Homily for Christmas

[This is based on the readings for the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve]

I love that gospel reading.

Yes, it is longer than the ones we usually here and, yes, it is full of names that are difficult to pronounce; but it is truly beautiful.

First, it is beautiful for what it does. The purpose of the genealogy of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew is to show to the reader that Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of King David. It reaches back all the way to Abraham, the father of the people of Israel, and traces the promise of God down through the ages.

It goes through the patriarchs who followed Abraham, down through King David and his descendants, through the Babylonian exile when the people of Israel were driven from their home - to their return, all the way down to Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

That promise, that God would be with his people, was fulfilled. The promise that God made to David, that he would raise up one of his descendants as a king who would reign forever, comes true in the birth of Jesus.

He's everything that they had hoped for - He's who the Law of Moses foreshadowed, He's the one who the prophets spoke about, He's the truth that all the stories of the Old Testament pointed towards.

God guided his people through the ages so that, when the time was right, he Himself could come to them and live as one of them.

And that brings us to another reason why this gospel reading is so beautiful: look at how God worked. That list of names isn't one of perfect people. They're not artificial or inhuman figures who made no mistakes. No, they are people. People who did good things and bad things, who loved and who sinned.

What it comes down to is: God trusted humanity.

He allowed his plan to be carried out by these imperfect beings, all the while helping them along. They made mistakes and fell short of what he asked of them, but He kept working

And then, on that night when all the promises would be fulfilled, he trusted them even more.

He trusted us with Himself.

This tells us something amazing about God and about Christmas. It can be summed up in one word: vulnerability.

The heir to the throne of David didn't come and crush sinful humanity. He didn't come and demand our worship - which He deserves as the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity.

He came and offered Himself - as a weak, vulnerable little baby. God trusted Himself to us - first in the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, but ultimately to all of us. And when he had grown up, he showed the ultimate sign of vulnerability by giving Himself on the cross.

What does that say about our God? It says that he loves us to the point of leaving Himself at our mercy - to the point of giving everything He is to His creatures who don't know how to accept His love.

On this Christmas Eve, when we come face to face with the unbelievable love of God, we must choose how to respond to that offering.

He made Himself vulnerable so that we could do the same.
He gave Himself so that we could give ourselves.
He lowered Himself so that we could know Him and love Him and surrender everything we are to the one who loves us more than we can imagine.

This Christmas, let us look at our own lives and decide what we need to do to love God more fully. Where should we start: definitely the sacraments - especially the Mass and confession. Then: daily prayer - spending time, even just a little time, speaking to our God. And then service - sharing the love that we've received with every person we encounter.

This night is our opportunity to choose Him once again. To make our faith the center of everything we are and everything we do. The celebration of Christmas is a celebration of love - a love that is always available to us. All we must do is give ourselves to Him like He gave Himself to us.