CHRISTMAS
MASS OF THE DAY – YEAR B
First Reading (Is 52: 7-10) upon their return of exile from Babylon, they sung a hymn of exultation. This is also a poem of joy for our redemption.
Second Reading (Heb 1: 1-6) the whole history of the Old Testament was God’s preparation for the coming of His Son.
Gospel (Jn 1: 1-18) the source of all life is coming to make us all children of God.
Homily
God Christmas present to us
A priest is newly appointed to serve a well off parish in town. Nearly a third quarter of parishioners are filthy rich and live in mansions. It was the first Christmas of the new parish priest at that parish. Seeing the crib placed in front of the altar, the priest was disappointed and exclaimed: “who is this child in the manger?”
It was a beautifully decorated crib with silver and gold, with a background of beautiful hills and mountains covered in green pine trees and roses. Immediately the priest decided to change the décor. He built a very tiny crib and swaddling small baby child in a manger with a very poor background covered with animal stable and dry grass. With the parents of the child on torn and sack clothes, and the poor shepherds as guests of honour.
When the parishioners came on Christmas day for day mass, they were furious and angry at their priest. They requested their old traditional crib to be brought back. They argued, the new Christmas crib did not match their standard and that it reflected extreme poverty.
Jesus came into the world not as a powerful prince, living in a great mansion and in a powerful nation. Jesus came into the world as a son of poor carpenter, born in dirty stable and in a small village and a weak nation. Jesus came in the world in a very same manner every child is born, helpless, fragile and vulnerable. He was taken care off just like any other child by his parents. Jesus knew hunger, pain and suffering, he knew thirst. He experienced ridicule and rejection. He even died in a very cruel manner like a criminal.
When Jesus was born, he was not greeted by world’s powerful leaders. He was greeted by smelly shepherds. Jesus identified himself with the poor, the suffering, and the powerless and even with the sinful of this world not with the rich.
This brings us to the power and the new order Jesus brought into the world. And it is a two folds message:
First of all it is the “Good News” that the God of heaven and earth loves us. God loves us without reservation and without exception. God loves us so much that He did not send us a letter to tell us that he loves us. He did not either send an angel to tell us. He sent the very best, his son.
The second half of the message Jesus brought into the world is that the God of heaven and earth not only loves us, but he is our Father and we are all brothers and sisters.
The power contained in the Christmas scene is the power of these two folds message. The message that the heavenly Father loves us and that he is our Father and we are to become loving brothers and sisters. This is indeed God’s Christmas gift to us. What we do of it, it is our gift to God.
Now the challenge of Christmas is to find our brothers and sisters who are lost, broken, hungry, in prison, to rebuild them and rebuild our nations’ moral and to bring peace among us.
Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year 2018 to you all!
