| Homily
for the 4th Sunday of Advent: December 24, 2006
Given by the Most
Reverend Stephen E. Blaire at the Cathedral of the Annunciation
in Stockton.
When Mary arrived at Elizabeth’s home,
Elizabeth concluded her greeting to Mary with these very significant
words: BLESSED ARE YOU WHO BELIEVED THAT WHAT WAS SPOKEN TO
YOU BY THE LORD WOULD BE FULFILLED. Mary believed and gave
birth to Jesus. Today, the fourth Sunday of Advent we finish
our liturgical preparation for the celebration of the birth
of the Christ, for the spiritual rebirth of Christ in our
lives and for the final coming of Christ. We have prepared
ourselves by prayer and works of generosity. Advent has been
a time of joyful anticipation for the coming of Christ.
Today I would like to offer you a slightly different
perspective on celebrating Christmas. It is such a rich feast
that we can never exhaust the full dimension of its religious
significance. It is a feast of faith. Like Mary we believe.
And like Mary, by faith we give birth today in 2006 to Christ
in our world, a world which so desperately needs a savior,
one who gives ultimate meaning to our lives.
The mission statement of our diocese prepared
for the Synod says it well. WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO BE GOD’S
HEART OF MERCY AND LOVE, GOD’S VOICE OF HOPE AND TRUTH;
GOD’S HANDS OF JUSTICE AND HEALING TO ALL PEOPLE. Through
us Christ is born again into the world. By our ordinary everyday
lives as believers we are the heart of Christ; we are the
voice of Christ; we are the truth of Christ; we are the healing
power of Christ.
Christmas is not just a symbolic feast of God’s
presence in the world or simply a ritual commemorating the
birth of a religious figure. It is the Feast of God taking
on a real body in the person of Jesus. In this body Christ
offered Himself to the Father. He did the will of God and
by doing so consecrated us to God. Christmas is a feast of
our consecration to God, and we live out that consecration
by giving birth to Christ in the world. Blessed are the merciful.
Love one another as I have loved you. Be not afraid, I have
overcome the world. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for justice. Christmas is not an empty feast. It demands a
commitment on our part as believers.
May this Christmas be as real for us as
it was when God entered humanity in the person of Jesus.
Last Update December 27, 2006
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