"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us"
John 1:14
One Christmas Eve, a man sat in a reflective mood before the fireplace thinking about the meaning of Christmas. “There is no point to a God who became man”, he thought to himself. “Why would an all-powerful God want to share even one of His precious moments with the likes of us? And then even if He did, why would He choose to be born in a stable for animals? No way”, he thought, “the whole idea 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 geese frantically honking and aimlessly flopping about in the snow on his front lawn. They seemed to be dazed and confused. Apparently, they had dropped in exhaustion from their flight formation with a larger flock on its way from the Arctic to the warmer temperatures of the Gulf of Mexico. Moved to compassion the man tried to “shoo” the tired geese into his warm garage, but the more he tried to do that the more they panicked. “If they only realized I’m only trying to do what is 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 I could become an ordinary goose and communicate with them in their own language, they would know what I am trying to do.” Then, he remembered Christmas and a smile came over his face. Suddenly, the Christmas story no longer seemed absurd to him. Suddenly, he pictured that ordinary-looking Baby lying in the manger in that stable in Bethlehem, and he had the answer to his Christmas problem: God really had to become one of us, He had to become human, so that He could tell us in terms we all could understand that He truly loves us. The message of Christmas is clearly that God loves each one of us.
Nine year old Wally was in second grade when most children his age were fourth-graders. He was a big boy for his years, a bit clumsy and a slow learner. But Wally was a hopeful, willing, smiling lad, a natural defender of the underdog, and well-liked by his classmates at school. His parents encouraged him to audition for the annual Christmas pageant. Wally wanted to be a shepherd, but instead, he was given the role of the innkeeper. The director of the play reasoned that Wally's size would lend extra force to the innkeeper's refusal of lodging to Joseph. During rehearsals, Wally was instructed to be firm with Joseph. When the play opened, no one was more caught up in the action than Wally, and when Joseph knocked on the door of the inn, Wally was ready. He flung the door open and asked menacingly, "What do you want?" "We seek lodging," Joseph replied. "Seek it elsewhere," Wally said in a firm voice, "There's no room in the inn." "Please, good innkeeper," Joseph pleaded, "this is my wife, Mary. She is with child and is very tired. She needs a place to rest." There was a long pause as Wally looked down at Mary. The prompter whispered Wally's next line which was: "No! Be gone!", but Wally remained silent. Then the forlorn couple turned and began to slowly move away. Seeing this, Wally's brow creased with concern. Tears welled up in his eyes and he suddenly called out, "Don't go! You can have my room."
"You can have my room"- That is what Jesus wants to hear from each of us this Christmas: "You can have my room, You can have my heart." Jesus was born on this earth for our salvation, and He invites each one of us to share in His divine life, and to live in union Him, with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit as well. Tonight, as Jesus invites us to share in His divinity, He wants us to give Him our humanity. He wants us to open our hearts to Him and say: "Yes Lord, I give my life to You now to do with as you want."
Again and again in the Gospel narratives Jesus assures us that He loves us and that He wants to satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts for what is good. God wants us to experience the joy of His Presence in our lives now, and the joy of walking through life with Him as we journey to our eternal home in heaven. God sent His Divine Son, Jesus, to be born on this earth as a human being, to live and to die on the Cross of Calvary as a human being, and thereby to ransom us from sin. Jesus is our Saviour, He alone is our hope for salvation, and the Good News Jesus proclaims to all tonight is that God loves each one of us far more than we deserve, and far more than we can possibly imagine. That is the clear and simple message of Christmas - God loves us and He will always love us no matter what.
Several years ago in a Central European town, the older people in town could be seen making the sign-of-the-cross as they walked by a certain place in a rather ordinary-looking stone wall. When a visitor asked why they did that, no one could tell him. The visitor's curiosity led him to begin chipping away at the layers of whitewash and dirt covering the wall until, at last underneath it all, he discovered a beautiful painting depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus in her arms. Apparently, generations before, the townspeople used to make the sign of the cross as they passed by this mural, but over time the painting faded, and succeeding generations had forgotten all about it. Still some people continued to go through the motions as they crossed themselves when they passed by that particular place.
Tonight we might ask ourselves if we aren't in danger of just going through the motions when we celebrate Christmas without giving real thought to what we are doing?. For instance, when we see a beautifully decorated Christmas tree in our home or like the one behind our altar here at Church, or when we admire the many houses and trees so brightly decorated with coloured lights, do we give any thought to Jesus? After all, He is the One Who came to bring His light and His life to the world. He is the One Who came to show us how we should live as sons and daughters of our loving God. We can easily be delighted by the beautiful Christmas carols and hymns we hear. We all look forward to having a wonderful Christmas dinner, with all the trimmings, and we look forward to exhanging gifts with those we love, but does any of that activity cause us to think about why we are celebrating, does it call to mind for us the love God has for each one of us, prompting Him to give us His Son? As we enjoy many good and beautiful Christmas traditions, do we reflect on the reason for the season? Do we recall that Christmas is about the birth of the Son of God on this earth for us, and remind us that Jesus should be the main focus of our Christmas celebrations, for it is His birthday after all?
Tonight, we do celebrate Jesus' birth, and we do thank God for the gift of His Son to us. Here in this sacred space we are able to put aside for short time all the hustle and bustle of the world outside, and just focus on the One born that first "Silent Night". We are able to think about about His Presence with us in the world today, and we thank Jesus for sharing His life with us, for loving us as much as He does. No, tonight, we are not "just going through the motions"; we are here to sincerely worship God with and through the Person of Jesus, our Lord and our Saviour.
The first Christmas night marked the beginning of Jesus' life on this earth, but it also points us to Easter and to Jesus triumphant victory over death. Jesus died, but He also rose again from the dead, and in His human nature He also ascended into heaven. Jesus shares His victory with us and assures us that, with His help, we will triumph over sin and death and share eternal life with Him. Clearly God' message to us tonight is that He loves us. He says in effect: "Look at my Son, a baby lying in a manger. Don't you see how much I really love you?"
There is a famous painting showing Jesus standing and knocking at the door of a house. The odd thing is that this particular door has no handle on the outside, it can only be opened from the inside. The biblical text on which this paiting is based can be found in the third chapter of the Book of Revelation. It says: "Listen. I am standing at the door knocking. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me." (Rev. 3:19-20) My prayer this Christmas is that each one of us will hear the Lord and welcome Him into our hearts. May He reign there as we wait "in joyful hope" for His final coming in glory. May Almighty God richly bless you, your families and all your loved ones this Christmas day and throughout the New Year.