Walking with Jesus:The Nativity of the Lord: Dec. 25, 2021The Feast of the Holy Family: Dec. 26, 2021

Matthew 1:16-25; Luke 2:41-52

At the birth of a newborn baby there is joy, apprehension, dreams, and a desire to make time stand still. It is a period of acknowledging the awesome continuation of humanity that has culminated in this love act of superior proportions. It is two people holding their own creation, this precious person who is unlike any other. They have generated a life, but it's a gift-life that represents their love, their commitment, their completion of all that is true and beautiful in the world. Every baby is born to live. The tremendous dedication of our medical community is spent accomplishing this. It’s your child of love who has changed your life and will grow into touching the lives of many others in many different and distinct ways. Your baby was born to live. Only one baby was born differently: Jesus. Jesus was born to die, specifically to free every person from the stains, the results of original sin.

From The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition:

God is infinitely good and all His works are good. Yet no one can escape the experience of suffering or the evils in nature which seem to be linked to the limitations proper to creatures: and above all to the question of moral evil. Where does evil come from? (#385)

Sin is present in human history; any attempt to ignore it or to give this dark reality other names would be futile. To try to understand what sin is, one must first recognize the profound relation of man to God, for only in this relationship is the evil of sin unmasked in its true identity as humanity’s rejection of God and opposition to Him, even as it continues to weigh heavy on human life and history. (#386)

Only the light of divine Revelation clarifies the reality of sin and particularly of the sin committed at mankind’s origins. Without the knowledge Revelation gives of God we cannot recognize sin clearly and are tempted to explain it as merely a developmental flaw, a psychological weakness, a mistake, or the necessary consequence of an inadequate social structure, etc. Only in the knowledge of God’s plan for man can we grasp that sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving Him and loving one another. (#387)

With the progress of Revelation, the reality of sin is also illuminated. Although to some extent the People of God in the Old Testament had tried to understand the pathos of the human condition in the light of the history of the fall narrated in Genesis, they could not grasp this story’s ultimate meaning, which is revealed only in the light of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (#388)

The doctrine of original sin is, so to speak, the “reverse side” of the Good News that Jesus is the Son of all men that all need salvation, and that salvation is offered to all through Christ. The Church, which has the mind of Christ, knows very well that we cannot tamper with the revelation of original sin without undermining the mystery of Christ. (#389)

This is the “book theology” of God in our work, and sin not wanting to recognize God and His love. We are here today celebrating Christmas ... giving thanks to the incredible God we have. AND, I can say, what a difference a year makes. Last year everything was different: school, work, vacations turned into so many isolations. Even though it is unhealthy for people to be separated from things and people that matter the most, we were. Not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. It was an overview insight into what sin makes us: people not trusting, not caring, not forgiving ... attitudes Jesus came to free us from. His birth came to show us what love is and how we are to love. He lived: God is with us … God forgives us … God loves us … God saves us. In the Temple, “all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.” Mary and Joseph were terribly anxious about losing their son. Where is He … is He safe … and what was Jesus doing? Brilliant men were listening to Him preaching and teaching astonishing truths. God was doing what God does: communicating with those He loves.

So I come with some reflections:

• Do I truly believe that God has something to say to me?
• Do I truly believe that God is still speaking to me?
• Do I really believe that His way is not only the best way, but the only way to get to heaven?

Sacred Space 2022 states:

For Christmas: “It has been an eventful year that leaves lasting memories. We have the fidelity of God to sustain us in the many challenges of life. We need light in the darkness and hope in the uncertainty that is around us. God has given us the Eternal Word and the living word of Scripture to guide us. We pray to welcome and appreciate those words more fully, asking that our words may be in harmony with them. What words does the Lord desire me to take with me as I enter the New Year?”

For the Feast of the Holy Family: “Lord, You have tasted human uncertainties and the difficulties of survival. Your mother, so blissfully happy when she prayed the Magnificat, had to adjust rapidly to homelessness and the life of an asylum seeker. Let me be equally unsurprisable when plans go awry and You ask me to taste uncertainties.”