Contributed by Fr. James M. Donohue, C.R.
Father Jim is the Vicar-Provincial of the Ontario-Kentucky Province and a professor and chair of the Theology Department at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD., where he has taught since 1996. His research and publications deal primarily with the rites of sickness, dying, and death. He teaches courses in systematics, such as Christology and Sacraments, and in pastoral education, such as theology of Lay Ministry, Skills for Ministry, and Youth Ministry.
THE SOLEMNITY OF
THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD—YEAR A
December 25, 2016
GATHERING TIME (10-15 minutes)
Introduction to the Word:
There is something about Christmas that brings out the child in each of us. Recognizing that I am now older than my parents were when I was a boy, I am amazed at how sharp the memories are of what we did to prepare for and to celebrate Christmas in our family. One such memory revolves around baking Christmas cookies. My mother was a great baker and she baked many different kinds of Christmas cookies in anticipation of the big day, only to discover one year that her cookie cache, locked deep in the downstairs freezer, had been broken into. She was always very careful with the key to the freezer—after all, she had four boys and a husband who could eat more cookies than the four boys together—but she had been careless one day, leaving it on the counter. It seems that it took no time at all for my older brother to hustle down to the hardware store and make four copies of the freezer key. When he goes to heaven, I hope he gets rewarded for thinking of others (as well as himself) because he gave a key to me and a key to my two other brothers. Looking back, he was probably being smart, for now he could spread the blame around! In any case, all through Advent the four of us feasted on frozen cookies…until the day of reckoning came and my mother went to the freezer to fetch some of the cookies for company. Later in life we loved the way she would tell this story and how she bent down, reminding herself that the cookie tins were full and probably a bit heavy. Almost empty—we were not foolish enough to eat ALL of the cookies—the tins flew into the air. She quickly realized what had happened and I am sure that she was pretty upset. None of us were home that day and when we returned in the early evening, there she was in the kitchen baking cookies. None of us dared to ask her what she was doing and after an awkward pause she said, “Well, I guess I should take it as a compliment, but if you are going to eat so many cookies, you might as well help me bake these ones.” To this day, I am the “family baker” at Christmas, making those same cookies each year...and trying to be as generous as possible with sharing them! One other note about this story is that in the re-telling and re-telling my mother would always end the story by noting that even though the tins had been opened many times and were almost empty, the scotch tape on the sides of the tins was still perfectly in place!
Fast forward about twenty years and I find myself as a young priest at my first parish. The pastor had asked me to lead a retreat day for the CWL on a Saturday before Christmas. There were about 50 women from the parish who came. I had a great plan for the day and I thought I would begin with a fun exercise about Christmas memories. No sooner had we started this reflection exercise and I noticed a few of the women were crying. A few minutes later, I noticed a few more women crying. Then, I noticed that the women who had not been crying were comforting the ones who were crying. I am not exaggerating when I say that in about ten minutes almost everyone was crying. I was flabbergasted and one wise woman came over to me and said, “I know that you meant well, but not everyone has great memories about Christmas. Indeed, for some people, it is one of the most difficult days in the year.”
I have never forgotten that experience. For some, it is, as Andy Williams sings, “the most wonderful time of the year.” But, for others, Christmas is “the most difficult time of the year.” As we celebrate the birth of Christ we can allow ourselves to feel the joy attached to God’s great deed for humanity and the world, but we can also remember that this child came in the most difficult of circumstances, mirroring those of many who find this a trying time.
Warm-up Activity (about 8–10 minutes):
What have been some of the joys and sorrows associated with your Christmas memories? How have these memories—joyful and sorrowful—shaped and influenced you? Recall a time when you needed to be a support for someone at this time of year. What effect did this have on the person? On you? On your family?
What religious practices have been associated with your experiences of Christmas? In the midst of commercialism and materialism, how did you and your families make efforts to “keep Christ in Christmas?”
The Table of the Word
The Incarnation as Revelation
The Incarnation is the mystery of God becoming human. The main part of the word comes from Greek, wherein carne means “flesh.” So, we can talk about the Incarnation as the “enfleshment of God” or “God becoming enfleshed.” The Incarnation is the incredible event within God’s plan, a plan which yearns for us to be united with God for all eternity. As Hebrews 1:1-3 says, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.”
As the Incarnation of God, Jesus is the “image (icon) of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). He is, as the Dominican theologian Edward Schillebeeckx coined the phrase, “the parable of God.” In other words, when we see Jesus, witnessing his words and deeds, he reveals to us, in the most profound and definitive way, who God is. This revelation can be shocking because through the Incarnation, God reveals that God loves us so much that God would enter into the “very stuff” of creation and of history and become one us, even accepting death on a cross. Jesus also reveals God’s special love for the poor and the marginalized and this good news is met by criticism by many…so much so that Jesus says, “Blessed are those who take no offense at me” (Mt 11:6).
In addition to revealing who God is for us, Jesus also reveals what it is to be human. Over and over again, he reminds us that the fullness of human life comes not from “filling up” ourselves, but by “emptying” ourselves. We would do well at this time of year to remember that true happiness comes not in the material items of comfort, but in the service and sacrifice that we make for another.
Leader: Let us all rejoice in the Lord, for our Saviour has been born in the world. Today true and lasting peace has come down to us from heaven.
Lord Jesus, you are Son of God and Son of Mary: Lord have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you Mighty God and Prince of Peace: Christ have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you the Word made Flesh and Splendor of the Father: Lord have mercy.
Let us pray (together):
O God, who have made this most sacred day
radiant with the splendor of true light,
grant, we pray, that we,
who have known the mysteries of his light on earth,
may also delight in his gladness in heaven.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION TIME (45 minutes)
(As Christians we believe that the WORD of God we hear proclaimed each Sunday is an empowering Word, and that God is present in the Word proclaimed. This is the Word that God wants us to hear today. The dynamic of the Small Christian Community, namely, reflecting on our life story within the context of this Word, and sharing the insights of these reflections, is such that God’s Spirit becomes present, and the gifts of the Spirit are experienced as empowering and life-giving.)
FIRST READING (A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah 9:2-4, 6-7)
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shone. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
SECOND READING (A reading from the letter of Paul to Titus 2:11-14)
The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL READING (A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 2:1-20)
Glory to you, O Lord.
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
(Allow 5-10 minutes for quiet and a brief reflection on a meaningful word or thought.)
COMMENTARY:
In the Gospel for Christmas, we are told that the shepherds, after a revelation from the angels, decide to see “this thing that has taken place.” So, they set out in haste and find Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. The shepherds begin to make known what they have seen and everyone who heard their message is amazed. The passage concludes with the verse that the shepherds continued glorifying and praising God because they understood what had been told them about this child. What was it that they came to understand? I would suggest three things.
First, it is easier to find Christ when I am humble than when I am exalted, when I am poor than when I am rich, and when I am lost than when I am found. When I am filled with myself I have little room for God.
Secondly, that the fortunes of the shepherds had changed (as outcasts) because in this vulnerable child they saw all who were hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, and sick. Our God has come to us and identifies most closely with the poor and the vulnerable. Indeed, our treatment of these little ones is the measure of our judgment: “When did I see you hungry? When did I see you thirsty? When did I see you naked and sick and imprisoned” (Matthew 25)?
Thirdly, God comes to us in our most vulnerable state, as a baby. This means that God has revealed Godself as the one who never compels or overwhelms us, but resolutely and graciously invites us to fall in love with God and God’s ways: to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).