Homily: Christmas Mass at Midnight, YR A
“Let Christmas Renew & Reconcile You”
by Fr. William Holtzinger
Dec. 25, 2004

Christmas can bring out the best and worst in us. Why? Because we are all trying to compete or meet some expectation of what Christmas needs to be. We have in our minds an idealized Christmas where all the right people are there and all the right food is there and all the right presents are there. Yet, when we set ourselves up with these expectations, all that we do is stumble and fall. We can become angry or hopeless because we’ve pinned our hopes on something not real or unlikely to happen. It’s like the movie, “Christmas with the Kranks” which is based on the book “Skipping Christmas.”

What would happen if we had no expectations of how it needed to be? Instead, what would happen if we let each Christmas be what it is rather than what is should be? This is not lowering the bar nor being a pessimist. Rather it is a radical departure from living in the world to living in the Spirit. We often say, “go with the spirit” or “it’s the spirit of the thing” which is to say “go with the flow.”

Some of the most profound Christmas’ I recall were totally untypical. The most profound was the last Christmas with my father who was in the hospital dying of Lymphoma. He would live on for several more months, but the realization of that moment and how precious he was to me was intensified. I am thankful for that wake up call on that Christmas eve. It was a gift that taught me more about the meaning of Christmas than any other I had ever had since.

This Christmas, I look to my mother who is not getting any younger as well. I am pulled to recognize that there are fewer days with her than without her in my life now. She is precious to me. She loves me and is patient with me. I love her and she loves me. The best Christmas I can give her is my heart. So, I’ve set down in writing my heart gift to my beloved mother. I imagine that as a mom, what better gift could their be than the love of her child.

And that brings me to Mary, Joseph and Jesus, the Holy Family. The greatest gift Mary and Joseph could receive would be the love of their child. And Jesus had a love that was so potent, that it could reach out to all people and all time. I can only imagine what the power of Jesus’ love did to his parents. Think about it parents... what would you give to have the undying love of your kids? What would you do to receive a love that would die for you rather than let you die? Our children are the key to our hearts. They are the gifts that God has given us to keep our hearts open and childlike. During the Family Mass this evening, one of our children told me during the homily that she didn’t want presents. She just wanted to be with her mom. Wow! How profound! To be like a child is to be without malice or revenge. It is to be open to the forgiving love of a parent. And that is what we should all be.

So, now is the time to pay special attention to what is most important. Be reconciled with each other. What is so important that you must quarrel or fight over? Are you looking out for only what you want or are you motivated by love of the other? Selfishness and greed are the path to destruction while selflessness and compassion are the way to eternal life. Don’t waste anymore time. Tonight is the night when all your dreams can come true, dreams that are founded by God for you and not dreams concocted by our own self interest. Take time this Christmas season and help someone. Do it without expecting any pay back. Be inconvenienced for the sake of another’s convenience. Let God, who emptied himself into a child, be living and breathing in your this Christmas season. But be careful, you might be changed for the experience.

If I or anyone in our pastoral staff has ever done anything to hurt you, please help us to reconcile with you. Come home for Christmas. St. Anthony’s may be your home here on earth. Let us be one again at this table, a table for bread, a table for wine, a table to lay down your sins and be made like a child all over again. Amen.