Christmas Homily 2016

Before 2000 years ago, Christ could not be seen. Our Heavenly Father could only be heard through the voices of the prophets. As we heard in the first reading, from the prophet Isaiah, “People walk in great darkness.”

Sometimes, we can walk in great darkness. Sometimes no matter how hard we try, it seems like God is distant. Like we can’t see Him, we can’t hear Him, we can’t feel His voice. And especially if we’ve been away from God, if we’ve been away from the sacraments or if we’ve been away from the church, God can seem distant.

But all that changed 2000 years ago. Our God who has always known to be transcendent, to be distant from the people. This is how it used to be, before Christ came into the world, there was like a veil between God. He was separate. He was in the sky. He was up there. Before Christ came into the world only the prophets heard God. The common people would never hear Him. It was only the priests when they went into the temple or Moses who went up to the mountain, heard the voice of God. But God desired to remove that veil. God wanted to be experienced in the flesh and so 2000 years ago God did something absolutely amazing, He came down from the heavens and descended to the most unexpected place . . . Bethlehem, a stable. He was born amidst the animals to a common woman, Mary.

And what happened 2000 years ago, changed everything and now we experience Christ in the flesh. The reality is that every time we celebrate Mass right on this altar, Jesus is born and He’s made flesh. Right here as the gifts of bread and wine are brought forward, we receive the body of Christ. That’s one of the four ways that we experience Him in Mass.

Every time we hear the word of God proclaimed. When the word of God is proclaimed, all we have to do is hear the voice and all of a sudden from here, God all of a sudden takes off and He’s in your heart, and He’s in your heart and if you’re listening He’s in your heart and He’s in your heart. All of a sudden God takes on flesh.

The third way He’s experienced is in His people. Jesus promised that where two or three are gathered in His name, He is present among us. God is present right now. When you offer the sign of peace together, you offer each other the Body of Christ. And the reality is, no matter how far back you sit, I’m coming to the Cannon family here, God is with you! He’s taken a seat with you. He is right here with you, amongst the people.

The fourth way that we experience God during the Mass, love him or hate him, is the priest. So no matter who the priest is at every single Mass, we experience God. Maybe God has seemed distant from you, or maybe the reality is you may have been distant from God.

We all know that there are Christmas and Easter Catholics, right, so the churches are full. I’m so glad to see all of you but you know is delighted? Your parents and you know who is even more delighted than that? – God, our heavenly father is so delighted that you are here with Him, because He wants to take flesh that you may experience Him.

So I just invite you, if you have been away from the church, if you have been away from the sacraments, maybe right now God is wanting to come close to you. Maybe you have experienced some kind of suffering or some kind of loss or some kind of difficulty, and God has seemed distant, and right now, at Christmas, He wants to be born in your heart. But God is so reverent that when he descends, He only comes into our hearts if we welcome Him.

So that’s what I’m going to ask you to do in just a few moments, to just take a moment of silence after the homily and to invite God into your heart. I promise you, if you ask, you will receive, and if you receive Jesus into your heart, it changes everything. No longer is Christ distant, no longer is God the Father distant in a way. All of a sudden you will experience Him in everything, and then you’ll want to come every Sunday, after Sunday, after Sunday, and experience Him more and more.

My brothers and sisters, God came 2000 years ago in human flesh as an infant to be born so that he could be touched, so that he could be held, so that he could be experienced and heard and seen. This is what happens at every sacrament. We hear God, we see God, we touch God.

So I invite you now to close your eyes, to silence your heart and your mind and invite God into your heart, that you can truly experience the merriest Christmas of all.