www.frtommylane.com
Bible Study, Prayer, and Homily Resources
by Fr. Tommy Lane
Mary and Joseph must have assumed as they set out for Bethlehem that they would be able to get lodging for travelers (Luke 2:4-5). Since they did not have Airbnb, or Trivago or hotels.com, they were not able to book ahead and alas when they arrived, they had no place to stay. Their hopes were dashed just as the hopes of many people all over the world for Christmas this year have been dashed due to Covid (2020). Mary and Joseph must have felt isolated, just like many all over the world this Christmas. The only people nearby that night were the local essential workers, the shepherds (Luke 2:8). Then matters got worse when sometime after Jesus was born, there was danger and the threat of death since the visit of the wise men provoked jealousy in Herod (Matt 2). So, the first Christmas for Mary and Joseph entailed dashed plans, isolation, danger, and threat of death. Not altogether different for many people around the world this Christmas.
But in the midst of all this chaos of the first Christmas was Jesus. In the midst of the chaos of Christmas this year, is Jesus. Hopefully we will keep him right there in the middle and he will not get pushed to the side because of the chaos caused by Covid. A baby brings a smile to everyone’s face. Meeting a baby is a warm, gentle, and tender moment. Can you open your heart to allow the warmth, gentleness, and tenderness of Jesus into your heart? People talk of making New Year’s resolutions. If Jesus has not been the center of your life or you have not prayed much, can you make a Christmas resolution to make Jesus the center of your life and keep him there by praying to him every day? Can spending time with Jesus every day be your Christmas gift to Jesus this Christmas? It would be a terrible waste not to get to know the Lord and instead only really meet him for the first time the moment you die. Why waste life on what is trivial and will not last? Every time you pray, every moment you spend with Jesus, will last into eternity. You get to know other people by spending time with them. Get to know Jesus by spending time with him. Can this Christmas change the course of history, change the course of the history of our lives?
The Christmas Truce, as it
is called, was the unofficial truce that sprang up in various places
up and down the trenches between the Germans and the French and
British soldiers in France in December 1914. It began with the
Germans singing Christmas carols and then shortly after that the
opposing sides played friendly football in no man’s land in the
middle and took photographs together with their personal cameras.
From early January 1915, those photographs began to be published in
newspapers to the astonishment and disbelief of everyone. The birth
of Jesus changed the course of history in December 1914. The
Christmas truce did not occur during the remaining three Christmases
of World War I in 1915, 1916 or 1917 because it did not look good to
have soldiers from opposing sides celebrating Christmas together. As
we celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas, we also have the
choice to allow the birth of Jesus to change the course of our
history or be too embarrassed to let Jesus be the one guiding and
leading us. If Jesus has not been the center of our lives or we have
not prayed much, can spending time with Jesus every day be our
Christmas gift to Jesus this Christmas?
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2020
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for Christmas