The Truth of Things

(The following is a homily given to the Enid Catholic Community on the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Christmas (12/25/15)

Tonight we celebrate the sacred mystery of God-made-Man – The birth of Christ.  And in so doing, we celebrate the truth of things.     

Tonight the wickedness of the earth is destroyed; the Savior of the world has come to reign over us. (see Alleluia for vigil).  God proclaims to us good news of great joy that our Savior is born for us. (see Alleluia for midnight), and that a holy day has dawned upon us, beckoning us to adore the great light who has come upon the earth (see alleluia for day Mass).  And this is the truth of things.

In the bustle of buying gifts that will rust or decay; in the onslaught of what this world thinks the “holiday season” is about – namely that we get along and be friendly; in the hopes dashed by disappointment or the dreams crushed by superficiality and greed – we find ourselves called to celebrate in the truth of things.

In doing so, we celebrate all of the truth.  Not just the niceties of the season, but the reason for such a scandalous season as this.  And make no mistake – this is scandalous.  That God would humiliate himself by taking on the nature of dust in comparison to His Glory is utterly scandalous.  And yet, this is the truth of things.

This is the truth that our fallen world wishes that we would forget.  If we forget the stakes to which Our God loves us, it is easier to say “no” to Him.  It is easier to dismiss our universal call to holiness.  It is easier to say “maybe next Sunday I’ll go to Mass.  Maybe next month I’ll go to confession.  Maybe next year I’ll ‘try to be a better person’” – whatever that might mean.

You see, our fallen world wishes for us to be blind to the glorious gift we have been given, and for which we celebrate tonight.  It wants us to think that Christmas is all about the lights, the presents, the family get-togethers, the music.  It wants us to think of Jesus as the porcelain doll in the wooden crate we bring out this time of year, and then put back its crate for safe keeping the rest of the year.

In the end, our fallen world wants us to forget that this glorious night represents a preparation for us as it was for Christ.  This night marks the true beginning of that which we will come to celebrate in a few months; an event that is even more scandalous than God becoming Man; an event at which the angels of God, which tonight sing glorious praise, will be hushed with awe and wonder; an event of scandalous love for a fallen world: the Passion, death, and resurrection of him who tonight we are called to accept into our hearts.

My brothers and sisters, tonight is not only a memorial of the dawning of Light in our fallen world some 2 thousand years ago.  Tonight is meant to prod us on in our journey of faith to welcome that same light into our very souls.  It is meant to dispel the darkness within us, to cast out our fears, and to teach us how to join the angels in praising God. 

This is the truth of things.  It is a truth that gives us the power to become children of God.  It is a truth that gives us the strength to proclaim from the highest height the glad tidings of Salvation (see Is 52).  And it is a truth that fills us with the grace of one word: love.

May the truth of God’s Love, which has been so scandalously lavished upon us in the Person of Christ Jesus, be celebrated by us tonight and always.  

Amen.