Christmas – 2014 – Merry Chirstmas

Christmas – 2014 – Merry Chirstmas

Joke: Mark Twain refers to it in one of his books. He recalls a visit to the Holy Land and a stay in Capernaum. It was a moonlit night, so he decided to take his wife on a romantic boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Twain asked a man in a rowboat how much he would charge to take them out on the water. The man saw Twain's white suit, white shoes and white hat and supposed he was a rich Texan. So he said the cost would be twenty-five dollars. Twain walked away as he said, "Now I know why Jesus walked."

Exegesis:  Christmas is finally here. All four weeks of Advent we have been waiting and praying for the coming blessings of Christmas. And now Christmas is here. Today the angels are bringing us the good news of great joy for all the people, for to us is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. This good news of great joy is for all the people of God. As people of God we have a claim to the joy and the peace that the birth of Christ brings to the world. But how do I personally enter into this "great joy" of Christmas? Christmas rings out "joy to the world," yes, but how do I make this joy my own? This is an important question, for, even though God has declared joy to the whole world, there are still many among us who do not flow in this joy, many among us who do not know how to claim this joy and make it their own personally.

Practical:  We are thinking about Santa bringing gifts for Christmas but forget Jesus to be welcomed. We arrange Christmas trees with light and decorations, but for get to incorporate St. Joseph, Holy Mary and infant Jesus.  Of course, Jesus is light of the world. We use red colors of Santa but forget the angelic color of white. Are we thinking about gifts for us by Santa instead of thinking about gift for Jesus like the three magi did?   Gifts make us happy, but never forget the cause of that happiness, Child Jesus.

I wish all of you a wonderful and fun filled celebration of this joyful season. Therefore: “Sing psalms to the Lord with harp, with the sound of music, with trumpets and the sound of the horn, acclaim the King, the Lord” who is with us. Merry Christmas!