Christmas All Year

Celebrating the birth of Jesus every Sunday

12/25/2023

Lk 2:1-14 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

At Christmas time everyone is looking to give the perfect gift. For instance, I recently heard this story. A young woman’s older mother got a fax machine at her office. This was very new technology for the mother. The daughter suggested sending their correspondence by fax instead of using the old, slower post office. The daughter kept insisting the fax was a faster and a less expensive way to communicate than by snail mail.

But her mother, a rather old-fashioned lady, continued to send her mail by weekly letters. At Christmas, however, her mother showed that now she had a full grasp of the new technology. She faxed her daughter a $100 bill with the note: “Merry Christmas, Darling! You’re right! It is cheaper to fax than to mail. Love, Mom.” Some communication is still better by snail mail.

Now, personally, the best Christmas gift ideas I learned from Archbishop Peter Sartain, our former bishop. He told me that when he travels for business or on vacation to foreign countries he doesn’t look for souvenirs, he looks for Christmas presents. Well, recently I took a page out of his book. This past January I went back to India for my cousin’s wedding. While there I went Christmas shopping and bought 25 hand-crafted, ornate throw pillow covers.

At the time, my brother rolled his eyes as I hauled these pillow covers through airports and customs checks, and patiently stored them for 11 months. But now I have the perfect Christmas present for the church staff. And the best part is, only one of us was running around doing last minute shopping. I recently read that 142 million Americans were still shopping on December 23rd, so my brother was not alone. In other words, Archbishop Sartain helped me to think about Christmas all year around.

In the gospel of Luke, we see the inspired evangelist thinking about Christmas gift-giving all year long, too. How so? Well, we know the first and best Christmas present was the Baby Jesus born in Bethlehem. But did you catch certain clues that St. Luke drops that Jesus would be the gift that keeps on giving all year long? First of all the town where Jesus is born was Bethlehem, which means in Hebrew “house of bread.” And secondly, the Baby Jesus is placed in a manger, a feeding trough for animals.

Saints and scholars up and down the centuries have insisted these clues were intentionally recorded by Luke to reveal that Jesus was not just God-made-Man at Christmas, but he would eventually become God-made-Bread at every Mass to feed the whole world. In other words, the Eucharist, the Mass, Holy Communion, was symbolized in the circumstances of Jesus’ birth.

In other words, being born in Bethlehem and placed in a manger were not accidents of Jesus’ birth, they were accent marks of his birth. That is, these details accentuated how Jesus would be the Gift that keeps on giving, not only all year long, but even down the centuries, until we arrive at this Mass today, where God is not made Flesh but Food sacramentally, and not at the announcement of an angel, but at the pronouncement a priest.

Here are some more clues about how we celebrate Christmas all year long in the Catholic Church. At most Sunday Masses throughout the year we sing the great hymn “Gloria” that the angel choirs first sang at Bethlehem, “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” (Glory to God in the highest!). That’s why Catholic churches have choir lofts, because the musicians are the modern angels “we have heard on high, singing sweetly o’er the plains.”

Furthermore, at Mass every Sunday we see fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” You see, that prophesy was fulfilled initially 2,000 years ago at the first Christmas, but it is re-fulfilled sacramentally at every Mass. How? Because this church is the true Bethlehem, the house of Eucharistic Bread. And this altar is the true manger, not a trough for animals, but a table for God’s children to enjoy the Bread of Angels, which by the way, the angels don’t even get to taste. Why not? Because angels don’t have any teeth.

Folks, let me urge you to think about Christmas the way Archbishop Sartain taught me. Oh, I don’t mean just to remember to buy cool gifts all year long when you go on a long trip and just to make your older brother jealous. (Although that is pretty awesome, too.) Rather, try to remember that the greatest gift of Christmas is Jesus himself, and he is available all year long in the House of Bread, your local church, and lying in a manger, called the altar.

You know, sometimes I joke that today is when our CEO Catholics show up for Mass. C.E.O. is not "Chief Executive Officer," but “Christmas and Easter Only.” Now, I’m just kidding, and I am very grateful that all of you are here. In fact, I consider it no small miracle that anyone at anytime walks through the doors of a Catholic Church. Why? Because there are so many other interesting places you can go and fascinating people you can meet. But only in this place can you find the one Person that is the Baby born who was in Bethlehem and who now has become the Food to feed the whole world. You don’t have to wait till December 25 to celebrate Christmas. We celebrate Christmas here all year long.

Praised be Jesus Christ!