So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger (Luke 2:16). First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, Your God is King! Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry, together they shout for joy, for they see directly, before their eyes, the LORD restoring Zion. Break out together in song, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the LORD comforts his people, Christmas Day December 25 th, 2010
he redeems Jerusalem. The LORD has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God. Second Reading: Hebrew 1:1-6 Brothers and sisters: In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word. When he had accomplished purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say: You are my son; this day I have begotten you? Or again: I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me? And again, when he leads the firstborn into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God worship him. Gospel Reading: John 1:1-18 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 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. A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man s decision but of God. And the Word became 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. John testified to him and cried out, saying, This was he of whom I said, The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me. From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father s side, has revealed him. Homily Christ is born! Father Ron Rolheiser told the story that one of his professors had said if you ask a naïve child if she believes in Santa and the Easter Bunny, she will say yes. If you ask a bright child if she believes in them, she will say no. But if you ask an even brighter child if she believes in Santa and the Easter Bunny she will smile slyly and then say yes. Of course, Christmas is about far deeper things than Santa Claus but the principle still holds. We can say with Scrooge, Bah, humbug! or we can allow the reality of Jesus coming into focus. He came into the world quietly, helplessly, simply as we all did. In his coming, we can go back to our own spiritual cribs and find renewal and freshness that inspires us to start living all over again. In scripture, we see it was the lowly people who first came to pay Jesus homage. No one is left out of the Tidings of Great Joy which are shared by all. We are all drawn in -- and Christ Himself holds all in great honor, and regards the smallest gift made to the poor as a benefit conferred on Himself. It is here that our identities as children of God truly begins.
So when Christmas first began as a celebration, it was the lowly who began the tradition, not the high and mighty. In the Roman Empire, the emperor insisted that his birthday would be celebrated and he would be worshipped. The Christians countered this and decided that they would, instead, celebrate the birthday of Jesus. It took the Church 500 years to get around to making Christmas a special feast, and 30 years later, the Roman Empire followed in its recognition. From then on, the Feast spread through Europe. It is said that Augustine of Canterbury baptized ten thousand converts on that day in 600 CE. And for almost a thousand years, Christmas remained a special feast for the common people. Then, in the 16 th century, its celebration almost disappeared from many places. The Puritans claimed it was idolatrous and banned it by 1642. Then it was declared to be a time of penance. The British Parliament completely banned Christmas in 1647 and people were even required to work longer work hours on that day. It is said that the commoners rioted over this edict. And Christmas was outlawed in New England until 1850, but subversive practices of celebration continued, arising from the people. The story of Scrooge reminds us that in a former era, Christmas was a celebration of the poor that was denigrated by many of the wealthy. Sometimes I think that Christmas has become such a big deal in our culture because of the obvious benefits of commercialization. It is still hard to push against the tide, to return to the people s celebration. They brought Christmas into being to counter the Emperor and now we must recover the feast of the lowly and their recognition of Jesus bringing us a new beginning, a new hope. But let us recover a bit of how Christmas was thought of in the early centuries of Christianity by recounting some of the words of a Christmas homily by Theodotus, 1 the Bishop of Ancyra, a place now known as Ankara in Turkey. Theodotus said that Jesus birthplace was an unknown village in a remote province, born to a poor maiden. If he had been born to high rank and amidst luxury, unbelievers would have said the world had been transformed by wealth [or] by civil power. If he had been the son of an emperor or senator, people would have said, Look what can be accomplished by legislation! Let the manger teach you how poor the Lord was: he was laid in it because he had no bed to lie on. This lack of necessaries of life was a most appropriate prophetic foreshadowing. 1 Theodotus was at first a friend of Nestorius, but then became his opponent. Nestorius held that Christ had two loosely-united natures, divine and human, while another view arose, that of monophysitism, which holds that he had but a single nature, his human nature being absorbed into his divinity. Theodotus subsequently gave support to Cyril of Alexandra at the Council of Ephesus (431) which resulted in his being excommunicated by the Antiochene bishops at their synod at Tarsus in 432. Ah, the theological wars went on then, just as they go on now. We have quoted from his Homily 1 on Christmas. (PG 77, 1360-1361).
He was laid in a manger to show that he would be the food even of the inarticulate. The Word of God drew to himself both the rich and the poor, both the eloquent and the slow of speech as he lay in the manger in poverty. Do you not see how his lack of worldly goods was a prophecy and how his poverty, accepted for our sake, showed his accessibility to all? No one was afraid to approach Christ who became a sharer in my poverty. Let us return to an early understanding that arose from the People of God which ultimately won out to make Christmas a Feast of the Church. And let us again -- take it back from those who would alter its meaning. Instead of basking in exchange of more material goods than any of us need, let us find a way to celebrate the poor, and as they are served, we will truly honor the Christ on his Feast Day. May your day be blessed. M-J+
Before Eternity 2 Iris open columbine bloom violets appear self disclosures of a second with personal history a slow growing and unfolding lost in the presence of a moment Father of the fragile Father of change Father of the delicate help us move in fleeing dimension to be dispossessed is also to possess it is enough to be praised be your delicacy. 2 J. Janda s poetry, appears in the paperback, IN EMBRACE. If you wish to order a copy go to http://www.lifeinchrist-newsletter.com/