Christmas Mass
By Fr. Victor Feltes
“I proclaim to you good news of great joy!” Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord. Why is his birth such good news? Well, why do people still need Jesus Christ today?
Would you say we presently live in a time of great wisdom? A time of advanced technology? Certainly. A time with more wealth than previous centuries? Sure. But is this a time of great wisdom? Relatively few know how to live rightly, anchored firmly in hope, and thrive. Would you say we live in a time of great heroes? Who would be our heroes now beyond paid athletes or fictional characters with superpowers? No U.S. politician in national office today has an approval above 50%. And even the best leaders among us are flawed. Would you say we live in a time of strong fatherhood? Rather, families are increasingly strained or broken. And many people have never had a good father. Would you say we live in a time of great peace? Bombs are not exploding around us like in Ukraine, but is there peace in our culture and peace in all our souls?
The good news of Christmas, as the Prophet Isaiah foretold in our first reading, is that ‘the people who walk in darkness see a great light; upon those who dwell in the land of gloom a light shines.’ “A child is born to us, a son is given us… They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” In our foolish world, Jesus is the wisest teacher whose counsel wondrously changes lives. In our unvirtuous world, Jesus is the only flawless hero; he is God among us. In our world lacking fatherhood, Jesus says he “only [does] what he sees his Father doing”— so Jesus acts and loves like his Good Father forever. And in our troubled world, Jesus is the Lord who would bring us peace, both around us and within us.
In the days of the birth of Jesus, St. Matthew’s Gospel notes a decree had gone out from the Roman Emperor that the whole world should be enrolled in a census. (This brought the Holy Family to Bethlehem.) Caesar Augustus wanted everybody grouped and tallied for his worldly purposes: to tax more efficiently, to draft more men for war, and to dominate more effectively. Beginning with the birth of Jesus at the center of history, God decrees for all the people of the world to be gathered into his Church for his holy purposes. It is not to tax us, but to give us his gifts. It is not for waging wars, but to bring about his peace. It is not to dominate us, but to share with us the freedom of his Kingdom. Like St. Paul says in our second reading, the grace of God has appeared in Christ to save and train us all to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await our blessed hopes: the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and everlasting life with him.
On Christmas Day, Divine Providence brought the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) and the shepherds all together. God’s Providence has likewise brought you and all of us together this morning with the Lord Jesus in this Church. Will you be here next Sunday? I pray the joyful news of Christmas will bring you back again. The Lord who loves you calls you. Our world needs Jesus Christ profoundly and so do you.
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