Titus 3: 4-7
Luke 2: 15-20
“See, the Lord proclaims to the ends of
the earth: say to daughter Zion,
you savior comes!”
Christmas morning! In America it has become a time when presents
are unwrapped; family and friends gather for a dinner; and Christmas shows and
movies are watched. For many of us,
Christmas is a time of colors, lights, joy and good times. Yet, we know that there are people and places
where the coming of Christmas morning is bittersweet. I am thinking of the victims of Hurricane
Sandy, still struggling to put their lives together again. I am thinking of the families, trying to get
through the tragic loss of loved ones in Oregon, Colorado, other cities and
countries, and especially our brothers and sisters in Newtown Ct. I am thinking of those in our community,
struggling with the challenges, the curve balls that life sometimes tosses at
us.
What I do want to speak about
is of a Christmas that was experienced by a group of shepherds outside the town
of Bethlehem, the town of King David’s birth. Now shepherds in the time of Jesus were on
the lowest rung of the agricultural workers ladder. They owned no land; all they had were their
sheep; they depended on the sheep’s wool to sell to weavers; on the sheep’s
meat to feed themselves and their families.
Their flocks were always threatened by starvation if the pastures
suffered drought; by disease, by wolves; and the thievery of other
shepherds. So they were not wealthy,
mostly they were poor, very poor.
And here they were, near Bethlehem, keeping night
watch over their flocks, when suddenly, an angel appears to them, telling them
that the Messiah had been born. This
proclamation is not made to rulers of nation, but it is to the poor that this
great news is given. And then they have
a vision of thousands of angels, filling the sky, proclaiming “Glory to God in
the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Pope Benedict, in his recent book on the
birth of Christ, expresses the belief that the angels sang this Gloria. Can you imagine what that must have sounded
like? Picture the Mormon Tabernacle choir times a hundred, times a thousand!
So what would you do if you
had such a vision, heard such news. You
go check it out! And that is what the shepherds
did, and what they found was this couple in an animal stall, with their infant
in a manger, something cattle or sheep would eat out off. Now other people, more sophisticated people,
might say this cannot be the Messiah, and go looking elsewhere. But when these shepherds saw the child,
something in their hearts, told them, “Yes, this is the one who is Christ, Lord,
and Savior.” Their lives were
transformed, no longer filled with despair and sadness, but filled now with
hope, with peace.
“See, the Lord proclaims to the ends of
the earth: say to daughter Zion,
your savior comes!”
We have all come here today,
like the shepherds, to see a miracle.
When Monsignor raises the Host and the Chalice, we will hear the words
“Behold, the Lamb of God!” And like the
shepherds at that first Christmas, we will recognize our Savior. As the Son of God came into the world as a
small infant, he comes to us today in the form of bread and wine. He comes to save us from darkness and
despair; he comes to brings us hope. He
comes save us from fear and sadness; he comes to bring us joy.
Let us all open our hearts to
Him, receive Him, and experience His presence within us. Let us then leave here glorifying and
praising God. By our lives, let us
proclaim to the entire world the good news, “our Savior comes!!”
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