Merry Christmas to you all. Why are we here at midnight? The Christmas carol reminds us: “It came upon the midnight clear that glorious song of old, from angels bending near the earth, to touch their harps of gold”. Can you see the angels?
What is it that makes this night so special? Is it the quiet and serenity, the familiar and moving music, the flowers and decorations, family and friends together? Certainly it is all these. Yet there is something more, something without definition, something hidden that makes us come together in this beautiful Cathedral at midnight. Someone noted that among the special elements of Midnight Mass is being awake while the rest of the world is asleep, seeing the light of the world come forth at the darkest time of the day.
Tonight we rest in that indefinable, hidden mystery of the moment recalling that this child born in Bethlehem so many years ago, yet who is with us this very night, gives us hope.
Have you ever wondered what was going through the minds of Mary and Joseph that night, far from home, turned away from normal lodging, perhaps pondering the angel’s words to each of them? The miracle of this child’s unique conception and birth must have moved them deeply, given them hope in the midst of the uncertainty it meant for them personally. In this newborn child, in the Christ child, we too can be moved deeply to see the hope that he is for us in the midst of so much uncertainty in our lives and in our world. Coming in poverty and inconspicuously, the message is clear, the kingdom of man is not enough; fulfillment comes only in the Kingdom of God. God the Father showed us the way to that fulfillment by sending his son to be among us in a humble and striking way.
Stories are so much a part of Christmas tradition because they catch the message by touching our hearts. This is one of my favorites. One Christmas Eve grandma and her young granddaughter were alone while the rest of the family was at Mass. Knowing her granddaughter felt left out; grandma looked at her with great love, gathered her in into her arms and told her this story:
“Many years ago a man went out into the dark night to borrow live coals to kindle a fire. He went from house to house calling out, “my wife has given birth to a child. I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.” But the hour was late, either no one heard him or they refused to respond. He walked and walked to no avail. Then he saw off in the distance the glimpse of a fire. He made his way there and found a fire burning brightly. Sheep were sleeping around it, an old shepherd was keeping watch and three dogs were beside him. As the man approached, the dogs stirred. They opened their mouths to bark but no sound came out. Then they ran at him, one attacking his leg, another his hand, the third his throat, but the jaws would not obey and the man was unharmed.
As he moved forward the sheep still slept, not stirring or running as might be expected. They were so tightly packed that he could not walk through them so he walked on and over them. They neither woke nor were harmed. Then the shepherd stood up bearing a cold hostile look. He seized his shepherd’s staff which had a long spike on the end and threw it at the man. It was right on target but suddenly whizzed to the side and went around the man.
“Good fellow”, the man said, “please help me. Give me a few burning coals. My wife has given birth and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.” The shepherd scowled but remembered the strange goings on and was afraid to deny the request. He noted that the man had no way to carry the hot coals, so he smugly said, “take all you want.” The man stooped down and gathered the coals into his bare hands without burning himself and walked away.
The shepherd shouted after him, “What kind of night is this, when the dogs do not bite, the sheep are not scared, the staff does strike or the fire scorch, what kind of night is this? “
The shepherd followed the man to a cave where he saw mother and child were sleeping in the cold. The shepherd suddenly felt compassion. “That poor innocent child will freeze to death”, he thought. He opened his pack and took out a sheepskin and gave it to the man for the child to be warmed.
As soon as he showed that he could love, his eyes were opened and he saw what he had not been able to see before. All around him were angels who sang, “Tonight the Savior is born who will redeem the world.” The angels had protected the man. His skepticism and fear gone, the shepherd fell to his knees and thanked God that he could now see what he could not see before, that the hidden was now known to him. A Savior has been born for him, for us all, and the angels rejoice.
Grandma hugged her granddaughter closer and said, “What the shepherd saw we might see too, for every Christmas the angels come back and sing the same song, if only we could see them. All that is needed is for us to care about one another and show it. Then we can see God’s love and glory through the eyes of faith, Jesus, born in Bethlehem.” The little girl smiled and no longer felt left out, no longer alone.
God chose to show his love for us and give us hope in the gift of the Christ child. In a baby we all see hope. When a baby smiles, we smile, our spirits are lifted. God made himself a child to enable us to become more perfect adults. God was wrapped in swaddling clothes to free us from the shrouds of death. God came down from heaven to invite us to rise to eternal life. God had no place at the inn so that we might have a room in the Father’s mansion. God became poor so that we might become spiritually rich. Do we see that, understand that, accept that, believe that?
Tonight in this special moment with lights and music, Scripture and Eucharist, we have the chance to see what we could not see before; know who he was and who he is. Christ the Savior is born. Christ, our savior is born. He is the infinite hope that fulfills. And so we, like the angels, can rejoice.
“Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new born king. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners, (me certainly, maybe you), God and sinners reconciled. Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies, with th’angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem.” Christ is born for us in Bethlehem. Can you see the angels?