and did not
die on Good Friday so we can fit Him into our lives. We are more important than
that to our Creator, Savior and Inspirer, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He came
not so we can fit Him into our lives, but so we could fit into His Life. There
is a huge difference! God wants to fill the world with the wonders of His Presence.
He does this through people who are united to Him. We have received the Life of
Christ at our Baptism. We are called to make this life a reality in the world.
We live to serve the Lord.
Kent M. Keith
wrote what you could call guidelines in dealing with the reaction that people
may have to our determination to serve the Lord. Blessed Mother Teresa of
Calcutta loved these. She revised them a bit, added a final phrase, and posted
them in the hospices and other institutions of the Missionaries of Charity. Her
instructions to her sisters applies to us all. She addressed the fact that many
people are very negative with those who are trying to make the Presence of
Christ a reality in the world. Perhaps there are some here who have experienced
this in the reaction of family, friends, and neighbors or people in general.
You have made the life of Christ your life and people challenge you and even
confront you on your choice. The Guidelines as Blessed Mother Teresa revised
them are:
People
are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If
you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind
anyway.
If
you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine
enemies. Succeed anyway.
If
you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere
anyway.
What
you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If
you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The
good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give
the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final
analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. In
the final analysis, all that matters is our union with God.
Jesus is the reason for the season, true. But we
are also the reason for the season. He comes to each of us Christmas day and
every day of our lives to unite us to His Life. Whether we are busy parents
with little children, or young people looking forward to a life filled with the
love of marriage or the love of a religious or priestly vocation, or a
dedicated Catholic single looking to spend as much time as is available to
serve God, whether we are older people whose children have moved on with their
lives, or senior citizens who are living each day we have left to serve God the
best we can, our lives are ultimately about our life with God. Nothing else
matters. Only God, only His Life, only His Love matters.
We are united to
God through Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Eternal Word of
God, the One on the cross who ransomed our lives from the power of hatred
through the power of a love that is sacrificial and all-embracing. We are
united to the One who was born on Christmas Day so that we may be reborn on
Easter Sunday.
May He make of us and eternal offering to you, we pray in the
Third Eucharistic Prayer. This is the reason why He came. We are the reason why
He came. Jesus is the Christmas Gift of the Father to us. We are the gift of
Jesus Christ to His Father.
I pray that you
and your families have a Holy Christmas. And may we all keep Christmas alive
through our union with our Loving God. Merry
Christmas!
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