Lessons and Carols
Dc. Larry Brockman
Are you ready for the coming of Christ! If you have been coming to Mass during Advent, then you know that this is the theme of the Advent Season- being ready for the coming of Christ. But that begs the point. What does it really mean to be ready for the coming of Christ?
This is prime time in the holiday season. Most folks are out there getting ready for Christmas the way our culture has taught us. They are putting up lights or shopping or baking or partying or decorating the tree and house or writing Christmas Cards or any of those other things we all do to get ready. But you have taken the time on such a busy Sunday afternoon to listen to what the coming of Christ is really all about and to understand why we are really rejoicing on Christmas Day.
Now don’t get me wrong. All of those things I mentioned above are fine traditions. But they are putting the cart before the horse. Because we are so busy celebrating and having a good time that we are missing the reason for our joy at Christmas.
It is Jesus who is the real reason for the season and the amorphous “Spirit of Christmas” that everybody celebrates; that feeling of good will towards others; putting aside our busy work and school chores to celebrate; and the feasting on all those cookies and fine meals. Well, they should proceed from our understanding of Jesus gift to us rather than precede it.
We just spent about thirty minutes hearing about how the salvation of mankind came about and how Jesus became God’s ultimate gift to mankind. Let’s review briefly what we heard.
First, we heard about man’s fall- the story of Adam and Eve. So, all of us who descended from Adam and Eve were born into a world crippled by that original sin. Next, we heard from several of the Old Testament Prophets that God still loves us and that God would save us by sending us a savior. The prophets said the Spirit of God would rest on this savior, God’s anointed one. He would gather all his people into a special place- a place of everlasting happiness.
Think about that a minute. We can go on celebrating the secular Christmas for just so long. And then, our life is gone. But the Joy of Christmas is an everlasting joy, because we will be in an eternal home.
Then, the Prophet Isaiah predicted this savior would come to us through a child. And indeed, we hear in the Annunciation story that Mary will bear that child. We also learn that the child will be God himself, in the person of the Son of God.
Next, we hear about the birth of Jesus and the coming of the magi, the Three Kings. And so, the promise of salvation made to the Jews was extended to all peoples as symbolized by the three Kings.
Lastly, we heard what is called the “Last Gospel”. St John tells us about the nature of God in a nutshell. They are the clearest words on the nature of the Trinity available in scripture and they define Jesus as the second person of the Trinity. Yes, Jesus is both God and man.
And so, the whole story of Jesus coming was reviewed for us through these 8 scriptures passages. We’ve heard all of it before, haven’t we? But do we really appreciate what it all means? And do we understand why it brings us so much joy?
First of all, Christianity is unique. It is even unique among those religions who believe in one God. That’s because all other religions believe that God is so far above us that we cannot easily relate to him, especially not relate to him one on one. But Jesus came into the world as one of us. He grew, lived, played, learned, worked, taught, suffered, died, and was buried in the same way all of us experience life. He related to people just like you and I one on one. When Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and promised them that if they believed in Him and followed His example, they would experience the same resurrection and life after death. We learned that all believers are united together in the Church as one mystical body. All that Jesus said and did is recorded in our Gospels so we can spread that word to everyone else.
We call this the Incarnation; it is the source of our Christian joy because rather than a distant, austere God; one who is hard to relate to; we have a God that is close to us, intimate with us; and He has promised us all everlasting life.
Christmas is the story about the awesome God who loves us all without limit. When you give gifts, you are sharing God’s spirit of giving to His loved ones- the gift of Jesus, his promise of everlasting life, and love of God.
And so, let us get ready for the Coming of Christ by reviewing our lives and assuring that we are living according to the Gospel. Let us share the joy of the gift of Jesus and our salvation by recognizing the source. The source of Christmas joy is Jesus Christ, now and forever, Amen.
