Father Bill began his homily yesterday with the greeting, “Merry Christmas.” People laughed as though Father Bill was a step behind the rest of the world. “Get with it, Father, Christmas is over.” We know, of course, that Father Bill is a step ahead of the rest of the world.
A ball game is more than having the first pitch thrown. This is but the beginning. So Christmas Day was just the opening pitch. Now is the time to “play the game.” Now it is time to do our part. How do we do this?
Today’s gospel passage shows us how (John1 :1-18). John tells us the entire human story going all the way back to pre-history.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
Then God decided to create a world through the Word.
“All things came to be through him and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this is the light of the human race.”
Creating the human race was not enough. God, in his expansive love, wanted to bring us humans to a new level. To do this he allowed the Word to become flesh among us. Then what happened?
“He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.”
Finally God brought the human race to its peak moment. At this point, the human will entered the picture. Would we accept the gift of God and become part of this new moment of creation? Sadly, the people whom God groomed to receive Jesus were the ones who most rejected him.
“But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation…but of God.”
Not all rejected God’s gift. Some people accepted Jesus with joy and allowed the fullness of God’s creation to take place in them. Such a transformation is described as a new birth. The power of the Holy Spirit entered the hearts of those who accepted Jesus and lifted them to a new identity—children of God!
As one of those who accepted Jesus, John elaborates on the significance of what God did.
“From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Through grace God worked through Moses to establish a new presence among the people of Israel. This “grace,” however was replaced by a “new grace” that came through Jesus Christ. In him the fullness of God’s plan for this world came about.
We live in this new age of grace. God’s love has been poured out in its fullness and gives the power to bring us weak humans to the level of his own children.
When Jesus first appeared on the earth, many rejected him and some accepted him. During this season of grace in which God once again sends his Son, some will reject him and some will accept him. Some will chose to open God’s gift.
How, then, are we to live out this Christmas season? By accepting Jesus Christ, totally and completely into our lives. Let’s not keep him out for a few days and then put him away in the basement as we do our nativity sets, but keep him in front of us as the Lord, Savior and Center of our lives.
“The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us” (1 John 14).
