Sermon by Father Alex McAllister SDS        Index

Christmas 2005     Homily

Tonight we celebrate one of the greatest events in all of history—the incarnation of Christ our Saviour.

It is not particularly clever to try to put religious feasts in order of priority, arguing whether Easter is more important that Christmas or wasting time trying to decide whether Pentecost takes precedence over the Annunciation. The Church prudently gives them all the same status and straightforwardly describes them as Solemnities of the Lord.

But if we were to think in such a simplistic way, Christmas would certainly have a very high claim since without the Incarnation, which it celebrates, none of the other great events of our salvation would have happened.

When we use the word incarnation what we literally mean is Christ becoming flesh. He, God the Son, takes on our humanity. He stoops down, if you like, and becomes one of us. It is a great mystery how this occurs and we do not, indeed cannot, know precisely how it happens; we only know that it did happen and that in the person of Jesus both natures are to be found for he is truly God and truly man.

It is this event and the consequent doctrines of the Church that we celebrate. It is this that Christmas is about.

We are all aware that many people in the modern world are quite unclear as to the precise reasons for this celebration. They are perhaps confused by reindeer, robins, holly, sleigh rides and winter solstices—the stuff of Christmas Cards. But we who gather here in Church on this most holy night, we are quite clear, absolutely certain why we are at this liturgy and what this feast is all about.

We know we are celebrating the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour. We know we are celebrating the Incarnation of Christ our Lord. And we rejoice and we proclaim this Good News: We light candles, ring bells, we exchange gifts, we sing carols and make as much commotion as we can because we know we are celebrating the birth of Christ our King.

We do all these things because of what his birth means for the world. We do them because we truly believe that it was this event that brought light into darkness, this event that brought real hope to our world. We do it because we are certain that this is the beginning of the very best thing that ever happened to mankind.

What makes Christ’s birth different to all other births is that on that night in Bethlehem a Saviour was born to us.

Christ came into the world for a purpose and this was to bring us salvation; and by this we mean the forgiveness of our sins and the opening up of the way to everlasting life with God in heaven.

Christ came into our world in order to bring us into his world.

And for us to be fit for heaven we need to be healed from the harmful effects of sin, to be purified in the waters of Baptism and, through the teachings of Christ, to come to know and love God.

This is why Christmas is so important, this is why this night is so holy; this is why we come to Church in the middle of a cold and dark winter’s night. We come to reverence the crib, we come in sorrow for our sins, we come to have our hopes rekindled, and we come to pray for our loved ones and for the world.

But we come above all to pay honour and glory to God who has done this greatest of all things and given to us a Saviour, Christ the Lord.

To worship God is one of the noblest things man can do. To simply pay honour to the Lord above, our creator God, is not just our basic duty it is our highest privilege. And your presence here on this Christmas night acknowledges the truth of this.

In the face of the mysteries we commemorate on this most holy night what can we do except worship?

And yet although this holy night is a special commemoration of the Birth of our Saviour, the anniversary of the Nativity—Christ’s Birthday, if you like—this is not something that can possibly be confined to a single day. The consequences of the Birth of Christ reach back to the very beginning of time and ultimately reach forward to that great Day of Days when Christ will come in all his glory.

No, we celebrate the Incarnation and indeed our very salvation each and every day, but most especially on Sundays. Now I’m not standing here tonight to make a pitch for better Sunday mass attendance. But it is a question. There is an issue here. There is something that might or might not cause a twinge to our consciences. I say no more.

I say no more than this because we have a lot to do tonight. There is a mass to be celebrated—the great Eucharist which encapsulates the whole mystery of our salvation and is the greatest of all the sacraments for it is principally about unity and love.

And there are prayers to be said: intercessions for the manifold needs of the world and for the pressing concerns of our own families and home circumstances. And there is a faith to be professed; faith in the great doctrines God has revealed to us especially the mysteries concerning Christ and his Church.

And most importantly there is reverence to be paid to the Christ Child and his Holy Mother. We kneel before the crib and place in his outstretched hands our prayers and anxieties. We worship our Divine Saviour now come into the world as a vulnerable child and we reflect on what this action has to teach us.

We do all these things tonight for this is indeed a Holy Night; it is a special night of prayer and devotion in the sacred liturgy. It is a joyful night of prayer, singing and thanksgiving. It is a night of reverence and love.

May the God of peace bless each and every one of you. May he bring joy and peace to your families, may be bathe you in his light and love, and may he guide and protect you in the coming year.