Christmas Mass at Dawn [Lk 2:15-20]
25.12.2023
The Visit of the Shepherds
1. Theme in brief
Proclaiming what we have
seen and heard
2. Focus Statement
Celebrating Christmas means like the shepherds hearing (accepting) God’s
message, seeing (experiencing) its truth, and proclaiming to others what we
have heard and seen.
3. Explanation of
the text
In today’s gospel passage we
notice three categories of people responding to the event of Christ’s birth in
three different ways. First, there are shepherds, to whom the breaking news of the
Messiah’s birth is announced by the angels. The shepherds were poor,
illiterate, ignorant (as they were not allowed study the Law), impure (as they
could not participate in the temple liturgy), dirty (as they could not afford
to take regular bath) and outcasts. It is a wonder that the good news of
salvation is given first to the poor, ignorant and despised people.
The faith-response of the shepherds is
highlighted by their: (1) eagerness (“haste”, 2:16) to go to
Secondly, we notice a group
of hearers
who are amazed
at what the shepherds tell them (2:18). But nothing is mentioned about their
faith-response. They are like the ones who hear the Word but do not respond
with faith because of lack of roots (cf. Lk 8:13).
Then there is a third
category of people represented by Mary who treasures the Word and ponders its
significance in her heart (2:19). She is
like those who after hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good
heart, and produce a hundredfold fruit (Lk 8:8, 15). She becomes a model believer
for her efforts to discover the meaning of life-events (especially God’s
incarnation) in the light of faith.
4. Application to life
According to today’s gospel,
all that glitters is not Christmas! What glitter is there in those shepherds
who are considered dirty, impure and outcasts by the respectable people? What
glitter is there in a manger either? Is it not a wonder that God favours the despised people
like shepherds, and identifies Himself with our deprivation?
After hearing from
the angels the good news of the Saviour’s birth, the shepherds are so eager
to “see” (that is, to experience)
for themselves “this thing,” that is, this wonderful event of
God becoming a human person (2:15). When they reach Bethlehem they
see or experience two things:
(1) They see poor, homeless and helpless
parents (Joseph and Mary) and a defenceless child (Jesus) lying in the manger.
It is a tremendous contradiction
to see the Saviour of the world in such a misery! They see God’s boundless love
and humility
to stoop down to their own level; to be like one of them. Christmas challenges
us to examine whether we favour the type of people whom God favours. God seems
to favour all sorts of “less” people – the homeless, landless, jobless, defenceless, voiceless,
helpless and powerless. Though God loves all people, in
Jesus he decides to make a preferential option to favour or to take the side of
less privileged people. If so, what is our concern for such people and
families? Do we have anything to do with them? Do we side with only influential
and powerful people, or side with the above-mentioned “less people” also?
Allowing Jesus to take birth in our hearts today involves making some room for this
sort of people in our minds and hearts first, and then in our deeds.
(2) They see the Saviour of
the world born in an ordinary human family.
They observe how a father (Joseph) and a mother (Mary) struggle to nurse,
protect and take care of their new-born baby. They come to know how God reveals
his love through the image of a family. On Christmas Day, the response of the
shepherds leads us to ponder how God reveals His love through our own family
even today.
In this sense, Christmas is a great Family Feast.
Jesus takes birth again and again in our families. Like the shepherds, we need simple but deeper faith to
recognize him in our genuine and human love. In many societies, we notice that
the family members who are scattered due to jobs or studies hasten to be at
home during Christmas. Today’s gospel invites all those who come home for a
family reunion to see with the eyes of faith what the most important thing we
must value the most in our families. We
need to see whether the traditional
family values which the older generation cherished so much such as
mutual sharing, adjustment and collaboration, sacrifice of one’s own comforts,
personal care and joyful togetherness are still there or not. How sad we feel
to notice the gradual erosion of these “family-values”. They are replaced by
individualism, superficial relationships and “you-do-your-work, I-do-my-work”
attitude. Even on Sundays, instead of spending some time together, all
(including children) think of keeping their own schedules and attending to
their own ‘appointments’.
For persons of faith it is a
big challenge to see to it that they rediscover in their families the values for
which Jesus was born. Jesus was born in a deprived family to tell us that our
families should learn from him the spirit
of sharing even the meagre resources and limited time we have!
In a busy world today, the greatest Christmas gift which parents need to give
to their children is not the best clothes or latest gadget in the market, but
the gift of time.
Christmas is also a Missionary Feast. After “seeing”
(experiencing) what the Lord had made known to them (2:15), like the shepherds
wee too must share
our experience with others. Celebrating Christmas means like the shepherds,
accepting God’s Word, seeing for oneself its truth and proclaiming it to all.
Because God became one with our human condition, we hear and see every day
God’s mysterious presence and hidden love in whatever happens to us. Like the
shepherds, we must bear witness to our experiences of these signs
of God’s love and care. When we bear witness to the values we have “heard and
seen” (experienced) in and through Christ (e.g. non-retaliation and
forgiveness), people may ask us: “Why do you do what
you do?” That is, why do you behave differently from the general pattern
of the world or human behaviour? If people ask like that, it is a clear sign
that we are bearing witness to what we have “heard and seen”. Through our
testimony to Christ’s values in society and workplaces, we see Jesus being born
anew in our situation.
Finally, the feast of
Christmas invites us to imitate the faith-response of Mary. We need to discover the
meaning
and significance
of various events in our lives in the light of faith. Like Mary, we are invited
to ponder the implications of what Christmas means for us today. Surely, it
does not mean only new clothes, decorations, cakes and parties. It also means a
deeper reflection on the meaning and purpose of our lives or the mission for
which God has called us.
5. Response to God's Word
Do we most often side with the powerful and
influential people only and brush off the poor and the underprivileged? Is
there genuine love and concern for one another in our families? Is there a
spirit of sharing in our families, especially when our resources are so meagre?
Do we show in our words and deeds that Jesus is truly our Saviour and Lord?
Does our life’s example of living Christ’s values speak louder than our words?
Which values? Does our behaviour or action which is different from people is
general make others ask us why we behave that way? Like the shepherds, do we
marvel at God’s love, goodness and mercy in our lives and respond to it by
glorifying and praising God?
6. A prayer
With the faith of simple shepherds, we praise and
glorify you O God. What wonders you have done for us and for the whole world by
giving the gift of your Son. What thanks can we render to you for what we have
heard and seen in and through Jesus. Grant us the courage and strength to
rediscover His values in our families. Give us the generosity to make some room
for the deprived and the despised in our minds and hearts first, and then in
our deeds. We make this prayer through Christ who is born anew today. Amen.
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