Word to the Wise
Sunday, December 25, 2016 - Christmas: Mass at Dawn - ABC
[Isa 62:11-12; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:15-20,][T]he shepherds said to one another, "Let us go then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. [Luke]
Wouldn't it be a different kind of Christmas Day if before opening the gifts under the tree, every one could spend a moment in front of the manger scene and read aloud the story of Jesus' birth and the shepherds' reaction? We wouldn't have to travel as far as the shepherds. What the angels announced would be there in front of us. Everything that happens for the rest of the day happens because of what happened in Bethlehem. At Easter time, we proclaim, "Christ is risen!" Why can't we proclaim at Christmas time, "Christ is born!" We don't know what words the shepherds used to tell others, but we are told: "All who heard it were amazed..." We are also told that Mary reflected on all these things in her heart. Can each of us do that? The great Dominican mystic, Meister Eckhart, once wrote, "What good is it that Christ was born so many years ago if he is not reborn each day in me?"
Pope Francis has challenged all the "shepherds" of the Church to have "the smell of the sheep." All of us baptized are similarly challenged. The announcement of the angels is made to us. We don't have to go far. The manger scene is there in our home. We might at least wait until Epiphany before we put it away so that the Magi can have their moment! Right now our manger scene probably already has shepherds and magi all at the same time. That's OK, as long as we join them and then tell the rest of the world, "Christ is born!" We might just amaze somebody! AMEN
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