Father David: Homily for Christmas eve

This year, in the days before Christmas, I found myself repeating over and over, the words of the angel to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem: "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:10-12). Indeed, we hear again and again the words of consolation in all the parts of Scripture and throughout the generations of the history of salvation: "Do not be afraid". We hear them, we, people of faith, and we attempt to put them into practice with all our might because we know that this is what faith means – not to be afraid – "If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" (Romans 8:31-32). However we must openly admit: it is not easy to live without fear in our world – a world that sometimes seems very threatening, a world that cultivates anxiety and fear. However, this evening we come here, gathered around the manger of the Lord and we seek to strengthen our faith in that God who gives to us "a child… born for us, a son given to us… and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

Life without fear, that is life of faith, is built upon corrected vision. The eyes of the body see all the reasons to fear. However, the eyes of the spirit see the signs that God provides to the human person – signs of His presence, His hidden strength and kingdom. This year, the subject of the signs has very much been occupying my thoughts. What are these signs, appearing in the readings of the feast?

In the first reading, we hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah: "Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Generations of exegetes have argued about the identity of the young woman and others have debated about whether she was a virgin or not…. But, this year, I am not wondering about the identity of the virgin but rather about the substance of the sign? The context is clear: a menacing world, an anxious king – the immediate danger from the north, constituted by the Assyrian Empire, provoking unrest in the whole region and a Syrian coalition that is about to advance into the territory of the Kingdom of Judah. Ahaz, the king of Judah, is paralyzed with anxieties and fears for the future. Where is the God of Israel? What are the acts of the Rock of Israel? He gives a sign in the words of the prophet: "Behold, the young woman". In the shadow of death, a sign of life, in the shadow of darkness, a sign of light, in the shadow of the end, a sign of new beginnings. The young woman is pregnant… she carries in her womb the hope for the future. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). Instead of a stunning victory, instead of "thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking" (see Exodus 20:18), instead of "a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces… an earthquake… a fire" (see 1 Kings 19:11-12) – "a sound of sheer silence". You can easily miss the sound, you can easily miss the pregnant young woman, passing alongside her without even noticing… she radiates light because she is carrying life in her womb and we are sunken in our anxiety and fear… We simply do not notice – in her womb, the sign… Immanuel – God is with us. However, we close ourselves off from him and do not make a place for him because there is no room for faith in Him in our inn. Anxiety prevents us from opening up and so we remain like a barren woman instead of responding to the call to become bearers of God in our midst.

Yet, the shepherds are not like us… on that cold and dark night, they did hear the voice of the angel: "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger". Strange things they heard, when you think about it: the Savior is born… the Messiah, the Lord! Was he born in a palace of kings? Did he come into the world to the sounding of trumpets and choirs singing? In glory and radiance, in splendor and honor? And what is this proclamation? To shepherds and not to the rulers of the people? To those on the margins and not the ruling elites? The savior of the world comes and shepherds are the only ones who know. The sign: a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger! Indeed, the eyes of the body will not perceive him… a helpless baby without even a suitable resting place so he is laid in a manger in a stable. In a manger, in which food is placed for beasts, as if he was food for the hungry, and wrapped in bands of cloth like the body of one crucified and laid in a tomb. Is this what we were waiting for? Is this what the prophets anticipated? Can it be that he is the Savior of the world?

"For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength" (1 Corinthians 1:25). He came to turn upside down our thoughts, to surprise our expectations, to shake up our existence… to awaken us from the illusion that all is known, everything is under control, that despair is the only logical response to the grim reality of our world. Brothers and sisters, tonight we must awaken because a sign is given us. Let us open our spiritual eyes to see the sign. Seeing it is not our only obligation for we must ourselves become a sign. We did not miss the young woman nor the child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. We came here, confident that he was born. Now we must become the sign of great joy – the joy of Immanuel – God is with us – and become witnesses to this joy "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).