Merry Christmas!
In our Gospel we encounter the shepherds, who after their encounter with the angels are inspired to journey towards Bethlehem. Here they came to encounter our Blessed Lord and when they returned home they did so “glorifying and praising God in all the things they had heard and seen.” We can say that from this encounter the lives of the shepherds were changed forever.
Throughout the Gospels there are so many who came to encounter this same Lord and their life too came to be changed forever. There was the apostles who our Lord called to follow Him in order that they may be fishers of men. There was the woman caught in adultery who our Lord forgave and instructed to go and sin no more. There was Dismas who encountered Him upon the cross and through his repentant heart was instructed “today you will be with me in paradise.” These are only a small selection of the many whose lives were forever changed through this encounter.
This turns the attention inwardly upon each of us. Through our baptism we have come to be marked for Christ Jesus. Through these life giving waters sin was washed away and we were set upon a path which leads towards Heaven. From this sacrament we were given the gift of grace in order that we may come to run the race of faith. You can say that each us have encountered Christ the King and thus our life has been changed forever.
Nevertheless, we know how hard that all of this can be. We know the pull of sin. We know the darkness that can seemingly be ushered into the world at times. As heard in our Introit: “A light shall shine upon us this day: for the Lord is born to us.” We cannot forget about this light which now shines brightly. This great light gives us the faith and hope to endure and to allow this interaction with our Blessed Lord to change us forever.
Like the shepherds encountered in our Gospel we are encouraged to now journey towards Bethlehem. Here we will discover Christ, both fully human and fully divine, who has been laid in the comfort of a manger. From this encounter our life is forever changed. From here we will be sent back into the world “glorifying and praising God in all the things (we have) heard and seen.”
In this manner there will be no hardship that is too great for Christ. In this manner there will be no temptation which is too great for Christ to protect us from. In this manner there will be no sin which is too great for the mercy of God. In this manner whatever we “do in word or in work, (we will come to) do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
