Christmas Eve/ Christmas Day

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There are two offerings today. One was Christmas eve and the other Christmas Day. Although I left the Christmas day Homily behind when I went to Rose Green.





Christmas Eve

In the French Catholic Church in London every year they do the most extraordinary crib scene. They build a small model village where there is the hustle and bustle of a French town. In the midst of all this chaos and what seems like confusion there is a small area where a child is born to a man and woman in a stable. He was born not in any great pomp or ceremony he was born in obscurity and poverty almost hidden from the world around. And so the Son of God Jesus dwelt among us in time. It seems a quiet event among all that is going on. So God comes among us quietly and gently into our world of chaos: Love enters in and dwelt among us.

So this event happened 2000 years ago what it means for us today. I suspect that it means meeting up with family that you rarely see, watching the queen’s speech, listening to cracker jokes that are not really funny, eating Brussels sprouts for the first time in a year, watching the great escape and sleeping in the chair after what seemed to be a really busy day. And then you get those immortal lines “Well that’s all over for another year.”
We have our own chaos at Christmas we have so much to do for Christmas and on Christmas day itself we sometimes forget the true meaning of what Christmas actually means. So let us take some time this evening before Christmas day to reflect on what Jesus means to us. How this Man changed the world and continues to change both our life and the world. How His message of peace and love is something that we should all aspire to.

If we want peace in our world then it starts with us. It starts in our families and neighbourhoods. It starts by showing Christian values to those around us. It starts with you and me. It starts by allowing the love of God to penetrate our hearts. So as we exchange presents to each other let us think about what we can also give Jesus this Christmas maybe a well known carol can help us. 
What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him:  give my heart.

So this Christmas as we enter into the festivities let’s put Christ’s message at the heart of our celebrations and this year give him our heart.


Christmas Day Homily

I wonder what Christmas means to you? Does it mean family coming round? Eating Brussels sprouts for the first time in a year? Does it mean watching the queens speech and falling asleep slumped in a chair after lunch? Or, a time, to enjoy watching the Children’s faces as they open up their presents?  And then at the end of the day when the great escape has finished those immortal lines come flooding out “well that’s over for another year”

And yet behind these traditions and this day is a birth of a small child and so we must never lose sight of what is behind all these celebrations and why they are important. It seems that in today’s society the commercial aspect of the Christmas gets longer and longer. For example in one department store in London they were selling Christmas decorations in august.

In today’s Gospel we get the true meaning of Christmas explained to us in John’s great poem of our salvation. It tells us the pre existence of God “In the beginning was the word” and that he came down to us on earth and lived among us. It also expresses light for the nations.
It also describes Jesus as the light which the darkness cannot over power the darkness. 

We recognize that Jesus comes as a baby penetrate our darkened world and shine a way for all of us to follow. But, let us focus on this baby for a while. Anyone will recognize that a baby is the most vulnerable of people it needs so much love and care and is totally dependent on its parents and those around them.  This is how God chose to enter into our world as a vulnerable child in lots of cribs they show the child raising its hands up to be held. At the end of Jesus life again we notice that the arms of Christ are out stretched on the cross. It is the expression and even on this happy of days we point towards Easter.

Just like Jesus we too can be quite vulnerable in so many ways, in our insecurities or our desire to love and be loved. It’s in our everyday encounters with friends and those whom we meet. Most of all we must learn and pray to make ourselves vulnerable in front of Jesus. To be the person he wants us to be to live in his love. 
And so as we gather here in the Church on this Christmas morning let us let us thank God came and made his home among us. That by his example of love we are able to love and show love to others. Ultimately we are to be lights in the darkness of this world and show Christ’s love to others. This is beautifully expressed in my favourite Christmas Carol: In the Bleak mid
winter.  Let us listen again to the last
verse:


What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him:  give my heart.






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