Christmas - Homily 8

Homily 8 - 2013

By the time Luke wrote his Gospel, Jesus had been born eighty years earlier.  He had been dead for a few days, fifty years back, but then had risen … and was still around.  The question for Luke’s readers, and for us, is where, and how, to find the risen One…  Perhaps Luke was hoping to give his readers a few hints through the angels and what they had to say in today’s story.  Let us explore a few possibilities.

The first angel said, You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  Is Luke, perhaps, telling us that Christ will be found in the ordinary … and so, probably, in the unexpected.  Disconcertingly, perhaps, is he to be found best in the poor, the vulnerable and the powerless?  To stand in the shoes of the oppressed and the excluded, the unwelcome, can provide an amazing, even shocking, entrée to reality.  However, in order to find Christ present in life lived, we need to cultivate the inner eye, the in-sight, that enables us, really, to see: to be open to the unfamiliar within the familiar; open, too, to wonder.  We may need, also, to approach our search expectantly.  How might we cultivate that inner eye?  My answer to that is: deliberately to create periods of stillness and emptiness in our otherwise hectic lives.

The angelic choir that took over from the solitary angel, sang: Peace to all who enjoy God’s favour.  Is peace your experience? Do you expect to experience peace? Luke seemed to think it a distinct possibility.  But, no one can do that for you.  For you to find peace, you have to discover Christ there in your life.  You need to discover that God is a God who favours, who loves.  Now that may not necessarily be the automatic sense of God that a lifetime of accumulated words and voices has taught you.  But, even if it is, to discover God for yourself, you need to engage with God.  And how can you do that?  My answer is the same as before: deliberately to create periods of stillness and emptiness in your otherwise hectic lives.

Let us go back again to the first angel, to the opening words, I bring you news of great joy.  Joy is not the same as pleasure; indeed, pleasure is nothing like joy, really.  Pleasures are stirred by our senses, and can be attractive and strong.  Joy comes from deeper within, usually quietly and unobtrusively – and it is markedly more fulfilling.  But it can be appreciated only through engagement with God.  And for that engagement to be real for you, my invitation is [You’ve guessed it!]: deliberately seek to create periods of stillness and emptiness in your otherwise hectic lives.

With that thought, I wish you all a “Happy, peaceful, truly joyful Christmas”!