Christmas Day, 25 December 2012, Luke 2:1-14; John 1:1-18

Gerrit(Gerard) van Honthorst: Adoration of the Shepherds (1622)

(This homily was designed both for Midnight Mass and for Mass during the day of Christmas Day)

Santa is cool, but Jesus is King!

This year, my parents became grandparents for the first time, and I became an Uncle for the first time as well. I also became a godfather for the first time, as my brother and his partner honoured me by asking me to stand for their first-born child. Her name is Aoibheann. She was born at about 5:30 on the evening of June 19th last, and she has changed all of our lives. She has a wonderful personality; she seems to have great independence and she seems to have become a bit of a Daddy's girl as well! Her Mother is wonderful with her, maybe because she works in childcare so she has no fears about how to look after her child.

I'm sure many of you have had the wonderful experience of holding a new-born baby for the first time. Two men that I know, sharing with me their experience of holding their new-born baby for the first time, described it to me as a life-changing moment. One of them described how his heart melted as he held his first son, the other described how he felt that nothing else mattered except his daughter. An image that I have for it is like putting on glasses – everything becomes clearer, there are no doubts about how we must adjust our own lives in order to love and care for a child.

Tonight we celebrate the birth of a child. And, like all children, this child is very special. This child's mother would fret over him and worry about him and love him, like any mother would. And, sadly, like so many, this child's mother would see him die a painful death on the cross.

This child would not be a magician, but rather would be 'Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace' as our first reading from the prophet Isaiah tells us.

The Incarnation

So, the story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, the story of Emmanuel, of God-with-Us, is the story of the incarnation.

If you have ever visited Italy, you might remember ordering from a menu in a restaurant – they always have a section called 'Carne' – which is the meat section. There you will find beef and lamb, maybe veal or venison. A more literal translation in English of the word 'Carne' would not be 'meat', but 'flesh'.

So, to become 'in-carn-ate' is to become flesh, not just to be 'enfleshed' but to 'become flesh'. There are many religions and philosophies that look upon our flesh as corrupted, as bad, as evil. But, for us Christians all flesh – all carne is holy, because God became flesh in Jesus.

Santa is cool, but Jesus is King!

I know that tonight, along with Jesus, a very special person will be coming to visit all of the houses of the world to bring glad tidings and presents, especially for all the good boys and girls. And Santa, Father Christmas, or indeed St. Nicholas, as he is sometimes known, comes to give us presents to tell us how special all children really are, but especially Santa comes to tell us how special Jesus really is.

So, when we are really good, when we go to bed early and shut our eyes and go to sleep, we can be sure that Santa will come to give us presents in honour of the baby Jesus. In a way, that tells us that Jesus is already inside every boy and girl, indeed in every man and woman, because Santa comes to give us presents to honour Jesus.

Santa is cool, but Jesus is King!