Two thousand years ago a baby was born, and we are going to celebrate his birthday. There were no TV cameras or radio broadcasts to announce the birth, and there was no mention in a newspaper. The printing press would not be invented for another 1500 years. The mother insisted that she was still a virgin and her husband had married her anyway. He was a carpenter, and they had traveled to a far away city for a census. When they arrived in this city, they could not find any rooms to stay in as the inns were filled. They finally found space in an animal shelter where they stayed through the birth. The baby was wrapped in rags and placed in an eating trough for the animals, which were probably sheep and goats. They were alone without any reporters to tell the world that a new king was born. The setting was as you would expect of the poorest people in the world.
Shepherds and others came to see the new baby, and later wise men from the East came with gifts. We have heard this story many times, but it is still wonderful to listen to. The question is how did the shepherds and the wise men know about the birth of the Son of God. There was no way of reporting events or happenings, and word of mouth needed people to carry the message. Only God could have revealed the birth to the shepherds and wise men and told them where to find the child. Our knowledge comes from St. Luke who heard about this event from the mother, Mary, as he grew to know her in the years after Jesus was crucified. His was a first-hand reporting that we can read today and has never dimmed or been lost down through the ages. The rest of the story starts at age twelve and again when Jesus was about thirty. He asked us to do three things. First, we are to ask him to forgive our sins and atone for them. Second, we are to love his Father, the one true God. Third we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. It sounds pretty easy does it not? But, it seems to cause a lot of trouble for many. I heard that some Muslim students at a Catholic University were complaining that there was too much being done about Christmas. We have seen the war on Christmas with individuals and groups demanding that Christmas decorations be removed and images of the birth taken down.
There is only one entity that is afraid of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and that is the devil himself. I have never understood why anyone would object to worshiping one God and loving your neighbor. While this hatred of Christmas and what it stands for is present, the spirit of Christ overcomes it during this time of year. We see the glee in the eyes of children and people working at finding gifts for others. There is a joy in the air that is not the norm any other time of the year. Christmas brings people to Church who will not attend for another year or until the next Christmas. All seem to be happier and ready to smile at one another. It is a very special time, and it has been that way for over two thousand years. Only a loving God could have given us this gift, and when you receive your Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh this Christmas, please take that special feeling of love for your neighbor into the next year.
I WISH ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND JOYOUS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
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