READINGS:
First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6
Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-6
Gospel: John 1:1-18 (OR John 1:1-5, 9-14 – Shorter Version)
FOCUS: The birth of Christ is the beginning of the triumph of light over darkness.
FUNCTION: Allow the light of Christ to illuminate the dark places of life.
Today, after four weeks of prayer and preparation during Advent, the time has finally come for us to celebrate the birth of Christ. Everything we did during Advent has led us to this holy moment, to this sacred night/day.
Here and now, as we celebrate this Holy Mass, we discover the deepest meaning and purpose of Christmas. Here and now, gathered together as the Body of Christ, Christmas expresses its vitality and power.
Today, God has revealed His salvation to us in the form of a seemingly ordinary Child lying in a manger. But we believe that the Child of the manger is no ordinary Child. The Gospel told us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was With God, and the Word was God. (…) And the Word was made flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” And we believe that Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh, the Child that we celebrate today, the only-begotten Son of God. What a beautiful mystery! The God of the ages has become one of us!
Because of Jesus Christ…the Word made flesh…Christmas is a celebration of the wisdom and the power and the victory of God. It is the victory of light over darkness, of goodness over evil, of life over death. The sacred event of Christmas is good news: God has not abandoned us! He has not left us to our own devices! He has chosen to be so close to us as to share our very nature, so that we might share in His divine life.
Our God is a God who cares about us, who loves us passionately, and who wants to be close to us. He is not some far off Deity who sets the world in motion and then chooses to step back and let it spin out of control. No, just the opposite! When humanity had turned its back on God, God didn’t just dismiss them and let them fend for themselves. From the very first pages of the Book of Genesis, God promised to send us a Savior, One who would save humanity from the darkness that it chose to embrace. Endless ages rolled on, and God intervened in many ways during those ages, but only when time had reached its fullness did God send forth His promised Savior.
The Gospel tells us, “He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Today we celebrate God’s good news: there is darkness in the world, but it cannot overcome Christ the Light! When Jesus Christ, the Light and the Word of God, was born in Bethlehem, humanity was given new hope.
No longer does darkness have to prevail over us. No longer do we have to give in to its terrible and insidious ways. Yes, we must admit that there is an awful darkness in our hearts that all of us have to confront. Choosing to ignore it will not make it go away. The more we try to ignore it and gloss it over, the more power it gains within us. And if we never confront it, it will consume us from the inside.
But thanks to be to God! Christ has come as the true light which enlightens every heart and every mind. In the light of Christ, we no longer have to be prisoners of the darkness within us. If we step into the healing rays of Christ the Light, we can find healing and wholeness. And there, in the warmth of the Light, God the Father will speak His Word into our hearts, and darkness will be scattered and the Light will make His home within us.
And we can see lives changed around us. Let me share with you my personal experience. I don’t usually share personal stories, but I like to share this. It’s a part of my vocation story. When I was in high school, I liked what a lot of high school students liked: popularity, loud music, social parties, romantic relationships, and more. Maybe it’s just part of being a teenager; I don’t know. But interiorly, I yearned for something more. Yes, those things were exhilarating, but they weren’t ultimately satisfying. I couldn’t lay my head on my pillow at night and say I felt fulfilled.
Then, as a senior I was given an opportunity to go on a TEC retreat. TEC stands for Teens Encounter Christ. And I can honestly say that weekend retreat changed my life. I had encountered Christ…in the team leaders, the stories they shared, the opportunities for prayer, and much more. When I came home, my parents were rather astonished. They used to hear some pretty loud, kind of dark music come out of my room before. But after TEC they heard Christian music— the kind of music that would lift me up and make me feel more alive than any of those other activities. Of course, Christian conversion is always a gradual process, but it was an encounter with Christ that had changed me for the better and put me on the path that would ultimately lead me to where I am today—a priest of Jesus Christ, happy to be able to celebrate this Christmas Mass with all of you.
Allowing Christ to transform us from the inside doesn’t happen all at once. It didn’t for me, and it won’t for you, either. But for all of us gathered here and throughout the world, today’s Christmas celebration can be the beginning of the triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil, of life over death. The birth of Jesus in our world changes everything.
No longer do we have to be defined by our past mistakes. No longer do we have to feel bound by the chains that bind us. No longer do we have to be slaves to the darkness. Christ the Light has come, and the darkness has not overcome it! God wants all of us to tell our own story of how an encounter with Christ the Light has scattered the darkness of our hearts.
Christmas can’t only be a story about the birth of Christ; it must also be a story about how His birth and life has changed our lives. Christ didn’t come into the world for His own sake. He came into this world for ours.
Maybe you’re here and you’re still not convinced that Christmas really makes a difference. Maybe you don’t particularly believe in God. Maybe you’ve experienced some hardship in life that makes faith difficult. All of that is OK.
Today, Jesus wants to meet you where you are and take you to a new place. Today, Jesus wants to help you celebrate Christmas with your heart. So let Him, and you too will know the true and the deep meaning of those beautiful words, “Merry Christmas!”
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