A Homily for the Feast of Christmas

​+ Natus est hodie Salvator, qui est Christus Dominus—Today is born the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord—the first Gospel of Christmas proclaims to us.
 
We hear these words “Saviour”, “Christ” and “Lord” throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons in the Church’s liturgy, in popular carols and elsewhere. We have heard them since we are children when we marvelled, wide-eyed before the crib at the little baby surrounded by adoring angels and kings and animals. We have accepted them as adults almost without thinking, for Jesus of Nazareth is, surely, the Saviour who is Christ the Lord.
 
As we celebrate this feast of Christmas in 2023 we cannot afford to ignore the harsh reality that for many of our contemporaries who may know and even sing the same Christmas carols, Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God made man, the definitive revelation of Almighty God in human history, the unique Saviour of all of mankind, is nothing more than a cultural nicety—a remote excuse for a holiday and festive celebrations. “Saviour”, “Christ” and “Lord” are words which, even if mouthed, have no specific meaning—even more so for those who live outside our post-Christian Western societies or who consciously chose to follow gods of their own making.
 
Yet here we are, at Christmas Mass, immersed in the time-honoured vocabulary of our salvation made possible through God made man in Jesus Christ. We adore Him in His Divinity. We entreat His forgiveness for our sins. We beg His grace and strength for the many and varied responsibilities, burdens and crosses that are ours to bear.
 
We do so for a good reason, for regardless of the indifference of our contemporaries and in spite of the syncretism and unbelief that abound and are increasingly imposed throughout the world, no matter how harsh the reality, no matter even how much internal strife and false teaching the Church herself suffers in our times, the infant Jesus is the Christ of God, the Anointed One, He in whom we and every man and woman can find salvation—the forgiveness of sins and eternal life—if only they will have faith in Him and persevere in following His way.
 
Rightly, then, do we offer our “first fruits” (cf. Ex. 23:19) through the traditional rites of the Church’s liturgy and in singing her magnificent chants, refined and hallowed throughout the centuries. Rightly do we enjoy our popular carols and cultural traditions and songs. Rightly do we decorate our homes and feast with our families and friends. Rightly do we celebrate with the giving of gifts—for this is the feast of feasts: Jesus, born of Mary, the humble virgin of Nazareth, is the Saviour, He is the Christ, He is the Lord. There is no other.
 
Christmas is, perhaps, a rather indulgent feast. Or perhaps, better, in order to avoid any endorsement of gastronomic over-indulgence, we should call it a rather contemplative feast. Christmas does not send us out to preach the Gospel to all the world or give us the manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit as might the Ascension or Pentecost. It does not plunge us into the depths of the mysteries of our salvation by Christ’s saving death on the Cross or have us bask in the light and glory of His resurrection from the dead—though of course Christmas is a necessary prerequisite for all of these things, and by no means negates them.
 
Yet the feast of Christmas has us pause, giving us time as it were to ask anew: “Who is this child?” And it demands that we contemplate the answer and all its implications. For if the infant born in the stable is indeed the Saviour, if He is the Christ, the Lord, we cannot remain indifferent to either the eternal hope that this gives us or to the demands that it places upon us.
 
Let us take some time then, busy as we are, to contemplate this feast—beginning with the Church’s liturgy. There are three Masses of Christmas: at midnight, at dawn and during the day. Their different texts and prayers provide much with which to nourish us and instruct us. In the coming days let us revisit the texts of this Mass and ponder the content of the other two. Let us open our hearts, minds and souls and drink deeply of the riches they have to share. Let us listen to the still, small voice of Almighty God instructing us and forming us through His Word. Let us raise our hearts and minds to Him in praise for all that He has given us in this feast, and fervent supplication that we may be worthy recipients of the gift of His Beloved Son, whom He gives to us anew this Christmas, as indeed He does every time we offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
 
My brothers and sisters, let us feast, let us sing, let us rejoice: Jesus, born of Mary, the humble virgin of Nazareth, is the Saviour, He is the Christ, He is the Lord. There is no other. +