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(25th December) Homily for Christmas, the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord

READ: (Isa 9:2-4, 6-7; Tit 2:11-14; Lk 2: 1-14)

REFLECT: Christmas – the Baby Jesus Christ is the Mass Hero of Life

Dear friends, today we celebrate Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ our Saviour. The Christmas celebration marks the descent of Jesus, the Son of God in human form to save us from sin and death. We call it as well the word made flesh and dwelt among us for our redemption. It is purely the love of God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit upon us. So incarnation is an embodiment of love arising from the Trinitarian God. Christmas elicits in us the mood of celebration and jubilation. Apart from various gifts and colorful decorations for Christmas, the most important gift we receive is Jesus and therefore we need to decorate our hearts and minds with the dispositions that are apt and appropriate to welcome Jesus amidst us.

We all of us experience a deeper sense of joy at the birth of a child into the world, in our families or outside. Just imagine the depth of joy and happiness that we need to have or should have in the birthday of a savior, the messiah, the Son of God. I am sure the joy and happiness would be doubled and multiplied, incomparable and insurmountable. The savior is born for a reason and the reason is to love us, be one like us, win over hearts, take us close and make us one with God. We all of us are aware of the title in the cineworld as “Mass Hero.” “Mass Hero” is a popular term, which implies an actor who has the versatility to sing, dance, romance, fight, laugh, cry and make the audience laugh and cry, apart from great acting skills. And because of this “mass” appeal, they are idolized by group of fans and loved by the media. Mass hero is the one who inspires and affects persons positively to love him and to become like him. Mass Hero is everything for the fan following. Such is the connection and affection.

We have given such an importance to the Mass hero in today’s world. Its because they inspire us or attract us. Today we need to remind us, if we could give such an importance to an actor, who is just a human being, imagine the importance that we need to give Jesus, the Son of God, who has come for each one of us to secure life in God. I don’t make a comparison of Jesus and a mass hero of the cinefield, but I only remind all of us that Jesus is the real Hero of our lives and make Jesus as the Mass Hero of life for fullness of joy on earth. 

So I personally feel Christmas is a call to make Christ as the Mass Hero of our hearts and minds, where we completely get connected with baby Jesus, affect and capture our attention on Jesus to live a life of joy, peace and grace that emerges from Jesus our Emmanuel. For when Christ becomes the centre of our focus, the centre of our lives and the centre of all that we do and say, we will be able to celebrate Christmas happily and joyfully. So how we can make Jesus as the Mass Hero of hearts and minds is what we shall reflect in and through the liturgy of the day.

1. Christmas - A time of peace:

In Jn 14:27 we hear Jesus saying, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” The coming of Jesus is to give us peace and serenity, although during Jesus’ time for kings or those in power or unjust people felt the birth of Jesus as threat. But peace was the prime purpose of Jesus’ coming on earth.

We all know that peace is the essence of life to live in happiness and harmony with one another in the family, society and the world. But today the peace is lost personally and collectively because the world is in fragments of various misleading and misguiding elements, the misconception of life about a purposeful living. The purpose of life is to experience peace within and make others to experience peace in the other. The loss of peace is because of our substituted values with the core values of life, the creeping tendency of disunity, discouragement, jealousy, pride, anger and hatred. So in this hour of disgusting experience, to celebrate Christmas meaningfully becomes a challenge.

Very aptly the First reading from prophet Isaiah we hear the news of solace and peace that for unto us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end. Yes, Jesus is born and is come to the world to establish peace in a fragmented world of different sorts. Jesus is the real peace for anyone of us if we want to experience peace within. So we are called make Jesus the centre of our hearts to experience peace within and to share the peace of Christ to the other.

It is not for name sake that we merely organize rallies to establish peace or give a prepared speech to establish peace or merely satisfied by singing a song about peace but we need to sort out practical and genuine steps to establish peace in our world today. The very simple and good gesture need to elicit in others a moment of peace. That’s exactly St.  Mother Teresa of Calcutta has said very beautifully, “Peace begins with a smile.” Yes, smile is contagious but it should be without contamination and pretention. More than words, the deeds with a genuine smile we can bring peace to one another in the world. So let this Christmas be a simple and genuine gesture and expression of establishing peace with a smile and bring cheers on the faces of everyone on we meet.

2. Christmas - A time of Grace:

In 2Cor 12:9 we hear St. Paul saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” Yes, the grace of God is sufficient in us and all the more the grace is abound in us as we celebrate Christmas, the incarnation of  Jesus, the birth of our savior. We all know that Grace is the divine favor of God for our fervor. Grace is a free gift that God gives to each individual to experience His bounty and goodness. Today we all of us are in a running race, running after things which are temporary and tempting. We run so fast, at times it becomes so difficult to control or stop running after things that does not give us real happiness.

What can take control of our human living is the grace of God.  Grace of God grips us from all that cripples or grapples us. But we have lost the grace and our lives ended up in experience disgrace today. It is because we have not realized the sufficient grace in us and have not made use of the grace of God in us for good works. Very aptly the Second reading from Titus we hear in the opening sentence, Beloved, the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. The reason for the grace of God that appeared in and through Jesus Christ is followed by numerous ways of renunciations like ungodliness, worldly passions to live self-controlled, upright, godly lives, zealous for good works.

Yes, Jesus is the real grace that has appeared long ago to manifest the world the love of God. Every year, when we celebrate Christmas, we remember the grace of God, celebrate it, forget soon and wait for the next year to come to celebrate Christmas to experience the grace from above. The second reading very clearly emphasizes that what makes impossible for us to experience the grace of God is our ungodliness and worldly passions. Today our ungodliness and worldly passions are our indifferences to God’s love, indifference to humanity in their need, lack of love and reverence for one another and lack of purpose and focus for which God has created. We experience a kind of cold war within us when we lack the grace of God in us. So the Christmas event invites each one of us experience the grace of God from Baby Jesus, walk by the grace of God, live in the grace of God and be gracious to one another in attitude and approach.

That’s what Pope Francis has rightly said, “Grace is not part of consciousness; it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason.” Yes, grace is that which gives light to our souls. I am sure if we allow baby Jesus to grip us by his grace, we will have light and warmth in our souls to enlighten others and to lighten the burden of others in and through God’s grace.

3. Christmas - A time of joy:

In Jn 10: 10, Jesus reminds us of the purpose of his coming on earth saying, “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have life, life in fullness.” The coming of Jesus is to give us life in abundance or fullness. The fullness of life we would experience when we are with Jesus, for Jesus is the real joy, who can cheer us and keep us always joyful. We all know that joy is a feeling of great happiness. It is an emotion evoked or expressed for well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires. But there are many things that give us joy and lead us to joyful experience. But we need to discern what it means to obtain the right ways of being joyful and making others joyful.  

The real joy is obtained when we have Jesus in us. When we do not have Jesus in us, there will be no real joy. The joy without Jesus will be empty although we might feel we are full, short-sighted although we might feel that we have reached far ahead, temporary although we might feel that we have a long-lasting happiness. But without Jesus in us, there will always be a feeling of void and vacuum in us. The Gospel reading gives us joyous news that the world could ever have in time to come hereafter. The good news and the joyous news is the birth of Jesus the Saviour to save humankind from sin and disgrace, to give us joy and happiness. The angels declare, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”

Yes, the good news of joy is that Christ, the anointed one is born to save us all from everything that blocks or hinders us move towards God. The joyous news is that the presence of God, Emmanuel will always be with us and make us joyful. Very, importantly, the joyous news is that the news about Christ’s birth was at first made-known to the shepherds, who were of little significance, who were considered poor, the ordinary and simple. The joyous news is of great significance for each one of us because most of the time, we focus on the rich and wealthy, great and grand ways, magnificent and magnanimity to experience joy or to express joy. But we are called to experience and express joy in the simple and the ordinary places, times, people and events of life.

Pope Francis has very clearly said, “Today, all is turned upside down: God comes into the world in littleness. His grandeur appears in littleness. This is the challenge of Christmas: God reveals himself, but men and women fail to understand. God lowers himself and we try to become great. Jesus is born in order to serve, and we spend a lifetime pursuing success. God does not seek power and might; he asks for tender love and interior littleness.” Yes, let us experience joy in the littleness of things, events, places and persons and see in them Jesus present. Let us not divide the world with titles as rich and poor, powerful and the powerless, capable and incapable but consider that everyone is a child of God. I am sure that this sort of approach and attitude will bring real joy in us and in others.

Moreover, as Pope Francis says, “Joy cannot be held at heel: it must be let go. Joy is a pilgrim virtue. It is a gift that walks, walks on the path of life that walks with Jesus: preaching, proclaiming Jesus, proclaiming joy, lengthens and widens that path.” Today the real joy is not experienced because pretence has become the daily practice, hatred has become the habit of life, anger has become the anchor of life, pride has become permanency of life and relationship with God and others have become just a relative feel and deal. All these hindering elements can be eliminated, provided we have Jesus the real Joy in us. So let us walk with Jesus the source and summit of real joy in life. May this Christmas help us to experience real joy in one another through Baby Jesus, the Mass Hero of our lives.

RESPOND:

Are we ready to Make Christ, the baby Jesus as Mass Hero of our lives and centre of our existence?

Do we have real peace, grace and joy of Baby Jesus in life or have we replaced or misplaced with worldly affairs and worldly passions?

Let us make Baby Jesus as the centre of our lives and Make Christ as the Mass Hero of our being and becoming. Let us celebrate a meaningful Christmas with Jesus who is real peace, grace and joy and share the peace, grace and joy of Christ to one another in our world. Amen.

“The church seeks to impress upon us that the Messiah’s arrival is like Manna in the desert, in its presentation and in its salvific value.” (St.  Francis De Sales’ Sermon on 24th December 1613)

May Baby Jesus bless us all. Happy Christmas! Live Jesus!