I love the weeks of Advent that we have leading up to Christmas. I love those weeks of waiting and preparation. As a priest, Advent is a super busy season for me, leading up to Christmas, so all the readings and devotions we have during Advent help me prepare for the coming of the Lord. I love the Christmas story, of Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem, of them finding shelter in a humble stable used to house animals, of the shepherds being told of the birth of the Savior by the angel, of the heavenly host proclaiming the birth of Christ by singing “Glory to God in the highest.” But this have been a very different Advent for us. This has been a very different time of preparation. This is also a very different Christmas for us too. During the years, I have celebrated Christmas in a small humble village in Africa, deep in a rain forest jungle in Ecuador, at a mission on a native reservation in northern Canada, and at a soup kitchen in inner city Winnipeg. However, I did not think I would be celebrating Christmas on a repurposed Mardi Gras float in a church parking lot in Pearl, Mississippi. This pandemic has forced us to look at our faith in a new way. And perhaps it is allowing us to look at the birth of our Savior through a different lens as well. Mary Woodward, the chancellor of our Diocese, and a very good friend, suggested that we use the reading of the opening of the Gospel of John for our Christmas mass reading this year, which is one of the options we have. I love that suggestion, as it speaks so profoundly and poetically to us in the midst of our challenging reality.
John’s Gospel announces the birth of our Savior with the proclamation of Jesus as the Word of God: the Word who was with God from the beginning - the Word who is God. We think of these extraordinary words as we celebrate the birth of a small baby in the manger in Bethlehem. Through the word, God expresses his very self. God’s word does not just communicate something to us. God’s word is an active verb, not just a noun. God’s word produces and creates.
The message of God’s word in the the beginning of John’s Gospel is a message of light and life. John proclaims Jesus as a light shining in the darkness, that the darkness will not overcome this live, that this is the true light that has come into the world to enlighten us.
I mentioned us having Mass in the parking lot on a Mardi Gras float. That would have seemed strange and unacceptable under normal circumstances. If Bishop Kopacz had heard that his vicar general was celebrating mass in the parking lot, he would have probably thought I had lost a grip with reality and would have asked me to take a leave of absence. But, these are different circumstances. For us here at St Jude to continue to celebrate Mass in a creative life-giving way, that is the light of Christ shining in the world, the light of Christ that we celebrate with the birth of our Savior. Sometimes, in the circumstances of our lives, the darkness can seem overwhelming. Sometimes the light of Christ can seem like a weak flickering light that is barely there. But the light of Christ is there. It will always be there for us. During the weeks of Advent, we sing “O come, o come Emmanuel.” We are told of the prophecy of a baby to be born into the world, the Savior, the Messiah, who will be named Emmanuel: “God with us.” The message of Christmas is that God is with us. He isn't just dwelling far away in the heavens, away from the drama of human life playing out here on earth. God enters the darkest places of the world to be among us. The light of God accompanies us in the darkest moments. That light brings us hope.
Several months ago, in the midst of this pandemic, a lady from Texas called me at the chancery office. Her mother had passed away without being anointed. She was wondering if there was any way I could say prayers over her, since the family was in another state and could not be here. I found out that her body was at the mortuary. I was told by the mortuary directors that the pandemic did not allow any visitors, so I could not go inside to anoint her body. I asked them if I would be able to go on their front porch and pray for her there. They said certainly, that I would be very welcome to do that. I called the family and they expressed their gratitude that I would be willing to do that. We all know that life is not easy in the midst of the pandemic. But there are still ways we can bring the light of Christ to the dark and difficult moments that confront us in life. The light of Christ can still be there for us if we are creative and if we open our minds and our hearts to the way that light can be present.
Our Christmas message today is a message of love, joy, and hope. Wherever there is darkness in our lives, wherever there is struggle and anxiety, that is the place Christ the light of the world is with us. And Christ light empowers us to be light ourselves: a light shining in the midst of despair; a light of peace in the midst of discord, intolerance, and violence; a light of joy where there is sadness; a light of courage where there is fear; a light of love where there is hatred. Jesus. light of the world, may we help your light shine.
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