Christmas 2024
Isaiah 9:1-7 St Paul to Titus 2:11-14 Luke 2:1-14
Throughout the holy season of Advent we have become accustomed to hearing the cry of John the Baptist ‘Prepare the Way of the Lord’; prepare a space for the Lord, let the Lord in! We have pondered the words of the prophet Isaiah and wonder about the ‘the son given to us’ and if the great ‘darkness’ of our world can and will see a ‘great light’. And then suddenly, as it were, God’s grace is revealed and Saint Paul is teaching that what all this means is ‘that what we have to do is give up everything that does not lead to God.’(Titus 2:11) It is all embracing, overwhelming to realise that when God’s grace becomes ours ‘we would have no ambition except to do good’(Titus 1:14)
In the liturgy of the 3rd week of Advent our attention is drawn to the Blessed Virgin Mary ‘though the child-bearing’ of Mary God revealed his glory. She is central to what Christmas is all about. She enables the mystery of the Incarnation. She understands this mystery, she responds to what it demands of her, she prepares for its manifestation. Mary becomes our model. We notice how she is open to hear what God is doing, she responds to God’s call and even in her time of waiting she reaches out to God’s people.
She too relies on the inspiration of the holy women who have gone before her. She learns from the faith of Sarah, a Faith that knew ‘all things were possible for God’; the wisdom and selflessness of her ancestor Naomi, a wisdom to know her place among God’s people and a selflessness to let go when it was right; the fidelity and commitment of Ruth, who worked in silence and without notice as she gleaned the fields of Bethlehem in order to support her mother-in-law Naomi. Mary, full of grace, was the fitting one to bear the Son of God.
Before the Christ-child was born Mary carried him in her womb, into the hill-country of Judea. She takes on the role of Theotokos (God-Bearer in Greek) and bears the Word of God, the Word made flesh, into the world.
As we prepare a space for the Lord to come we must surely be aware of the state of our world; a world full of suffering, a world at war, a world of disrespect and hatred, a world of corruption and dishonesty a world partially destroyed by our carelessness and selfishness. Ours is a sorry world today. And though we may not claim the title ‘Theotokos’, we do bear the title ‘Christian’ which in some ways means the same thing.
Tonight we are reminded of our calling, we are given the grace to respond to that calling and are shown once again the model for all who bear the name of Christ, Mary. She never lost her consciousness of how the Lord had done great things for her and neither should we. We need to remind ourselves of our similar calling and the graces that are ours.
Three times a day we recall how the God-child came into the world as we pray the Angelus. We could make it more personal and real for ourselves:
‘The angel of the Lord declared to Me!’
‘Behold Me the servant of the Lord – your will be done in Me.’
‘The Word is made flesh through Me and lives among us!’
We begin today the Jubilee Year 2025. We are, what the theme of this Holy Year calls, ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. Hope is what Lights up our lives, and it is the Light of Christ that we will bear as we carry the Word of God in our hearts.