CHRISTMAS 2019
Thanksgiving
day is a special day for the Schwartz family.
56 of us gather at my brother John and Linda’s home. After a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the
many blessings we enjoy as a family, my brother John shared the announcement
that went to the heart of the blessings of our family. He announced with considerable joy that his
daughter Jennifer was pregnant. The gift
of new life is our most precious family blessing.
With similar
joy, one of the great blessings on my priesthood is the Sacrament of
Baptism. To experience and to share in
the joy that parents have in the birth of their child celebrates again and
again the miracle of God’s love in the lives of a family. It changes dramatically the meaning and the
way of life of young parents. Their child is now the center of their world.
The mystery
of Christmas celebrates that the power of God comes to us in a tiny infant.
In one
simple unassuming sentence, the Christmas mystery is revealed. From the evangelist Luke: “While they were there, the time came for her
to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.” The power of God comes to us in a tiny
infant. God is with us in the Bethlehem
infant born to Mary and Joseph.
This night
of mystery had its origins on the darkened hills of Judea . In the dark of night, an angel proclaimed to
the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. For
behold, I proclaim to you good news of a great joy to be shared by all. Today in David’s city, a Savior has been born
to you who is Christ and Lord. And this
will be a sign for you; you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.”
“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.”
No room in the inn is not simply a description of the housing situation in
Bethlehem at the time. It is a probing
statement that is meant for us to continually reflect upon as we retell the
Christmas story.
And so, may I ask you
what is the housing situation in the inn of your heart? Is there room in the inn of our hearts for
the birth of the Savior? Is there room
in the inn of your heart for the family member for whom you have difficulty
getting along with? Is there room in the
inn of your heart for people who think differently than you -- politically,
religiously, or in any way whatsoever?
Is there room in the inn of our hearts for Jesus who lives in the hearts
of the poor, the immigrants, and children of all cultures and of all ways of
life?
The mystery
of Christmas happens for us when we connect the story of our lives with the
story of Christmas. Each of us is an
innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus. The Christmas message is the story of God’s
unconditional love for us. As his
disciples we are to fill this world with many other stories that mirror and
give witness to God’s love for us. That
is the meaning and wonder of the Incarnation.
Our exterior Christmas decorations are up and they are
beautiful. What about our interior
Christmas decorations? May we allow the
peace of Christ to enter once again into our lives, calming all of our
anxieties and filling us with all that is good.
Many of us support the theme to “Keep Christ in
Christmas.” This is a great idea as far
as it goes, but it just doesn’t say enough.
What about Christ are we keeping in Christmas? The fact of his birth? That’s not enough. We need also to keep in Christmas the
humility and simplicity of his birth. We
need to keep in Christmas the message that all are welcome at the Bethlehem
crib. We need to keep in Christmas the
compassion and love and joy and the light that shines through all the dark
places of life.
Christmas is
not simply about Mary and Joseph and the baby.
It is about God becoming part of our daily struggle, transforming the
world through us. We are the people who
walk in darkness – the darkness of sin, the darkness of war, the darkness of
relationships that are broken, and the darkness of the threat of violence and
terrorism. How many people in our world
today experience “no room in the inn” because of race, color, religion, gender,
or sexuality? What attitude and actions
of ours communicate to people in need that there is no room for them in the inn
of our hearts? Do we ever in our parish
life make people feel unwelcome and there is no room for them? The message of Christmas is that Jesus comes
for people in dark places. The real,
lasting and deep joy of Christmas is that light shines in the darkness.
You may be
sure that to whatever area of our life we allow the Christ child to enter, the
darkness recedes. The mystery of
Christmas is allowing the person of Jesus to enter the inn of our hearts. It is an invitation to look at our present
moment through a different lens, the mystery of the nativity of Jesus, the
wonder of the Incarnation. This new lens
enables us to see a new and radiant vision, a light for people who walk in
darkness.
The story of
Bethlehem
In the inn
of our own hearts, there is an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in
a manger. We are missioned to be the
keepers of the mystery of Christmas – God is with us. We give birth to Christ
when we allow the light that is within us to extend to our family, and our
parish family, and to all of creation.
The meaning
of Christmas is to be found in the presence of Jesus among us and in our love
for one another. This is the time to
celebrate and strive for the ideals that are the best of who God calls us to
be. May God give you peace and may we
share this peace with one and all.
May you cherish
every moment and every person in your life.
Have a
Blessed Day and Merry Christmas.
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