Homily for the Nativity of the Lord 2018-2019
Readings of all the Masses
Introduction
In the last few days, in many a Catholic rectory and office around the country, the phone has rang and the caller has asked this all-important question: "What time is the midnight Mass?" And mustering all the patience of a good Catholic the priest or secretary has told them that midnight Mass will start at midnight.
Now I am sure that none of you here made that call, since you are here at this Mass, and not at the so-called midnight Mass. You see, on Christmas Day, the Church gives us four sets of Masses: The Vigil Mass, Mass During the Night, Mass at Dawn and Mass During the Day. Unlike our anticipated Saturday evening Masses which use the same Sunday readings, each of the four Christmas Masses has its own proper prayers, readings and gospel.
And so, for my homily today, I would like to reflect briefly on how the four gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), who we hear in the different Masses, tell the story of the birth of Jesus, and what that story means for us today.
Scripture and Theology
Mark, also the shortest gospel, says nothing about the birth of Jesus. He starts his gospel with the public ministry of Jesus. It is like skipping the hors d'oeuvres and going straight to the main course. Mark skips the preliminaries and goes straight to the heart of the matter, which is the teaching of Jesus, his suffering, death and resurrection. Mark’s gospel is like a biography of Abraham Lincoln that writes just his political life and says nothing about his birth and childhood.
John's gospel is only slightly different. He too does not give us the beautiful stories about the angels, the shepherds, the baby Jesus in the manger; but John chooses to tell us what it all means. In the very first chapter of his gospel, he writes a dense theological essay, which we read in the Mass during the Day. John tells us that God, in Jesus, has come into the world and by becoming a human being, has united heaven and earth. Jesus has done this by his word and example, but especially by giving his life on the cross. We can compare John’s coverage of the birth of Jesus, not to the front page news story, but to the editorial on page 8, that gives a commentary on what Jesus’ birth means.
Matthew tells us the story of Jesus’ birth in quite some detail, part of which we read in the Mass at the Vigil, with the long genealogy that traces the ancestry of Jesus back to Abraham. But Matthew tells the story with some sadness and foreboding. Like Mark, for him the birth of Jesus is an introduction to the main story, which is, his death and resurrection. Matthew hints at this theme when in the Christmas story he writes about the hostility of Herod, the indifference of the Jews, the slaughter of the Holy Innocents and the flight of the holy family into Egypt. Matthew's gospel is like a novelist who hints at the main theme of the novel at the beginning and then develops that theme throughout the novel.
It is Luke’s gospel that highlights the joyful aspects of the Lord’s birth and does so at some length. We read from Luke during the Masses at Night and at Dawn. Luke tells us about “the sky being lit up, an angel of God appearing to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus and a multitude of heavenly hosts singing God’s praise” like we do in the Gloria. Luke “speaks of tidings of great joy, nothing to fear, peace on earth, and most especially the good news that a Saviour has been born, a Saviour who is both Messiah and Lord.” We can compare Luke’s gospel to the feel-good feature story of a newspaper.
And so, the different ways of telling the Christmas story, while helping us appreciate the richness of Christmas also tell us that Christmas is really above all about the birth of the Saviour. This is a truth that three popular Christmas catchphrases attempt to recapture. Let's give them some theological meat.
Christian Life
The first catchphrase is Keep Christ in Christmas. This popular campaign sponsored by the Knights of Columbus today goes back to the efforts of some Lutherans in the 1920s. This cliché is simply trying to remind us of what the angel announced to the shepherds that "today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord," as well as of what Matthew's gospel said the child to be called Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."
That is why all our Christmas festivities mean nothing, if they don't in some way point us to this Saviour, the Word Made Flesh, Emmanuel, Jesus Christ.
- The Christmas bells and carols, the wreaths and mangers, the lights and stars should help us profess that the child born into this world is God's Son, our Saviour.
- The mistletoe and poinsettia, the holly and trees, should help express our belief in the eternal life, that this new born baby Jesus came to bring about.
- The Christmas gifts and cards, the meal and drink, even Santa Claus should reflect the fact that the birth of this infant brings glad tidings to us.
We keep Christ in Christmas, when our Christmas celebrations draw from or lead us to Christ. Otherwise, although we might be celebrating something alright, but that something would not be the Birth of Our Saviour.
A second catchphrase, this time an exclusively Catholic one says that the best way to keep Christ in Christmas is to keep Mass in Christmas. In other words, among our many Christmas observances, going to Mass must be the most central one. And why do we go to Mass? Is it simply for the beautiful singing or because our family always goes to midnight Mass? By the way, officially there is only a Mass during the night, the midnight Mass being simply a good little tradition, which some priests, like your Pastor, because he has help, can afford to offer. But what is important is going to Mass, any of the four Christmas Masses, to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Saviour, whose only reason for being born was so that he might die and rise for our sins.
The third Christmas catchphrase is the perennial debate on whether to greet people with "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" or "Merry Christmas." This seems to be a problem only in this country because of the constellation of American holidays in November and December: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanza and Christmas. And so some lump all these holidays together into one big happy holiday season; some others also claim that the neutral "holiday greetings" will not to offend non-Christians.
But Christmas is not just one other holiday, especially among Christians. Christmas belongs to a whole other league of holidays, for it is the day when "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, . . . [the day] when grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." As John tells us, from that day onwards, the World has never been the same. From that day onwards, Jesus has revealed God to us, and revealed the way to God. That is why as Catholics we should never be ashamed to proclaim this good News of Christmas, to let the world know that what we celebrate is not a holiday, but the birth of the Saviour.
For example, in my home country of Uganda, the whole village celebrates Christmas, Catholics, Protestants and Muslims. Even Muslims who don’t believe that Jesus is God are happy to rejoice with us. And because they know that this day means something special for us, they will wish us Merry Christmas.
Conclusion
Finally, a common staple of American television at this time are the classic Christmas movies: A Charlie Brown Christmas, It is a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street. They have staying power only because they depict Christmas as an event that inspires some action. May our Christ-centered Christmas celebrations also inspire us to action, to a recommitment to Jesus and to our neighbour.
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