By Fr. Bob Puhlman
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church
We gather in prayer on Christmas day to celebrate the center event of God’s creation. This is the Christ event. All creation leads to Jesus Christ. He enters into our world to draw us into His Presence. All creation takes its meaning from Jesus Christ. The Christ event begins with the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas, and concludes with His sharing His Spirit and the Spirit of the Father on Pentecost.
St. Francis of Assisi understood the message of the manger clearer than most. The world had little compassion for a young girl in labor. She was offered a spot in a stable, with the animals. There was no appearance of royalty about the scene, other than the royalty at its center. That was sufficient.
The King of Kings was born into poverty to draw us away from the riches of the world and into His Presence. St. Francis saw this birth as a call to holiness, a call away from the world’s riches and a call to the wealth of the Lord. It was, of course, St. Francis who constructed the first nativity scene.
And so we greet one another today by saying “Merry Christmas.” Be merry, celebrate the birth of the Lord. Be joyful, not just because a baby was born more than 2,000 years ago, but because God has entered into our world to draw us into His Presence.
Merry Christmas, Be Joyful, for we have been chosen by the Son of God to be holy.
