Guest Column: A Christmas Sermon
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I wonder if anyone nowadays remembers O. Henry — the author, not the candy bar.
A little more than a hundred years ago, just after the stock market crash known as the "Panic of 1903," O. Henry wrote a wonderful Christmas story called "The Gift of the Magi." It's about a young married couple, Della and Jim, struggling to make ends meet in an economy not so much different from what we're experiencing now. They don't have much; there's been a downturn in their lives; money is short, and yet, as Christmas approaches, each wants to give the other the best of presents.
Della's pride is her waist-length, lustrous hair. Jim treasures the gold pocket watch that had belonged to his father and grandfather before him. On Christmas Eve, both are looking for ways to give the other a perfect gift. So, Della approaches a wigmaker and offers to sell her auburn hair. Soon it's all cut away, leaving only a fringe of curls. But, with the money, she buys Jim a one-of-a-kind platinum chain for his treasured watch.
And Jim? When he comes home with his present for Della, his face registers a mixture of awe and chagrin as he places a package before her. For in it is a set of exquisite tortoise shell combs that Della has long admired from afar, combs for her beautiful hair — and to purchase the combs what had Jim done, but sell his heirloom watch.
Neither combs nor chain could be used that Christmas, but it didn't matter for what each of them did, they did for love.
Why did the Word become flesh? He did it for love. Why did the Son of God empty himself to be born of Mary? He did it for love. Why did Jesus come among us as one like us in all things but sin? He did it for love.
Christian faith accepts that at a certain moment in time God in His love for us stepped into our history, clad in our flesh and blood, in order to heal our sinfulness and draw us to himself. St. John expressed the mystery in one short sentence: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."
There is always an appealing freshness about the Christmas story. We never tire of hearing how the infant Jesus lay in swaddling clothes in a manger at Bethlehem. The shepherds guarding their flocks on the nearby hillside were filled with awe as the chorus of angels broke the silence of the night with their joyous song of praise: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
The great feast of the Nativity celebrates the closeness of God to us, born into our ordinary life. It's a mystery which stretches our minds beyond their limits, moving us towards that horizon where time touches eternity. The newborn child is our living link with God. We are amazed and surprised that God should come among us in such humble circumstances, that God should love us so much.
Our celebration of the birth of our Lord is more than a remembrance of the happenings in Bethlehem on a starry night 2,000 years ago. It is a reminder that God loves us so much that he sent his only Son among us to save us, to forgive our sins and to show us a way to our heavenly home. With Joseph, we are told: "Do not be afraid."
In compassion, God has broken the barrier between creature and creator, by reaching down and presenting himself to us as a child, inspiring love rather than fear. Since that night, the newborn child, flesh of our flesh yet the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, is our living link with divinity, and God is always near to those who welcome him with an open heart. As heaven comes down to earth, it carries with it timeless blessings which soften the hardest of hearts. Bitterness and grudges are dissolved by the affection of the newborn child who has raised us up to a life far beyond any human expectations.
Christmas focuses not only on what Jesus did by making his home with us, but on what we must do, as it reveals that we are loved by God as part of his family.
The consequences of that in our daily living are truly enormous. Everyone else is part of the family as well. To neglect the old, to be contemptuous of the poor, and to have no thought for the unemployed and the lonely, is to ignore our brothers and sisters in Christ, to ignore those with whom Jesus has identified himself, in reality to ignore Jesus himself. There is no point in being sentimental about the doors slammed by the folk in Bethlehem, if there is no room in our own hearts for the needy. We all need to examine ourselves on the doors we close to Jesus. The happiness and peace of Christmas comes from within, when God is born in the stable of our hearts, when we show others God's love in us.
Each time we surprise ourselves by extravagant generosity, uncharacteristic forgiveness or heroic service, we step out of our conventional role and create oases of love in our desert world. In doing so, we risk respectability, ridicule and rejection. Without risk, we cannot imitate a God who, in sharing his own divine life, kept nothing exclusively for himself. To live like him is to risk letting in the stranger, welcoming the poor, trusting in God for tomorrow, keeping nothing just for oneself or one's family.
It is a challenge that does not bear thinking about. It could be so frightening and so demanding. But the birth of Jesus reassures us that God loves us, that he is with us now and always. His presence within and among us enables us to step beyond our limited selves again and again and so bring true love to everyone whose lives we touch this Christmas.
The stupendous gift of God is a savior to a sinful world, a shepherd to lost sheep, a light to those in darkness, the healing of God for our wounds, the side-by-side companionship of God for all of us on the road of life, the love of God for us all. He did it for love.
Christmas is about love, about giving and about the returning of love for love. It's the time of year when our hearts are focused in the right place, when we truly realize that it is more blessed to give than to receive. We are more alive, more sensitive to the many needs of the poor who are crying out for our generosity and caring. We are more sensitive to those who find the going tough, whose lives at this particular time are in the shadow of the crib because of a cross or a recent death. Because Christmas highlights God’s love for us, it makes us more mindful of the love we are called to share with others.
But Christmas is more — it is the reminder that God-is-with-us every day.
And, if God is with us every day, shouldn't we make the reality of Christmas happen every day? Isn't the fact of God's love for us something to share not just once a year, but all the time? That's the Christmas challenge — that's why he did it — for love of us.
May love of and for Christ reign in our hearts; may we show it to others not only at Christmas but every day. Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad, Ve-so-wee Svi-ont, Joyeaux Noel, Buon Natale. I wish I could say it in every tongue. For Christ shows his love anew today Christ is alive, Christ is here, Christ is with us. He did it for love — for love of us all.
