Here In Our Midst

Homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
At the Vigil Mass
24 December 2013

Stars flung like diamonds against the black sky,
Bethlehem sleeping as evening sails by,
Silent as sunrise caressing the Earth,
Deep in the silence a child comes to birth.

Just one of many born lowly and poor,
Prey for the hunger that waits at the door,
Born in a stable where strangers must lie,
A poor son of Adam, born but to die.

Born by the power that comes from above,
Born in our flesh to give flesh to God’s love,
Light for the blind, life for the dead,
Broken for us as the famished break bread.

What shall we call Him, this child of our dreams,
Israel’s beacon through many dim years,
The promise of ages, the long-waited dawn,
The future we cherish in God’s only Son!

Here where our hatred comes to an end,
Here where the stranger is brother and friend,
No longer abandoned by nation or race,
Here in our midst we touch God’s human face.

        This hymn-poem, entitled A Christmas Carol, written by Michael Joncas, has always been one of my favorite pieces when I think about the celebration of Christmas. Not only is there painted for us a quiet fulfillment of our anticipation of the coming of the Lord, but there is also a moment in which the reality of the situation at hand is truly made present.

        What is that reality? The reality that is present even before us now: That God continues to make Himself manifest to us, even though we may be unaware of it. The reality of the situation that, even today, “here in our midst we touch God’s human face.”

        In the Gospel we just heard – that wonderful re-telling of the story of the Nativity of the Lord – the Word that spoke creation into being quietly slips into the realm of time and space. Outside of Mary and Joseph, no one else knew how important this little baby was.

        That is, of course, until the angels appeared to the shepherds.

        (And, of course, until the star appeared to the Magi, but that’s another story for another day.)

        But that’s how God works.

        Most of the time God works quietly in our lives, “deep in the silence”, where we don’t realize the immensity of His actions. But then there are moments where God truly makes His presence known, and He wants us to know about it. And He does this so that we can be like the shepherds: To seek to see and touch the face of God.

        Yet, there is a reality we must face as well: The hungers of this world will feed on each one of us as prey if we are not careful. If we stop seeking the face of God, then we allow the hungers of the world to overtake us, to consume us.

        To be Christian is to seek the face of God in all things. To be Christian is to rejoice that our God continues to dwell among His people through Word and through Sacrament. To be Christian is to recognize that, not only on Christmas but throughout the entirety of the year, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”; that Jesus Christ was “born in our flesh to give flesh to God’s love.”

        It is now our responsibility to enflesh that love of God, even as we continue to seek His face. It is up to us to recognize how powerful the world’s hungers are, and how we can be a prey to their teeth. Nevertheless, as Frederick Buechner reminds us that “the place God calls [us] to is the place where [our] deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” It is there, “deep in the silence”, where we see the face of God.

        My brothers and sisters, during this joyful and busy time, as we gather with family and friends to celebrate the ecstasy of the Mystery of the Incarnation – the fact that our God became like one of us in all things but sin –, we should not forget to spend some time in that silence where the Lord beckons us to encounter Him. And as important as it is seek His face daily, we can never forget the importance of seeking Him in Word and in Sacrament when we gather each week as His Body, truly enfleshing our God through our thoughts, words and actions.

        For it is here, in our midst, now, that Jesus Christ calls us to come closer to Him. It is here, in our midst, where the angels announce His birth, It is here, in our midst, that our deepest gladness and the world’s deepest hunger meets. It is here, in our midst, that Heaven kisses Earth in the eternal embrace of the Divine Love which was made manifest for our redemption and salvation.

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Enjoy the journey . . .