Christmas Midnight Mass
Christmas Eve
Some years ago, quite a few years ago, in fact, when we still had the elementary school across the street, my little girl came home one day with a catalog. Parents, you know the deal. You order stuff from the catalog and the school gets part of the money. How can a parent refuse?
So, I looked through the book and couldn't really find anything I wanted but little Megan was waiting for dad to buy something so she might win a prize So I found an eleven piece nativity set that wasn't too outrageously expensive, so I ordered it. A few weeks later the orders were delivered. Imagine my surprise when Megan handed me this. They didn't lie. There are eleven pieces in the box. They just didn't tell me that the picture in the catalog was actual size!
Here's Mary........and Joseph.......and the Baby Jesus. There are also three wise men, an angel, a shepherd and a sheep, a donkey and a camel.
So I took my new Christmas display to work and every year since, on the day after Thanksgiving I poured salt on my desk to look like sand and set up my little Nativity. I even built a house for it. I love my little Nativity set.
I've seen living Nativities with real people and animals, bigger than life Nativities and beautiful Nativities like the one we have here in Church. I've seen expensive sets by Fontanini and we even have a Veggie Tales nativity at home. But I still like MY Nativity the best and I'll tell you why. First, because it reminds me of my little girl. That makes it special even though my little girl is almost twenty-three years old, a beautiful adult. That's easy. The second reason I love it so much is a little more complicated.
For weeks now we've been reading and hearing about the problems with the economy. Some of us have even felt it personally, losing jobs or seeing our nest eggs shrink. According to the news media Christmas has been ruined by the struggling economy. But they're wrong. Christmas isn't ruined because Christmas was never about the gifts and the parties. Christmas is about this little family giving birth to the Savior of the World in that little manger in Bethlehem. My tiny manger scene is a wonderful representation of what happened that night. It was a tiny event that would change the world forever!
Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary had to go to Bethlehem to register for the census. They had no room to stay in. There was no doctor. They had no clothes for the baby. The magi wouldn't come for several days, so on that first Christmas night all they had was some borrowed straw to sleep on and the clothes on their backs. All they had were smelly shepherds, the dregs of society, to keep them company. And our Christmas is ruined because we can't afford an X-Box??? I sincerely hope not.
This past Sunday some of us got together to decorate the church. You may recall it was bitterly cold that day. But there was a warmth in this building that didn't come from electricity or natural gas. We hung banners and decorated trees and did all the other things necessary to get ready for this Holy Night. We ate home made chili in Fecter Hall and in general just had a good time getting Jesus' house ready for his arrival. That's what Christmas is about. Not computers and iPods.
Don't get me wrong. I've spent my entire life selling "stuff" and I always made the most money at this time of year. Giving gifts to one another is part of the spirit of Christmas. But it's just part of it. And it's definitely not the most important part. You can't measure love by the pricetag on a gift. Somehow we've gotten away from the simple idea of exchanging gifts we can afford with one another and gotten caught up in this gigantic spending spree, buying extravagant gifts that we can't afford and then taking until next Christmas to get them paid for. Maybe we need a little economic shake-up to bring us back down to earth.
Look around you. This is Christmas. The baby Jesus lying in the manger. The poinsettas and the candles and the retelling of that familiar story. In a few minutes we'll pray for those who are in need on this Christmas Eve. We're Catholics. That's what we do. We'll take up a collection for the young men studying to be priests at the seminary. We're Catholics. We do that too. We've brought gifts and put them under the giving tree so that people who might not have anything this Christmas will get a gift. We're Catholics. That's what we do. We've donated dozens of bags of food for the poor during this Advent season. You guessed it: We're Catholics. That's what we do.
Some of you may have already had your family celebration. Some of you may have yours tomorrow. Many of you probably do both. Hopefully your financial situation has no bearing on the quality of your celebration. The Almighty, all-powerful ruler and creator of the universe spent His first night on earth in a feeding trough for farm animals wrapped in borrowed rags. How can we think that we deserve more? How can we judge Christmas by the pile of loot we collect?
Yet that cold winter night was the most joyous, the most wonderful, the most widely-celebrated night in all the history of the world, before or since. It was so joyous that a multitude of the heavenly host praised God saying "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
We got a Christmas letter this week. In fact we get lots of Christmas letters. I hope I don't offend anyone, but I never read them. Sometimes I think they're just a little over the top. But Jan told me I had to read this one. It's from a young couple who had an experience that seems to happen a lot. Told that they couldn't have more children, they decided to adopt. Guess what? She got pregnant. The adoption went through and now they have two infants, both less than a year old, PLUS a three-year-old.
Did I mention that they're a remarkably religious young couple? They're Catholic and proud of it. I want to leave you tonight with the last paragraph of their Christmas letter:
"We thank you for all your wonderful thoughts and prayers over this past year, as I have no doubt that they have halped us immensely through our daily struggles with three under three. As I look back over this year which has been filled with so much love, I am deeply humbled by the words of Pope Benedict XVI in his address to the Bishops of our great nation. 'People today need to be reminded of the ultimate purpose of their lives. They need to recognize that implanted within them is a deep thirst for God. They need to be given opportunities to drink from the wells of his infinite love.' May God continue to bless you and your family with His infinite love this Christmas season.
Some years ago, quite a few years ago, in fact, when we still had the elementary school across the street, my little girl came home one day with a catalog. Parents, you know the deal. You order stuff from the catalog and the school gets part of the money. How can a parent refuse?
So, I looked through the book and couldn't really find anything I wanted but little Megan was waiting for dad to buy something so she might win a prize So I found an eleven piece nativity set that wasn't too outrageously expensive, so I ordered it. A few weeks later the orders were delivered. Imagine my surprise when Megan handed me this. They didn't lie. There are eleven pieces in the box. They just didn't tell me that the picture in the catalog was actual size!
Here's Mary........and Joseph.......and the Baby Jesus. There are also three wise men, an angel, a shepherd and a sheep, a donkey and a camel.
So I took my new Christmas display to work and every year since, on the day after Thanksgiving I poured salt on my desk to look like sand and set up my little Nativity. I even built a house for it. I love my little Nativity set.
I've seen living Nativities with real people and animals, bigger than life Nativities and beautiful Nativities like the one we have here in Church. I've seen expensive sets by Fontanini and we even have a Veggie Tales nativity at home. But I still like MY Nativity the best and I'll tell you why. First, because it reminds me of my little girl. That makes it special even though my little girl is almost twenty-three years old, a beautiful adult. That's easy. The second reason I love it so much is a little more complicated.
For weeks now we've been reading and hearing about the problems with the economy. Some of us have even felt it personally, losing jobs or seeing our nest eggs shrink. According to the news media Christmas has been ruined by the struggling economy. But they're wrong. Christmas isn't ruined because Christmas was never about the gifts and the parties. Christmas is about this little family giving birth to the Savior of the World in that little manger in Bethlehem. My tiny manger scene is a wonderful representation of what happened that night. It was a tiny event that would change the world forever!
Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary had to go to Bethlehem to register for the census. They had no room to stay in. There was no doctor. They had no clothes for the baby. The magi wouldn't come for several days, so on that first Christmas night all they had was some borrowed straw to sleep on and the clothes on their backs. All they had were smelly shepherds, the dregs of society, to keep them company. And our Christmas is ruined because we can't afford an X-Box??? I sincerely hope not.
This past Sunday some of us got together to decorate the church. You may recall it was bitterly cold that day. But there was a warmth in this building that didn't come from electricity or natural gas. We hung banners and decorated trees and did all the other things necessary to get ready for this Holy Night. We ate home made chili in Fecter Hall and in general just had a good time getting Jesus' house ready for his arrival. That's what Christmas is about. Not computers and iPods.
Don't get me wrong. I've spent my entire life selling "stuff" and I always made the most money at this time of year. Giving gifts to one another is part of the spirit of Christmas. But it's just part of it. And it's definitely not the most important part. You can't measure love by the pricetag on a gift. Somehow we've gotten away from the simple idea of exchanging gifts we can afford with one another and gotten caught up in this gigantic spending spree, buying extravagant gifts that we can't afford and then taking until next Christmas to get them paid for. Maybe we need a little economic shake-up to bring us back down to earth.
Look around you. This is Christmas. The baby Jesus lying in the manger. The poinsettas and the candles and the retelling of that familiar story. In a few minutes we'll pray for those who are in need on this Christmas Eve. We're Catholics. That's what we do. We'll take up a collection for the young men studying to be priests at the seminary. We're Catholics. We do that too. We've brought gifts and put them under the giving tree so that people who might not have anything this Christmas will get a gift. We're Catholics. That's what we do. We've donated dozens of bags of food for the poor during this Advent season. You guessed it: We're Catholics. That's what we do.
Some of you may have already had your family celebration. Some of you may have yours tomorrow. Many of you probably do both. Hopefully your financial situation has no bearing on the quality of your celebration. The Almighty, all-powerful ruler and creator of the universe spent His first night on earth in a feeding trough for farm animals wrapped in borrowed rags. How can we think that we deserve more? How can we judge Christmas by the pile of loot we collect?
Yet that cold winter night was the most joyous, the most wonderful, the most widely-celebrated night in all the history of the world, before or since. It was so joyous that a multitude of the heavenly host praised God saying "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
We got a Christmas letter this week. In fact we get lots of Christmas letters. I hope I don't offend anyone, but I never read them. Sometimes I think they're just a little over the top. But Jan told me I had to read this one. It's from a young couple who had an experience that seems to happen a lot. Told that they couldn't have more children, they decided to adopt. Guess what? She got pregnant. The adoption went through and now they have two infants, both less than a year old, PLUS a three-year-old.
Did I mention that they're a remarkably religious young couple? They're Catholic and proud of it. I want to leave you tonight with the last paragraph of their Christmas letter:
"We thank you for all your wonderful thoughts and prayers over this past year, as I have no doubt that they have halped us immensely through our daily struggles with three under three. As I look back over this year which has been filled with so much love, I am deeply humbled by the words of Pope Benedict XVI in his address to the Bishops of our great nation. 'People today need to be reminded of the ultimate purpose of their lives. They need to recognize that implanted within them is a deep thirst for God. They need to be given opportunities to drink from the wells of his infinite love.' May God continue to bless you and your family with His infinite love this Christmas season.
posted by Mike at 6:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home