Lk 2:1-14
1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. 2This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. 4And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. 9The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. 10The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
14“Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom
his favor rests.”
God Will Find Us: John Powell shares this story: In a class in the theology of faith, the teacher’s biggest challenge was Tom my. He constantly objected to or smirked at the possibility of unconditionally loving God.
At the end of the course, he asked in a slightly cynical tone, “Do you think I’ll ever find God?”
“No,” the teacher said emphatically, “I don’t think you’ll ever find him, but I am certain he will find you.”
Soon after came a sad report: Tommy had terminal cancer. The teacher wanted nothing more than to talk with Tommy. Before the teacher could look for him, Tommy dropped by the office. His body was badly wasted, but his eyes were bright and his voice was firm.
Tommy shared his story: “You said once that God will find me. When the malignancy spread to my vital organs, I began banging on the gates of heaven. But nothing happened. Then I quit. I decided I didn’t really care about God, an afterlife, or anything like that…
“I also remembered what you said: that the essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But I thought it would be almost equally sad to leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you loved them. So I began with the hardest part: I told my father, ‘Dad, I love you, I just wanted you to know that.’ He cried and he hugged me. And we talked all night…
“One day, I turned around and God was there. He didn’t come to me when I pleaded with him. Apparently he does things his own way and at his own hour. The important thing is that you were right. He found me even after I stopped looking for him. I also realized that the surest way to find God is not by making him a private possession or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather by opening to love.”
The birth of Jesus is not something to be consigned to the past. Everything stands in reference to it. It is not something to be passively remembered. It is an occasion for active celebration and renewal of faith, for Jesus is the “Living One” whom we encounter in the mystery of our lives.
In the birth of the Savior, we see “not simply a case of man seeking God, but of God who comes in Person to speak to man of himself and to show him the path by which he may be reached” (John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, n 6). In Jesus Christ, God not only speaks to man but also seeks him out. This is because God loves him from the very beginning; man is his special possession in a way unlike other creatures (TMA, n 7).
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in the crib tonight. Men and women continue to suffer, to struggle, and to love—to find the meaning of their lives. In the Son of God made man, their search comes to an end, their yearnings find fulfillment. It is because in Jesus, God searches for man and woman—and finds them.