Journeying
Together In Faith
Christmas (Day) Homily
2012
‘The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the
world’
(John 1: 9)
These words coming from the Gospel of John today
serve to remind us 2000 years later that despite the passing of time, the importance
of the coming light are as relevant now as then.
We are all only too well aware of the straitened
times in which we live...very difficult, challenging and stressful times for
everyone at one stage or another.
And yet in the time of Jesus birth, there were
no doubt the same kind of worries and difficulties for Mary and Joseph as they
began their journey....an expectant mother worried about her child, a father worrying
about his expectant wife and the child she was due to give birth to and indeed
worried grandparents to be as well hoping for a safe birth.
They undertook a journey filled with fear,
courage and indeed with faith which as we are all only too well aware led to Mary
bringing forth into the world the baby Jesus.
His birth brought hope, joy and indeed His birth
was also the birth of faith....a faith which has continued down through the
millennia to the present despite the darkness...faith which has guided,
inspired, shaped and been such a source of strength to so many gone before us,
and please God, to yet come.
In October of this year, Pope Benedict 16th
declared a Year of Faith and perhaps now we ourselves can today begin – like Mary
and Joseph did over 2000 years ago - our own journey of developing and indeed
deepening our relationship with God through the birth of His Son, Our Lord
Jesus Christ.
This journey is not restricted to anyone or
indeed should it deny anyone....God is not open to the few and closed to the many
in any way, shape or form so we should not close ourselves to Him in any way,
shape or form.
Maybe in the current climate we should consider
beginning that journey – like Mary and Joseph did all that time ago – by accepting
God in our lives. He gave us His Son on this day as a sign of His faith in us
and surely this small step we can make can but bring great joy and hope to our
lives.
As our faith develops and deepens then we can
become like John the Baptist – we may become witnesses to the love of God
through His Son Jesus and then we may bring the message of love and hope to
others.
And let us begin on this day of days by our
checking in on those in our community who may be elderly, frail in mind and
body, who live alone or lonely, and indeed those we know ourselves that would
love for us to call on them and give them some of our time. It is the least we
can do, and it would mean so much to them and as we all know every journey
begins with the first step.
Today we can rejoice, today we can be full of
hope and joy and today we can begin our journey in faith with the newborn Jesus
towards deepening our faith in God and bring His light back into a world that could
certainly do with it.
Let us go from here today filled with the love,
joy, hope and faith of the newborn Jesus and let us become as John the Baptist –
a light that overcomes the darkness in our own lives and the lives of others.
That light is our faith, and our faith is God!
Amen