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I will never forget the bright Christmas morning when the faithful gentleman who opened our church for years did so, then suffered a fatal heart attack on the front steps of the church. Nor could I forget the Christmas night, when, after a lively family Christmas celebration, my mother died peacefully in her sleep.
As we approach Christmas, we know that some will be in hospital beds and others will be gathered around them keeping prayerful vigil. Some will be hiding away in fear of the bombs exploding near their homes in war-torn countries. Others will be working dutifully to serve others, while longing to be with their own families and loved ones.
Life is not always what we plan and not always what we like it to be. That was what happened to Mary and Joseph as they were forced to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem just to abide by the law and register for the census. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, they never expected that the happiest night of their life would be spent in a stable as their child was born.
Yet we celebrate that unfortunate turn of events as a blessing! Jesus, the Bread of Life, was born in a city whose name means “House of Bread.” Jesus, who is the Living Bread come down from heaven, was laid in a manger, a feeding trough, reminding us that he came to feed and nourish us, even when we are beastly to one another.
With faith, it became a beautiful thing that our sacristan died right where he had always served so faithfully and on such a momentous day. With faith, it became a blessing that our mother died just the way she always said she wanted to die and after spending a wonderful Christmas with those she loved the most.
God has a way of turning misfortune and tragedy into blessings and reminders of his everlasting love. But this only happens if we are attentive to the ways of God.
As we celebrate this Christmas in 2024, we enter the Jubilee Year of 2025, a year whose theme Pope Francis has designated as “Pilgrims of Hope.”
We hope that this year will bring peace on earth and goodwill to all people. We hope that lowly shepherds and mighty magi will all bow down together in homage to God-with-us, Emmanuel. We hope there will be peace in our families, and an end to discord and disease.
Will our hope be fulfilled? God alone knows. But it is essential that we who believe in Jesus and the love he showed us in becoming one of us turn the attitude of tragedy into the attitude of thanksgiving.
Cynicism will only plunge us deeper into despair, but when we raise our voices in praise to God, we begin to see things as God sees them. We are able to accept misfortunes and know that we are never abandoned by the God who loves us so much that he sent us his only son.
The more we sing God’s praises in our Christmas carols and our ordinary-time songs of thanksgiving, the more we move toward achieving the realities we hope for. Hope is like the plodding donkey that is taken for granted, but who moved the Mother of God to the place God had chosen to present his only begotten son to the world.
We are blessed more profoundly than we know or understand, because Jesus our savior was born for us!
Pilgrims of Hope, Merry Christmas!
