Am I Happy About Christmas?

(Fr. Andrew’s Homily for Sunday, December 10th 2023)

Advent is a time of preparation for the Lord’s coming. Now, the way you get ready for someone depends on who that person is, on what that person means for you.

Now, first things first. Is the Lord coming? Is Jesus coming to you, this Christmas? Well, Jesus has already come, two thousand and twenty three years ago. Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead, but nobody knows when: maybe before, maybe on Christmas day or maybe after Christmas... So why are we getting ready now? There is a third coming, between those other two: Jesus’ coming to your heart. We remember His first coming on the first Christmas so that we may remember to welcome Him in our own lives, this Christmas.

1.  “But, father, Jesus is already in my heart, He already has a place in my life.” I wish we all could say that... good for you! You live in a state of grace and always try to grow in your spiritual life: this is very good. But sometimes there are parts of our lives in which Jesus is not yet present. I am sure Jesus is not present when we gossip: He would cut our tongues, or at least pull them very hard... Jesus is not present when we lie. Jesus does not come to our workplace when we are lazy or irresponsible. Jesus does not sit side by side at our desk when we do not study hard for our exams, when we waste time... Is Jesus on the passenger seat when I drive...? We all can probably find a place in our lives where Jesus is not yet present. Advent is the time to prepare that place for Him, so that He may come now and reign. One day, He will come to judge and there will be no time to get ready.

2.  Again, perhaps Jesus already is in the manger of your heart, but the manger is so uncomfortable with all those venial sins... they are like straws, like little thorns which make Jesus still cry. Why we don’t take those things from our hearts? Maybe because we don’t even remember that Jesus is there, we are not with Him, and so we don’t even hear Him crying in that manger of our hearts...

This takes us to another important point: why are we happy in Christmas? Because Jesus is born. Now, if He is born and He is not with me, because I am in a state of a mortal sin, then there is nothing to be happy about. This is why people transform Christmas’ joy in the joy of eating, drinking, lights, noise, material gifts... they have nothing else to be happy about. Now, if Jesus is with me, in my heart, but I live like everybody else, as if He did not exist, in what sense I say that I am happy that He is born? Am I truly happy that He is born, or for what reason I am happy on Christmas?

Who is Jesus for me? Am I happy that He exists, that He was born, died for me on the Cross and rose from the dead? Am I happy that He is going to come again to Judge or am I afraid of Him?

Remember a day in which Jesus helped you. Remember a time in which you could feel that Jesus was walking along the way, perhaps the hard way, with you. Remember what Jesus told you. Remember those times in which you encountered Him, perhaps your first Holy Communion, or your wedding day, or a bitter, sad moment, or a difficult temptation, or a great tribulation... and Jesus was there for you. Perhaps you were happy, perhaps you were not, but you were not alone.

This means that there is one more person in your life: Jesus. There is one more person in your world: Jesus. Your world would not be the same had He not appeared in your life. Christmas is the day in which we give thanks for Him, for His love, for His care for us. He loved us so much! How do we get ready for Him? What would He like for a gift?

Let us allow Jesus to come to that place in our lives where He is not yet present. Let us make our hearts more comfortable for Him, taking away thorns and straws. Let us think of a gift for Him.

Advent is such a busy time for everyone and there is almost no time to think, to pause and reflect... Let us pause now, then, for two minutes (this is why my homily is shorter) and ask Jesus: “What do you want for Christmas, what do you want from me?” And if you don’t want to ask this question, or you are afraid to ask, tell Jesus what you yourself want for Christmas. May Jesus always answer our prayers.

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