No darkness can overcome this light

Homily for the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) 2016—St. Kevin Parish, Chicago
Vigil Mass:  Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 89; Acts 13:16-17, 22-5; Matthew 1:1-25
Mass During the Day:  Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18

Most of us enjoy receiving Christmas cards, whether they come to us in the more traditional way (through the mail) or through an increasing number of electronic means (e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.). Some are religious and others quite secular.  Some are funny and others are tug at our heartstrings.  Almost all of them, however, leave us with feelings of comfort, peace and perhaps some nostalgia.

But what would happen if instead of sending you a Christmas card, someone sent you the front page of a recent newspaper like the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, or Wall Street Journal?   Chances are that those headlines wouldn’t exactly put you in the holiday spirit.  This past Wednesday, the front page of the Tribune featured this picture of Tavon Tanner, an 11 year-old boy with a scar running from his chest to below his navel—a permanent and painful reminder of his being yet another innocent victim of the often mindless violence that plagues our city.

Perhaps the person who gave you the newspaper rather than a Christmas card would be doing you a favor.  We’ve heard a lot in recent years about the so-called “War on Christmas,” usually involving some group like American Atheists or the ACLU protesting a Nativity scene in a park or courthouse square or the singing of Christmas carols and the sharing of Christmas cards at a public school.  The irony is that there is a far bigger and more insidious threat to Christmas:  its ongoing commercialization, domestication and sanitization.  By making it into a day on which our primary goal is to feel good—surrounded by family, friends, food and more and more stuff—we may also be robbing Christmas of some of its power and relevance.

Don’t get me wrong.  We have every reason to celebrate in the face of so great a gift and mystery:  the birth of the Son of God, the Word made flesh, Emmanuel—God with us!  Yet our scripture readings this Christmas confront us with another reality:  God not only chose to dwell among us as one of us but also in our world and the human family as they are, that is without much tinsel, glitter, gilded wrapping paper or more stuff that we may not need.

We can too easily forget or ignore that Jesus was born in a nation under military occupation, where the threat of rebellion and its brutal repression were ever-present.  His earthly ancestors were a mixture of patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and a prostitute (Rahab), righteous kings (Josiah, Hezekiah) and at least one that sacrificed his children to idols (Manasseh), and one (David) who was both a great leader and servant of God and an adulterer and murderer.

Jesus’ parents were working people of modest means.  Mary and Joseph had to deal with a pregnancy that was definitely unplanned and a mission so powerful that it was given to them by angels.  It’s easy to understand their fears; but it’s even more inspiring to reflect on their faith and their desire to respond to God’s call, regardless of the cost.

So let’s celebrate Christmas, but not merely because it means a few days off, some good food, good company and nice presents.  Let’s celebrate above all the great love of God that was made real in Jesus—the Light that shines in the darkness and which no darkness can overcome—a love that we can share every day. +