GODSpace.com or MySpace.com?

This is a magical night (day)!

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing… For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed…For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:2-4, 6, NAB

What a wonderful message of hope, what a wonderful vision of God’s light entering into a world of darkness, but scattering that darkness and defeating it with the power of love!

I’ve always loved Christmas – the lights, the trees, the caroling, the manger scene. When I was a little child, one of my favorite parts of Christmas was the ritual of attending midnight Mass. I remember one year, when I was about 9 or 10 years old, and it was Christmas Eve, but I was tired, so I told my parents, “I’m going to take a short nap, but please, please, please, don’t forget to wake me up for midnight Mass. I don’t want to miss it!” I took my nap, and the next thing I remember, it was morning. I was so mad! I ran to my parents and complained, “Why didn’t you wake me up for midnight Mass? You know that I never, ever, ever miss Midnight Mass for Christmas!” They quietly explained, “We did wake you up! You walked around the living room and you told us clearly, ‘I’m too tired to go to midnight Mass this year! Let me go back to bed.’ So you went back to bed!” It turned out I had been sleep walking – and, I suppose, I was even sleep talking! – and I didn’t remember any of it!

In high school, I was part of what was called “Concert Choir.” We performed all over the city, especially at Christmas time, and one of my favorite concert pieces was the Hallelujah Chorus, from Handel’s “Messiah.” It’s magical – the words of Isaiah, the prophet, in our first reading this night (day). Listen for a moment – nobody has captured the beauty and awe and majesty of Christmas like Handel! [play Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” from “The Messiah”]

But what does this night (day) mean? Read with me from our second reading, Paul’s letter to Titus: Beloved: The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age… - Titus 2:11-12, NAB

This night (day) is about grace, about a gift given to us by God from heaven. And it is about salvation. It’s not about what we do. Rather, it is about what God has done for us. You see, God in heaven was looking down and saw how messed up the world had become, and how hopeless and helpless we were to fix the mess by ourselves. So God sent a gift, special delivery – and not just any gift, but His very own Son, to live in our midst and to guide us and to save us. But God did not want us to be afraid of the gift, so He sent His Son into the world as a tiny baby in a manger – because what can be less frightening and less threatening than a little baby?
In Luke’s wonderful gospel, The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” -- Luke 2:10-12, NAB

Christmas is about presence, not presents! It’s about God-with-Us – Emmanuel, God in flesh dwelling in our midst, at our side, taking us by the hand, guiding us, loving us, God’s presence rather than about the gifts and presents that we give and receive.

If you little child complains this Christmas because he or she didn’t receive the gift they wanted, gently remind your son or daughter, “That’s OK, because this isn’t your birthday, is it?”

I love the story of a family that always took turns at Christmas letting one child crawl under the Christmas tree and hand out the presents to everyone else. One year, it was the youngest daughter’s turn to pass out the gifts, but she kept looking under the tree, looking, looking, but something was missing. Her parents finally asked her, “What’s wrong? What’s missing?” And the little girl looked up at them, panic in her eyes: “It’s not here! There’s no gift for Jesus, and it’s His birthday, isn’t it?” You see, she understood the real meaning of Christmas!

A few years ago, I came across a story about a priest who went to celebrate Christmas Mass and discovered that the statue of the baby Jesus had vanished from the crib in the church. He looked and looked for the baby Jesus, but to no avail. Someone apparently had stolen the baby Jesus! Later on Christmas day, as he was taking a stroll outside the church, he came across a little boy pulling a brand new toy wagon – and there, in the back of the wagon, was the statue of baby Jesus. The priest asked the little boy “Why do you have the baby Jesus in the back of your new wagon?” The boy answered with true solemnity: “Before Christmas, I prayed and prayed that I would get a new toy wagon – and I promised God that if He granted my wish, I would give His Son Jesus the first ride!”

Fr. John Shea, many years ago, wrote an essay about Christmas, written from the perspective of a 5-year-old girl. It goes like this:

She was five, sure of the facts, and recited them with slow solemnity, convinced every word was revelation. She said, “They were so poor they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat. And they went a long way from home without getting lost. The lady rode a donkey, the man walked, and the baby was inside the lady. They had to stay in a stable with an ox and an ass. (hee-hee) But the Three Rich Men found them because a star lighted the roof. Shepherds came and you could pet the sheep but not feed them. Then the baby was borned. And do you know who he was?” Her quarter eyes inflated to silver dollars. “The baby was God.” And she jumped in the air, whirled round, dove into the sofa, and buried her head under the cushion. Which is the only proper response to the Good News of the Incarnation. – Fr. John Shea

What is our response to Christmas? The teens today spend a lot of time on the computer, on a web page called MySpace.com. Anyone here ever heard of it? For those of you who don’t know about these such things, who are “computer illiterates” and “computer challenged,” don’t worry. It’s simply this: Kids post pictures of themselves and of their activities on a private web page on MySpace.com, and share messages and comments with one another. They are, in a sense, creating a “virtual community,” a “community” of friends and peers on the worldwide web. Now, I don’t have anything against MySpace.com, if it is used properly and responsibly – but as I was reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas, it struck me that Christmas is not about MySpace.com, spiritually speaking. Rather, it’s about GodSpace.com – making God the center of our lives, allowing the Lord of the universe, Jesus Christ, to come into our hearts and into “MySpace,” so that the Lord can begin to transform our lives and build communion and community with us.

There are only two ways we can respond to God’s gracious gift: With a “yes,” accepting and opening the gift; or with a “no,” rejecting the gift and never opening it.

In the gospel of John, we hear some people who say “yes,” and others who say “no.” First, the people who say “no” -- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world…but the world did not know him. -- John 1:1, 9, NAB

The world rejected the light of Jesus and refused to accept or know him. But now, listen to the Good News of those who accept the gift and say “yes” to the Lord: But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God… And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. – John 1:14, NAB

This Christmas: Are you making room in the inn for the Lord? Are you giving birth to Jesus? Are you following God’s star?

Let’s end by watching a special Christmas video that shows us the true meaning of Christmas:

[show video clip]