CHRISTMAS 2025
We have completed our advent observance with all its preparation and now we celebrate Christmas with joy and happiness. So now then let us rejoice in the Lord, that is, rejoice in faithfulness and not in iniquity; rejoice in the hope of eternity and not the brief flower of vanity that is part of our daily lives. At this time when we celebrate the birth of “a saviour who has been born for” us, the One who is “Wonder- Counsellor and Prince of Peace,” the One who is “a great light” we welcome an opportunity to put aside our cares and worries, and bask in the joy and generosity of the season, as we sing with the angels “Glory to God in the highest as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
But with all the tidings of great joy we need to remember those who may not be happy this Christmas. People have lost their faith, Faith in God and man. Many others sit in dark despair wondering where exactly the light will come from and who will bring it to them. And it simply is the baby in the manger the reason for the season that brings the light of God into the world. At the mass during the night, we have a dramatic prophesy about a “child is born for us.” The Gospel is the most familiar about Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem and finding no room in the inn, they settle for a stable. The Gospel for the mass at Dawn relates how the shepherds who had heard the message of the angels believe that they had heard something inviting and so they too go to the stable. The third Gospel for the Mass during the day is not about stables and angels, nor about stars and kings, but a well-worked summary of how believers much later than the writers of the early accounts, express “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The Word which was in the beginning, now has embraced time and space. God so loved the world that God did not send an idea or a feeling or a document.
Jesus Emanuell has come to be heard, seen, received and lives among and with us all. None of us will travel to Bethlehem to behold the newborn infant lying in the manger in the way the shepherds and the wise men did. But all of us travel the road of daily life, and we are called to see Jesus the newborn Infant in the youngster who needs companionship, the teenager who needs a listening ear, the parent who needs a helping hand, the older person who needs someone to care. We remember in a special way all those who have died since last Christmas and we keep their families in our thoughts and prayers. Some of our Christmas customs seem to turn away from Christ. Or do they? The giving of gifts expresses love of the other person. Festive decorations set this season apart from all others. Santa Claus was originally St. Nicholas of Myra, a bishop remembered for his generosity whose feast day is in December. Every letter sent and received bears the stamp of this special season, tidings of goodwill, and a reminder that those who are far away are close to us in mind and heart. The customs of this season are veiled announcements of one message: Christ is born for us.
To remove the veil, to hear the good news, we gather in our churches. There the message of Christmas speaks loud and clear. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us, “In times past, God spoke in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he speaks to us through his Son.” The customs of Christmas speak the message in partial ways, but God speaks the message clearly through his Son, who has come into our midst. At Christmas the whole community of heaven joins with all believers of goodwill on earth in a jubilant song of praise for the good news proclaimed by the angels: Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people, for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11). So, why do we celebrate Christmas? It is more than the birth of Jesus. It is a celebration of God with us. It is the realization that God’s love and faithfulness dwell among us. It is a sign that we are to carry that love and faithfulness to others. Like the Baptist, we, too, are to witness to God’s living, breathing Word and we are called to be faithful.
So, with Mary and Joseph with the shepherds and Angels and the whole company of heaven let us adore the Christ Child the child in the manger who is the reason for the Season that we celebrate over the next few weeks.
Fullerton T 