Lukes invitation, which has been extended to all believers down the centuries, reaches us again tonight: to come and worship, to see for ourselves the fragility of God, the littleness of mighty one, the sheer tenderness of a love that is offered to all peoples.
With the birth of this child a new adventure in faith begins. A new approach to God is opened up for us, a new way of relating to each other is asked for us; because this child becomes for all of us the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Today we celebrate the love of God for us which shows itself in the fragile bundle of the child Jesus. And we call celebrate our love of God in Jesus. Perhaps it is true to say that we can love only what we can get our aims around. To love we need a particular name, a particular face, a particular person. And we have God’s particulars in Jesus. When we look at Jesus we no longer have to guess at God. And, like Mary and Joseph, we can get our arms around the child from Bethlehem.
The Gospel invites us to take the child with us. Not to drop him back in the crib when we leave here, but to welcome into our hearts the gift of God in Jesus.
In Jesus we have the sure proof that God loves us, and we all need to live in the assurance of that love. The great truth of Christmas is that no matter what happens to us, God’s love is not negotiable. It is never in doubt.
So tonight let us celebrate that love which proclaims: “ I have loved you with an everlasting love”. And the name of that is Jesus.
Fr. Maroun El Kazzi