I wasn’t a cradle-Catholic. Growing up, Christmas for me was just a time to give and receive presents, and spend time with family. See my nephews play with new toys. Enjoy a family Christmas dinner. There wasn’t much of Christ or church in the day. That religious stuff was what religious folk did … and that was OK with me, but wasn’t part of my experience.
It was only later in life, when I was a long-haired hippy motorcyclist, that my perspective changed. And that happened when I encountered an angel. An angel that introduced me to a much larger vision of life, a much deeper vision of God, a much broader vision of faith. With the help of that angel, I started to discover the richness and depth of Christmas. And it so deeply impacted me, so changed my life, that I did the only thing a young man could do. I married that angel.
That was over half a century ago, and I am still trying to wrap my head around the richness and depth of Christmas. But in the course of those five decades of pondering, a couple of things have become a little clearer for me.
The first is that at a certain point in our evolution as a species, God chose to reveal Godself to us. At a certain point in our spiritual evolution, we were ready to be given this insight into God, by God. Now as humans, we can only relate to creation and to our existence as humans. That is true also of how we see God. And given our human nature
to relate to God as we relate to other humans, how could God reveal to us God’s very nature?
By becoming …. Human. Someone who can see, feel, touch, Someone we can relate to one-on-one. Someone who not only understands what it is to be human but has fully experienced life as a human. Birth. Childhood. Adolescence. Adulthood. And death.
I guess God could have revealed God’s existence with a heavenly light show of cosmic proportions. … well, for a second time. God did that already at the Big Bang, when God created a universe for us to exist in.
God could have lit up the sky with miracles of sight and sound. I am sure it would have had an impact to those who saw it. But I suspect the reaction would have been not so much one of Awe, but of fear. And the impression we would have been left with is that God is so totally powerful, so totally transcendent, so totally OTHER, that how could you and I ever relate to God?
Not the same impact at all, is it? And not at all revealing the very essence of who God is.
And so, God joins us as a human to reveal to us just who God is. A poor baby, born in stable. Yet from such humble beginnings, a baby that would change the world.
You see, I started to discover that the Birth of Jesus is not just an event in our existence, but is the defining moment of our existence. The moment when God revealed to us God’s very essence – and that essence is Love.
Love so strong, so big, that in a blink of God’s eye a universe was created for us to exist in, and when the time was right, God was revealed to us. And God continues to be revealed in our lives.
And the second insight?
There is something about Christmas that kids get, almost without explanation, and that we as adults can perhaps – overthink. As adults, we ask ourselves questions like … “why would God come to earth as a poor baby?” And from there, we adults then begin to reflect on the more subtle message that being born into human existence this way can tell us.
But there is a certain freedom that comes from entering into Christmas with the eyes of a child. Gone are the deep theological meditations. Just the joy of being with people we love, sharing time – and gifts – with each other,
all to celebrate a birthday.
If your family is like ours, then the greatest gift is watching the children and seeing and experiencing how Love is shared in those gatherings. Our children teach us so much about God by just being themselves .. You children here with us today .. You live in those Christmas moments with such joyful abandon that you teach us of our need to let go and enter the dance of life with you.
You enter into the story of Christmas fully and passionately. Seeing how fragile the baby Jesus was- seeing how poor the holy family was- and wondering what gift you could give them to make things better. And then you give God that gift. The gift of caring for others.
You remind us that the very essence of God is love, and where Love is, God is. You generously show your love, and when you do, you reveal God because it was in that image that you were created.
And more than anything, I think that’s why this Family Christmas Mass is so special.
Where we gather, surrounded by our children and grandchildren, and immersed in the loving presence of God,
to celebrate this day. Children – from whom the image of a loving God is revealed … Whether that is in reading a story to our kids or grandkids. Or watching our children as they interact with their children. Or looking at clouds and sky and stars and trees and standing in awe at the beauty of creation. Or trying to see in others what God sees in them. Whether it is in laughing so hard, it hurts. Or crying when our heart is moved.
All of these things we learned as children …and learn again from our children. All of these things that make us human. All of these things that evidence our love .. all of these things that reflect the essence of our God.
All of these things that show us That there truly exists something beyond, a spiritual realm that we catch glimpses of now and then, and which entered humanity …. at Christmas