Christmas Eve Mass Sacred Heart & St Mark’s Parish 2014 This Gospel (Luke 2:1-14) reading turns the world upside down. That which appears strong is actually weak – while that which appears weak is actually strong. The Gospel compares the seemingly all-powerful Emperor Augustus to this seemingly powerless newborn baby. The Emperor sits upon his throne in his court surrounded by the rich and powerful of Rome presiding over one of the greatest Empires that the world has ever known. While the newborn baby was laid in a manger surrounded by sheep, shepherds, Joseph and Mary. Joseph, a carpenter, and Mary were nobodies from Nazareth, while the shepherds were nobodies – the equivalent of the homeless in our day – who can be treated so poorly. The Emperor had armies to force his will upon the world, while Jesus has no human armies but an army of Angels giving him glory. The Gospel begins with a decree from the Emperor Augustus, who wants to count all the people so he can get more tax money from them. As far as most people would be concerned – the Emperor is all-powerful – even referring to himself as a son of god. Even though the Emperor does not know it – his power is pathetic – compared to this little baby who is laid in a manger. The Emperor Augustus – with all his money – all his power – all his armies – will one day bend his knee at the name of Jesus during our Final Judgment – as will every single human being who has ever lived. The Emperor’s decree forced the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to leave the safety of their village – where good neighbors looked after each other – to make the journey to Bethlehem. The Holy Family faced many dangers, and would have had to work through great fear. They would have faced the fear of traveling while Mary was heavily pregnant on rough roads with little support. As they arrived in Bethlehem, they could not find a place to stay, so they had to take shelter with the sheep in a stable. The question that we need to consider is this: where was God, when the Mary and Joseph had to make this dangerous journey to Bethlehem? God was with Mary and Joseph – as an unborn baby growing in His mother’s womb. God is present to Mary and Joseph as a vulnerable, and defenseless unborn baby. Jesus turns the world upside down – that which appears strong is actually weak – while that which appears weak is actually strong. Jesus is born in a stable filled with sheep and perhaps other animals. Stables or barns tend to be messy, so for Jesus to be born in a stable means that Jesus is not afraid to enter into the messy parts of our lives that need healing and need to be cleaned up. Jesus is also wrapped in bands of cloth and placed in a manger. What is a manger for? A manger is a place where the sheep eat their food – likely filled with wheat or even hay. Wheat being fed to sheep. This should be very familiar to us, because we should recognize this as pointing towards Jesus present to us in the Eucharist. Wheat is used to make bread, and we offer bread up at every Mass as Jesus offered bread up at the Last Supper – so that the bread can become the body of Christ – the flesh of Jesus. My brothers and sisters in Christ, we are the sheep and Jesus is the food that we eat – the bread of life – so that we may live – and be one with Him. Jesus said in John 6:48, “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” This is Good News – this should be the cause of our great joy. Jesus comes to us at every Mass – Jesus chooses to make himself vulnerable to us – like a newborn baby – so that we will not be afraid of Him – so that we may feast upon Him – and be one with Him. Perhaps there are many people who would hear this good news and rejoice with us, but there also are many people who would mock us. To those who would mock us, this gospel and a little knowledge of history gives a serious warning. The Emperor had a massive Empire, but where is that Empire now? It collapsed in on itself through corruption and outside pressure, because it was not built on a firm foundation that will last. Where is the Kingdom of God? It is still here, and it will continue to flourish, because it is built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. Despite all of the expected corruption and scandal that comes with a human organization, the Church continues to exist, because the Holy Spirit guides the Church and blesses us with the Saints to be instruments of reform and correction. Despite all those who seek to destroy the Church – the Church continues to exist – not simply by of the efforts of Catholics – but by the grace of our good God. Luke’s message to us is clear: those who oppose Jesus and His Church will be overcome – not because they are bad people – but they are a people who build their lives on poor foundations – they build their lives on values and lifestyles that oppose truth, beauty, goodness, and unity. All the most powerful people that we know – leaders of political parties – presidents and prime ministers – dictators and kings – actors and musicians – superstars and celebrities – will all bend their knee at the name of Jesus on the day of final judgment. There is ONE true God – there is ONE true King – so we can either choose to kneel before Jesus now and be blessed with Eternal life – or we can choose to stand against Him – with the modern day Emperor’s who oppose Jesus and His Church, and find ourselves in danger of Eternal death. Jesus continues to turn the world upside down. The reality that we face in our society is much the same reality that the early Christians faced. So the question to all of us today is this: am I building my life upon the teachings of Jesus and His Church, or do I stand in judgment of these teachings and choose to live as I see fit? We are at a very interesting time in the life of our Church. Mother Church – under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is calling all Catholics to wake up. Oh, how I wish we would arise to be the beautify and vibrant Church that we are meant to be. We are a sleeping giant, and we need to take seriously the mission that Jesus has given us. The mission of spreading his Good News, and baptizing all the nations in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Like the Holy Family, we need to put our trust in God – support each other – and carry on. On this joyful evening, may God’s gift of the Eucharist – be the gift that we cherish the most this Christmas.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 11:17:19 +0000
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