The third grade was staging their annual Christmas pageant. Finally it came time for the birth. Mary was hidden from the crowd by bales of hay. A boy appeared on stage, in a bathrobe with sandals, a stethoscope around his neck. He disappeared behind the hay bales, and reemerged with a bundle. He handed it to Joseph and said, "Congratulations—
it's a God!"
Yes, God is born on Christmas Day!
What a strange thing to say: God is born. How can God be born? God is eternal. Without beginning. Without end. The Alfa and the Omega. How can He be born?
Well, the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and says, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."
There is no snatching of people off the earth up to heaven. It is God who is raptured down to earth. Christmas is a rapture in reverse.
Why was God born? God was born in Jesus Christ to reconcile us to God. The fruit of which is the peace of God.
Notice our Gospel passage calls the angels that celebrated Jesus’ birth the “heavenly host.” The word “host” is the word for army. But the multitude of angels didn’t sing “God will fight for you against the Romans!” That wasn’t their song at all. Their song was peace. “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
Ephesians 2:14 says that "He himself is our peace." There is the peace no human being can take from us, no one save ourselves: Christ is our peace. Peace is not the mere absence of conflict but a peace rooted in one’s reconciliation with God.
2). There is another strange little story of a boy who tried to sabotage a nativity pageant. Can you imagine that? Who would want to spoil a Christmas pageant?
It seems that eleven-year-old Erwin was bitterly disappointed at not being cast as Joseph in the school Nativity play. He was given the minor role of the innkeeper instead. This was not what he wanted and throughout the weeks of rehearsal he brooded on how he could avenge himself on the classmate who was chosen for the part that he so desired.
When the day of the big performance came, Erwin was prepared. Joseph and Mary made their entrance and knocked on the door of the inn. Erwin, the innkeeper, opened it a fraction and eyed them coldly. “Can you give us board and lodging for the night?, Joseph pleaded. Joseph, of course, expected the innkeeper to follow the script and answer gruffly that he had no room for them in the inn.
Instead young Erwin grandly flung the door wide open, beamed cheefully and announced, “Come in, come in. You shall have the best room in the hotel.”
The was a pause. The young man playing Joseph had not expected this and did not know exactly what to do. But then, with great presence of mind, young Joseph turned to Mary and said, “Hold on. I’ll take a look inside first.” He peered past the innkeeper, shook his head firmly and announced sharply, “I’m not taking my wife into a place like this. Come on, Mary, we’ll sleep in the stable.” And that is what they did. The plot was back on course.
Born in a manger. Shepherds were the first to know. Small time people, and small town places. He picked amateurs and nobodies. Jesus was born on the night shift.
Too often people spoil their whole lives in desires to have, when our main interests should be devoted to efforts to be.. to be kind, to be humble, to be holy, to be prayerful.
Christmas also teaches us that while creation is not God, it is also not separate from God. The world is the place for encountering God.
The concept of eternity has now also entered into historical time. The universal to the particular—this baby, this manger, is where God is. This tabernacle. This Church; this part of the Church. The union established between man and God in the Incarnation is continued and made closer through Holy Communion. For this reason we were urged to prepare all through Advent for a worthy Christmas Communion. In being spiritually reborn in our soul by Holy Communion, Christ increases the life of grace in us, making this life develop more freely and expand with more strength, thus preparing us more and more for the eternal life with Him in heaven.
3). Lastly, there was yet another Christmas pageant presented by a class of four-year olds and it was an evening to remember. It began with three Virgin Marys marching out onto the stage. As they stood there, they, of course, were waving to their parents. It’s not every Christmas pageant that has three Virgin Marys, but over the years the school had acquired three Mary costumes, and so, quite naturally the script was revised. This gave a chance for more children to be involved and kept down the squabbling over who got the starring roles. The two Josephs walked up behind the Marys. Then twenty little angels came out. They were dressed in white robes and they had huge wire wings covered in fabric. They were followed by twenty little shepherd boys, dressed in burlap sacks. They carried an array of objects that were supposed to be shepherd crooks.
It was at this point that the problem occurred. During the dress rehearsal the teacher had used chalk to draw circles on the floor to mark where the angels were supposed to stand and crosses to mark the spots of the shepherds. But the children had practiced with their regular clothes on. So, on the night of the pageant, the angels came walking out with their beautiful costumed wings and stood on their circles. However, their huge wings covered the crosses of the shepherds as well. So when the time came for the shepherds to find their places, they did not know where to go because angels took up all their space.
There was one little boy who became extremely frustrated and angry over the whole experience. He finally spied his teacher behind the curtains and said in a loud voice, “Because of these dumb angels, I can’t find the cross!”
The nativity scene by itself is not the whole story; it's only the first act.
We won't understand Christmas without Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost.
We won't find the Son of the true God without finding our neighbor in need. We, like the infant Christ, are deeply formed by the relationships of love that constitute our lives. At Christmas, we are invited to reflect on our vulnerability and embrace our dependence. To give up one's very self — to think of others — how to bring the greatest eternal happiness to others through Jesus Christ — that is the true meaning of Christmas, and why we celebrate God being born this day.
Amen.
