Christmas Day – Year C
December 25, 2024
Gospel Lectionary Text
Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)
2:1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2:2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
2:3 All went to their own towns to be registered.
2:4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.
2:5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
2:6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
2:8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
2:9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
2:10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
2:11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
2:12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."
2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
2:14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"
2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."
2:16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
2:17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;
2:18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
2:19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
2:20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Context
Welcome to Christmas week. We’ve spent Advent exploring the Waiting Rooms of Christmas: apocalypse, wilderness, the doorstep of the promiseland, and finally, with Mary in her “lowly state.” Each space calls forth the most precious gift — Emmanuel, God with us — who transforms the waiting room, the waiter, and even the waiting itself by His presence.
The magic of Christmas seeps into the most resistant souls precisely because it arrives unobtrusively, with openness and vulnerability, asking nothing in return. Our souls leap almost involuntarily in the presence of the Incarnation. In it, we glimpse our true selves mirrored in the One who greets us with complete delight. In it, we are invited to hold the One who holds us — that is the mystery of this week.
Question
What changes for you if you imagine God as a smiling infant who delights in your presence before you’ve done or said anything at all?
Reflections
Becoming an Ass
By Ron Ruthruff |
When I think of baby messiahs, angelic messengers, shepherds and sheep, I think of a church Christmas pageant when I was in fifth grade. Christmas Pageants were always somewhat painful for me. Even as a child I didn’t think they expressed “God with us” — what theologians call the Incarnation.
The Word Revealed
By Kris Rocke |
Joy is the purest form of gratitude, and gratitude is the most genuine gift we can give to God. The secret of our salvation lies in Jesus who is the joy of our desiring. The revelation of a God who has always been with us in the Waiting Rooms of Christmas is the joy…
The Word at Home
By Kris Rocke |
We began this year’s Advent series by exploring The Waiting Rooms of Christmas. We waited in the Apocalypse and peace found us. We waited in the Wilderness and a garden of grace grew in our midst. We waited in Prison and we discovered ourselves set free. Finally, we waited with Mary in the shameful spotlight…
Praying Eucharistically - Weekly Homily by James Alison:
Coming soon.
Understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard.
Poetry
How the Light Comes: A Blessing for Christmas Day
by Jan Richardson
I cannot tell you how the light comes.
What I know is that it is more ancient
than imagining.
That it travels across an astounding expanse
to reach us.
That it loves searching out
what is hidden
what is lost
what is forgotten
or in peril
or in pain.
That it has a fondness for the body
for finding its way toward flesh
for tracing the edges of form
for shining forth through the eye,
the hand, the heart.
I cannot tell you how the light comes,
but that it does.
That it will.
That it works its way into the deepest dark
that enfolds you,
though it may seem long ages in coming
or arrive in a shape you did not foresee.
And so,
may we this day turn ourselves toward it.
May we lift our faces to let it find us.
May we bend our bodies to follow the arc it makes.
May we open and open more and open still
to the blessed light
that comes.
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, wild and free. Do as you please. Shine your light on me that I might see things as they are, not as I am. Free me to act in your name with courage, creativity, and compassion.
