http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122518-day.cfm
Merry Christmas, everyone, I hope each of you awoke this morning
to a beautiful Christmas song. Every year we hear some great Christmas songs,
both religious and secular.
One interesting fact I heard is that Paul McCartney’s “Simply Having
a Wonderful Christmas Time” earns between $400 - $600 thousand dollars in
royalties every year. It’s no wonder he’s having a wonderful Christmas time.
It’s a great song, but it missing the one thing Christmas is about
the birth of the baby Jesus. That child brought us a wonderful Christmas time.
If you were here at the vigil mass the gospel of Matthew remembered
the genealogy of Jesus and how his birth came about. At midnight mass and mass
at dawn the gospel of Luke remembered the shepherds, the census, no room at the
inn, and the baby in the manger.
On Christmas day is the gospel of St. John the Evangelist that
begins with these words: 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.
This is the mystery of Christ that is the gospel of John. Never in this life will we be able to totally explain
the mystery, only believe the Word of God came to us to bring us closer to God.
The gospel is in the words of St. John the Evangelist, Jesus’ best
friend. John was one who knew Jesus intimately. John was one of Jesus’
first disciples. He laid his head on Jesus’ chest at the last supper. When Jesus was arrested, John did
not run away or deny Jesus and followed the Lord to his accusers.
John was the only disciple at the foot of the cross and the one
Jesus charged with caring for Mary. John was the disciple that lived the
longest and thought, pondered, and considered for years all he saw and all he
heard to slowly come to his words of truth about Christ Jesus.
He writes about who Jesus was in prose and philosophy. But because
of who John was, how he lived, and when he lived, his poetic thoughts tell us
exactly who Jesus was. John is writing a song.
Most songs about Christmas come from the gospels of Matthew and
Luke. They tell us something special about the child Jesus being born in Bethlehem.
They have angels, heavenly host, wise
men, shepherds, and virgin births.
But, John song tells us way more right away. His song is not about the birth of a baby boy;
it is about Christ coming into the world.
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.
This is a Christmas song; this is a love song. Love can be the only
explanation of this mystery John writes about. When we love someone we want to be with them;
and, when we are away from them, we want to be near them. For love of us, God did not stay in in heaven,
but unites Himself with us by his Word.
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 tells us who Jesus was in a mystery, but God is the ultimate
mystery.
This ultimate mystery is why we explain who Jesus is with the same
effectiveness in the meekness of a child born in a manger or the power of the word
of God made flesh, the true light of the world.
God is a mystery that we with our limited intellect and limited
understand cannot explain. Theologians argue about what the words of the
gospels mean. John the man who knew him probably the best, explains him with
prose and philosophy, a song.
With language and thoughts that could have only come from knowing
the Word of God, John explains Jesus.
And we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's
only Son, full of grace and truth. He gave to those who accepted him and those
who believe in his name, the power to become children of God, born not by
natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man's decision but of God.
Now that is a Christmas song. It is a truly wonderful Christmas
time. Explaining the mystery of Jesus with poetry, philosophy and song is
celebrating the Word of God.
Never in this life will we be able to explain the mystery, only
believe the Word of God came to us to bring us closer to God.
Merry Christmas, be good, be holy and preach the gospel by the way
you live your life and love one another. Amen.
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