“The Lord is With You” by Rev. Paul Berghout (@FatherPB)

“The Lord is With You” by Rev. Paul Berghout (@FatherPB)

Poster Illustration by Bro. Mickey O'Neill McGrath, OSFS

Monday in Fourth Week of Advent – Christmas Eve Day Mass in the Morning

Piety

When King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" Nathan answered the king, "Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you." 2 Samuel 7:1-3

In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1:78-79

Study
Today, we sit on the threshold of Advent and Christmas.  Tomorrow is what humanity is waiting for, preparing for, hoping for.  Yet, we need one more sunset and sunrise before the fullness of time. Yet, even on Christmas Eve morning, the Lord is with us.

Yesterday, the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent began with: “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste.”  This reminded me of a sign I saw outside a church: “Hurry in this Sunday to beat the Christmas rush.”

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth recalls the importance of spiritual accompaniment and mentoring. St. John of the Cross said that some people do not advance in spirituality because “sometimes they misunderstand themselves and are without suitable and alert directors.”

Consider that it is Elizabeth’s attentive listening to Mary’s words of greeting that sets off the unborn John the Baptist’s joyful leap.  Elizabeth herself utters a blessing that underlines the close connection between faith and attention to God’s word.

Spiritual direction and mentoring are even more important in these chaotic times e.g. The Archangel Gabriel told Mary to go mentor and spend time helping Elizabeth. And Elizabeth is happy to see her.

Both Mary and Elizbeth were experiencing key life transitions. Their shared experience of pregnancy extends the bonds of kinship between them and provides sustenance, strength, and support to both, breaking the isolation that could bar each of them from entering into the deepest possible understanding of themselves and what God is doing in the course of their lives.

What is God doing in your life? Where is God active in your life?

The desire to share this in spiritual direction or to mentor is the mark of the Good Spirit.

St. Ignatius Loyola tells us that the devil loves secrecy (like a false lover in courtship for those contemplating marriage) since he can easily have his way with one who is not open to a good director.

Mary remained with Elizabeth for three months which indicates the daily give-and-take of what transpired between them and suggests that the relationship between mentor and protégé is one that develops patiently, taking its time as a matter of accompaniment, not as a single simple intervention.

Elizabeth’s words to Mary were, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

This speaks of reciprocal mentoring or being blessed by our sharing with others.

“How can I grow in trusting God? How is God’s word being fulfilled in my life?”

As the sun sets on today, we are ready for God to be with us.

The reality of all those Christmas pageants of the last few weeks will play out in real time.  The third grade was staging their annual Christmas pageant. Finally, it came time for the birth. Mary was hidden from the crowd by bales of hay. A boy appeared on stage, in a bathrobe with sandals, a stethoscope around his neck. He disappeared behind the hay bales and reemerged with a bundle. He handed it to Joseph and said, "Congratulations—it's a God!"

Yes, God is born on Christmas Day!

What a strange thing to say: God is born. How can God be born? God is eternal. Without beginning. Without end. The Alfa and the Omega. How can He be born?

Well, the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and says, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

There is no snatching of people off the earth up to heaven. It is God who is raptured down to earth. Christmas is a rapture in reverse.

Why was God born?  God was born in Jesus Christ to reconcile us to God. The fruit of which is the peace of God.

Notice our Gospel passage tonight calls the angels that celebrated Jesus’ birth the “heavenly host.” The word “host” is the word for army. But the multitude of angels didn’t sing “God will fight for you against the Romans!” That wasn’t their song at all. Their song was peace. “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Ephesians 2:14 says that "He himself is our peace."  There is the peace no human being can take from us, no one save ourselves: Christ is our peace. Peace is not the mere absence of conflict, but a peace rooted in one’s reconciliation with God.

Born in a manger. Shepherds were the first to know: small-time people, and small-town places.  He picked amateurs and nobodies. Jesus was born on the night shift.

Too often people spoil their whole lives in desires to have when our main interests should be devoted to efforts to be:  to be kind, to be humble, to be holy, to be prayerful.

Christmas also teaches us that while creation is not God, it is also not separate from God. The world is the place for encountering God.

The concept of eternity has now also entered into historical time. The universal to the particular—this baby, this manger, is where God is. This tabernacle. This Church; this part of the Church. The union established between man and God in the Incarnation is continued and made closer through Holy Communion. For this reason, we were urged to prepare all through Advent for a worthy Christmas Communion. In being spiritually reborn in our soul by Holy Communion, Christ increases the life of grace in us, making this life develop more freely and expand with more strength, thus preparing us more and more for the eternal life with Him in heaven.

Action

The nativity scene that unfolds tonight and every tomorrow throughout eternity by itself is not the whole story; it's only the first act.

We won't understand the breaking dawn of Christmas without the breaking dawn of Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost.

We won't find the Son of the true God without finding our neighbor in need. We, like the infant Christ, are deeply formed by the relationships of love that constitute our lives. At Christmas, we are invited to reflect on our vulnerability and embrace our dependence. To give up one's very self — to think of others — how to bring the greatest eternal happiness to others through Jesus Christ — that is the true meaning of Christmas, and why we celebrate God being born tonight.

Amen.