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Homilies - Bishop Brendan Leahy

Christmas Day 2022

Christmas Day 2022

 

When Christianity first began to spread the big news was that Jesus died for us and is risen from the dead. This is still the central good news of Christianity. Gradually, however, over the years Christians began also to recognise that the Christmas story of how Jesus was born also tells us so much. The Gospel for Christmas Day from John’s Gospel gives us the basic statement: the Word, God, became flesh. He became “humanised” as Pope Benedict put it. He took on a human face. He became part of history. This tells us several important messages.

 

First, God who is Light came down from heaven not only to tell us but to show us he loves us. He didn’t remain far away above the clouds. He made himself small before us so that we could see love before our eyes. That’s why it’s good to visit the crib or read the Christmas story in one of the Gospels and let ourselves hear God say to us, “my son, my daughter, you are important to me; I am close to you. I am here with you”.  We can repeat God’s words in our heart, “you are important to me”.

 

And, the second thing is that we can realise more that if there’s someone who loves us, if God himself loves us, then everything on this earth becomes easier for us, everything can make more sense. We can believe that behind even the darker moments of our existence we can grasp the loving hand of God. God’s plan of love is always at work in our lives just as it was in that first Christmas when things looked anything but going well. The census has been called for and Joseph and Mary had set out according to a plan. But that plan soon evaporated when faced with completely new circumstances. But God’s loving plan was in that. We too are reminded today to believe in God’s love even when it might seem things aren’t going our way.

 

The third point today is that God’s love is very real. He takes the initiative. When our world was still messy and sinful and in darkness, he came to take concrete steps and offer a message. He didn’t wait for things to be right before intervening. He was the first to love. And that’s how he wants us to be. There are wars and many troubles in our world. The Christmas message is that we can’t just be indifferent to what’s going on, we have to take concrete steps, we can take initiative. And that starts right where we are. God started out from a small manger. We can start out from where we are doing small and big acts of love that built up peace, serenity, kindness and so we begin to change our world. It starts with us. Mother Teresa used to say: “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” 

 

The child Jesus asleep in a manger is only a drop in the ocean. But since God is at work, that little scene makes a world of difference. So for each of us. God can become flesh through us. Through us the Light can shine in the Darkness. We can overcome evil by doing good.