Christmas Midnight Mass 2009

Once again this Christmas night, we hear with joy the words of the prophet, “For there is a child born for us, a son given to us.” We hear with wonder the message of the angel to the shepherds of the field, “Today a saviour has been born for us; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” That is what has brought us out here tonight. Just like the shepherds, we have come to adore Mary’s newborn child whom we confess to be the Emmanuel, God-with-us, Jesus, the Son, the very Son of God.

And this year as every year, this Christmas mystery brings hope and joy to millions of people all over the world. It does not seem to matter what problems threaten us – this year we might think of the fighting in Afghanistan in which so many have lost their lives, the on-going economic problems which have brought misery and anxiety to many people and families, or the personal problems unique to each one of us. Without diminishing the seriousness of any of these problems, the nativity of the Christ-child retains the power to shine a hopeful and joyful light on our families, in our homes and in our hearts.

Wonderfully, even many people whose faith is not strong appear to be touched at some level by the mystery of Christmas and recognise that there is something here which calls to them, which they want to be part of, and which is potentially life-changing even if they cannot quite grasp it. What the prophet said thousands of years ago seems to be still true: “The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.” Christmas brings the light of Christ to shine to joyful effect on the lives of believers and of all people of good will.

Christmas is such a public feast day that, as well as encouraging traditional carols and hymns of praise, it also raises voices in our society which sing a different tune. Atheism was practically unknown in our society before the early 1800’s, but now Christians are faced with a militant aggressive atheism which is in the process of twisting the politics of human rights and of equality into a weapon against the freedom of religion. This perverse phenomenon would airbrush Christianity out of public culture and turn Christmas into a seasonal holiday and a private religious observance. But from the beginning, when King Herod’s soldiers murdered the boy-children of Judea, violence and power and political ideology have threatened the tender innocence and awesome simplicity of God’s self-giving in the Christmas mystery. We can only respond as we have always done, with faith, with love, with fortitude and with action which is full of God’s wisdom.

For the whole point is this: We have recognised in this baby the God who has become the Emmanuel, God-with-us. We have realised that the separation between us and God has been covered in the baby Jesus whom we identify simply with the word Son -Son of God - and we wonder that we can have the kind of immediate and loving relationship with God that we have a with a newborn child.

This sublime mystery illuminates the God who is love and shows the pattern of God’s dealings with us. God comes to us a child: in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, we need ourselves to become as little children. The default pattern of our relationship with God and with each other has been set as love, nearness, tenderness and innocence. This is what people have implicitly understood from the Christmas mystery. They are attracted to this mystery because they are attracted to love in its purest form, the form of a newborn baby who is the God-child, and because they want their own lives, sadly often selfish and loveless, to be filled with a love which is innocent and true.

And if I have a wish and prayer for all of us this Christmas, it is this: that God gives us the innocence, the goodness and the simplicity of heart to recognise in Mary’s child the Lord, the Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus the Saviour.

St. Mirin’s Cathedral, Paisley

25th December 2009