-Midnight Christmas
Is 9:1-6; Ti 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14
In his Parable of the Birds, Louis Cassels tells of a man who refuses to go with his family to the Midnight Mass because he cannot understand the incarnation. Left alone at home, he finds a flock of birds in his backyard. Caught in the storm, the little creatures are desperate for shelter. He tries to usher the birds into the barn by sprinkling breadcrumbs along the way. When this fails, he tries to show them in by walking around them, waving his arms I the air. But the birds still do not understand. Finally, he realizes the problem: the birds find him a strange and terrifying creature. They do not trust him. He murmurs, “If only I could be a bird for a moment, perhaps I could save them. “At that moment, he hears the church bells ring the good news of Christmas. He sinks to his knees, saying: “Now I see why God has to become one of us.”
You know my dear friends I really like Christmas, because it is the time of the year where we are forced to think of others. Let us face it, most of the times we think of ourselves. We are preoccupied with ourselves 24 hours a day so that “once a year” reminder is always in good time. Just like in our story, God the Son became man in order that he can understand us – our feelings and grievances, our ambitions and vision in life and be always with us 24 hours a day. He did not mind if the people He is going to save is a good and forgiving people or not, but as long as He can show to them His love, that’s a big opportunity for each one of us. He did not force His love to us, he waits us to accept it and relish it to the fullest.
According to Zeneida Amador, a columnist of Manila Bulletin newspaper (dated Dec. 24, 1994), she said: “Christmas really is a time for giving more of ourselves to others. And come to think of it, it is also a time for forgiving – forgiving ourselves to others. It has often been said that to start the year off well, one has to have as clean a slate as possible. One cannot tackle another of work and challenge and relationships with others burdened with guilt. And so we are told first to forgive ourselves and then to forgive others and pray that others forgive us. So it’s not just forgiving others, it is forgiving ourselves and asking for forgiveness as well.” So, Jesus Christ becoming man is not only a great proof of God’s love to us, but this love is first and foremost, a forgiving type of love, a love that knows no bounds where everybody is welcome and is accepted.
I read a letter, written by a certain Kitch Ortigo, published in Manila Bulletin newspaper, dated Dec. 24, 1994. This letter was directed to the Highest Authority, God Himself, and the Omnipotent.
Your Omnipotence:
Christmas down here will celebrate tomorrow (Dec. 25) the birth
Anniversary of Jesus of Nazareth who is believed to be Your only
Begotten Son and redeemer of sinful mankind. They call the occasion
Christmas day, which caps the season that starts, in our country
as early as October, ends on New Year’s Day and blends into Valentine’s
Day. We have the longest Christmas season in the world, but
people’s piety doesn’t seem to be that long.
…Highest One, your Son would be pleased to hear the Christmas
music in the air. At night groups sing carols outside other people’s
homes, often joined by the resident dogs, and then wait for
Compensation. One wonders, Your Omnipotence, how your Son
feels about this.
…apart From this, Your Omnipotence, the state of peace and
order in our country is horrifying. There are killings, kidnappings, rapes,
robberies and hold-ups. There is greed, dishonesty and ill will. Your
Ten commandments, Your Omnipotence, are violated everyday. Speaking of
your commandments, Highest One, what do you mean by “neighbor?”
…Your Omnipotence, help us too with the GATT (ratified last Dec. 12,
1994). Make our industries learn competitiveness in the world and local
markets by producing products of worldwide class quality such as zippers
that do not self-engaged and shame one’s manhood.
Help us also, Highest One, with the expanded VAT. Rather, help us
against the VAT.
Thank you, Highest One, for your kind attention and please convey to your
Great Son my very best wishes for him on His birth anniversary.
At the end, let us reflect on these words of Henry van Dyke:
“There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, that is keeping Christmas. Are you willing to close your book of complaints against the management of the universe and look around you for a place where you can sow a few seeds of happiness? Are you willing to make a grave for your ugly thoughts and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open? Are you willing to do these things for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.
“Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world – stronger than evil, stronger than death – and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas. And if you keep it for a day, why not always?”
-Christmas Day
Is 52:7-10; Heb 1:1-6; John 1:1-18
There are many ways of expressing one’s affection to the people we love. We can do it by sending a letter or by a telegram or by sending text messaging by flowers and chocolates. We can express it by calling the person through telephone. The ideal, of course, is to go personally and tell the person, “I love you.”
Pearl S. Buck, a Nobel Peace Prize winner in literature, who is best remembered for her vivid novel of China, wrote a beautiful story titled Christmas Day In The Morning. It tells of a boy named Rob who is always called by his father at four o’clock in the morning to help with the milking.
Once Rob overhears his father telling his mother: “Mary, I hate to call Rob in the mornings. He’s growing so fast and he needs his sleep. If you could see how he sleeps when I go in to wake him up1 I wish I could manage alone.”
Rob is stirred by his father’s words. He realizes that his father loves him, has always loved him! There and then he tells himself that he will be brisk in answering his father’s call.
One day, Rob decides to give his father a gift. On Christmas morning, he gets up earlier than four o’clock, goes to the barn and gets the milking done. Then he goes back to bed. When his father calls him, he says he will follow. But he waits on his bed for his father to come back.
When his father enters Rob’s room, he has a queer laugh.” Thought you’d fool me, did you?” ”It’s for Christmas, Dad,” he replies.
His father gives him a big hug: Son, I thank you. Nobody ever did a nicer thing…”
Later, at breakfast, his father tells Rob after sharing what he has done with his mother and the other children: “The best Christmas gift I ever had and I’ll remember it, son, every year on Christmas morning, so long as I live.”
Today is Christmas and we remember the best gift that we ever received. It is the gift of love from God. He sends His only Son Jesus Christ to the world as our Savior and Lord. Sacred Scripture which is the love letter of God to each one of us, has it: “God so loves the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life,” (John 3:16). It is also the gift of the Son who chooses to make His dwelling among us and to become like us that we may become like Him.
Christmas, which is literally meant as Christ’s Mass is nothing less than God wanting to be with us. Our Church finds this day so important that she gives us three Masses: at midnight, at dawn and at daytime and each with its own readings. For midnight and dawn the gospel readings are from Luke’s familiar telling of the Christmas story. For this daytime Mass we have the opening of John’s first gospel, his ‘prologue’ which tells us about the coming of the Almighty God into our world. The cold and comfortless cave of Bethlehem was where the Eternal Word stepped into human history and becomes a member of our human race. This shows us how great the love of God to each one of us is.
Today, we are offering this Mass as a thanksgiving for that great love of God and also for the many blessings that we receive during this year. I’m hoping that during this Christmas that we celebrate, we are celebrating this together with the celebrant who is Jesus. Let us make it sure that Jesus Christ is very much present. It is because sometimes we celebrate Christmas without Christ. According to Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD that if we remove CHRIST from Christmas and we end up with MAS – Many Are Sad, Magulo Ang Sanlibutan, Malabo Ang Samahan.
You know, in my own observation, we are celebrating Christmas sometimes for two reasons: one is for money. Christmas, nowadays, is being commercialized. Many have profited out of this celebration. Christmas is just expenses, shopping, parties, vacation and happy holidays. The other reason is for the show. We never go on with the other two reasons: to get ready and to go.
Christmas day is a holiday. There is no work in public and private offices. Originally, the meaning of holiday is holy day. Lat us make it sure that on Christmas day, it will become really a holy day by reaching out to God concretely through attending Masses and by sharing our love and blessings especially the poor and the needy, ‘til it hurts…
So at the end of this homily, I challenge you to make yourselves Christians and children of God not just for money or just for the show. We must be Christians and children of God, ready to sacrifice and ready to go.