December 24 Christmas Day homily
Just in case things get too crazy tomorrow, I am going to post my Christmas homily tonight. If some of you are having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit, maybe this will help:
Christmas Day 2007
One of the great traditions of Christmas is the exchange of gifts. All of the children here cannot wait for Santa to arrive. Moms may be hoping for a piece of jewelry and dads for some new electronic gizmo, but over time, we begin to recognize that the best gifts we receive are those that come from the heart.
I’m sure that many parents here remember the gifts their children have made for them- a little ornament made out of plaster of paris, a wooden board with a picture of the nativity shellaced to it, or a change holder made from clay with the word “dad” scratched on the side. Why were these little things so precious to us? I think that it is becuase our children made something for us from their heart.
In the minds that we helped to create they thought up an idea for a present. With the hands we helped create they formed their little projects. Finally, with the soul God created they wanted to do their best to give mom and dad a sign of their love.
When they would present their gift wrapped in brightly colored paper and ribbon, their eyes watched as we opened their precious gift, and we will never forget their smile and bright eyes when we would tell them that it was just the thing we wanted. It is just the gift we wanted because it came from their heart, and not from a store.
Today we celebrate the wondrous gift of God, Jesus Christ his Son, born of the Virgin Mary. What makes this gift different from every other is that God the Father not only gave us a gift from his heart, he actually gave us HIS HEART. Jesus Christ is truly the Heart of the Father. Present with the Son from all ages, the Father knew that if we were to be blessed and know the joy of salvation, he would have to give us more than a message or an angel, he would have to give us his only-begotten Son, his Heart, who takes on through the Virgin Mary a human heart, a human body and a human mind. We see him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. We hear his cries of hunger. We touch his little hand as he tries to wrap it aound our big finger. He looks up at us with his bright eyes.
The child Jesus, the Son of God, has given us the gift of Himself, his own Heart, his own Flesh and Blood so that we may know the meaning of everlasting life with God and a life full of grace and love. One day that gift will be poured out on the cross so that we too may become children of God.
Jesus presents himself to us today and anxiously looks on, hoping that He will be accepted by each one of us- The Giver Himself becomes the Gift. As we gaze upon this little bundle of joy from whom our salvation will come, let us all say to the Lord “This is not only the gift I wanted, it is truly the gift I needed. It is the perfect gift, it is the Heart and love of God”
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