May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
In the season of Advent we have been preparing to welcome
Jesus Christ. Tonight, Jesus Christ
welcomes us. We have been preparing to
welcome the Lord Jesus as this fulfillment of the promise made to the prophets,
as the Savior who has come to redeem us, and as the one who will reveal to us
the face of God. Tonight, Jesus Christ
welcomes us to the celebration of his birth.
I was born nine days before Christmas, though ten days
earlier than expected. Normally ten days
on the calendar do not make that great of a difference. However, being born on the sixteenth of
December, rather than on the twenty-sixth meant that I was entitled to a
Christmas present that year. My younger
sister is certain that the additional Christmas present is the reason that I
was born early. Within the day after I
was born, my father asked my mother, “What do you think he will want for
Christmas?” My mother, knowing her
new-born son as only a mother can, informed my father that there was a
Christmas ornament, a small wooden train, which would be the perfect gift. My father was sent from the hospital to
obtain the small and precious ornament.
This year that ornament is hanging on the Christmas tree in the home of
my parents. Next year the train is
moving to Monroe!
“What do you think he will want for Christmas?” What, my dear brothers and sisters, is the
appropriate gift for the Son of God, as we celebrate his birth and Christmas
day? The scriptures reveal to us again
and again that the desire of the Lord is that we should live justly, that we
should love mercy, and that we should walk humbly with our God. Those, however, are the gifts that we are
called to offer to God every day. On
this special day, on this day when we celebrate his humble birth of the humble
Virgin, there must be some small and precious gift that we can give to the Lord
Jesus.
“What do you think he will want?” The animals shared their home, and the angels
shared their song. The shepherds came in
haste because a new shepherd had been born.
On this most holy night, the Lord Jesus welcomes us to his cradle, as we
have prepared to welcome him. The gift
that the Lord Jesus desires for his birthday, the gift that is so very precious
that He would come down from heaven in the silent watches of the night, is
us. All that the Lord Jesus wants is for
us to join him at the manger. The
precious gift, desired and treasured by the Lord of heaven and earth, is you
and me. My dear brother and sisters,
Jesus wants each of us as his gift for Christmas. Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes
Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
