Pope Francis stated in his apostolic exhortation that: "the joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. With Christ joy is constantly born anew."
For all of us who are gathered here this morning these are important words for us to meditate upon as we enter into this Christmas season. It seems that every time that we turn around that something negative is being uttered against the Church or Christianity within the media. Despite this it seems that the media has always been enamored with the Church and the papacy especially when it comes to anything done by our current Holy Father, Francis. Under Francis we have a pope who is not saying anything new or going against traditional Church teachings, but instead has given us a glimpse into simplicity and a true concern for the human person especially the poor. Because of these charisms he has challenged many people to discover or to rediscover the Church. He is a reminder that when we encounter Jesus we in return will always be born anew. In other words our faith cannot be stale like an old piece of bread, but instead our relationship with Christ should be equal to any freshly baked bread. In this joyful encounter we are always born anew.
In our Gospel we find shepherds who encountered the joy of Christ's birth. Unlike the magi who came in their richness; they came from the lower rungs of society. These shepherds were caught going about the mundane tasks of everyday life, which as we can understand gets pretty boring. Nevertheless they had an amazing encounter with angels who led them towards the crib of the Messiah. The life of these shepherds through this divine encounter would always be born anew. They would always have the joy of this encounter moving them forward into their daily tasks. Due to this encounter nothing could possibly be boring again because they gained a true understanding for the meaning of life. They went away from the crib transformed in joy and thus they used every opportunity allotted to them to believe and to evangelize.
We to have been drawn to this crib on this morning for some reason. Maybe we have had this encounter that the shepherds have experienced and therefore we live out the faith each day with joy, maybe we are here solely out of the obligation of it being Christmas, maybe we are here out of obligation to our parents, or maybe we are here because we have a longing to find the truth that the shepherds were in search for. I firmly believe that all of us here are in search for that truth if we want to acknowledge it or not. We are all sick of the mundane and moving around in the boredom of everyday life. We all have a longing to feel complete and appreciated and only at the manger of our Lord will we find that purpose which will give joy to our lives. From the bedside of the crib our lives will be born anew and we will desire to model our life after the shepherds in their desire to grow in their belief and to go forth and evangelize.
And so what was it that they encountered that brought so much joy into their lives? What was it that they glimpsed that set them into the world born anew? What they found was a baby laying inside of a manger with Joseph and Mary. They came to find in this place that they had been led towards not just another human being, but instead found God Himself who had taken on human flesh and has come to dwell with us to bring about our salvation. From inside this manger they would see him laying upon a wooden crib that would foreshadow the wood of the cross which would bring salvation into the life of the world. From this encounter they were surrounded with peace and joy and realized that here in this place was the very thing that their hearts had always longed for. In the words of Benedict XVI: we have "the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ."
As we enter into this season of Christmas may we come to find our purpose and belonging with Christ. From this encounter with our Lord at this Mass and through the reception of Christ's Body and Blood may we be moved forward in rediscovering our faith. With our faith firmly grounded in Christ and His Church here on earth, we will always be born anew, and will find joy in the midst of the mundane or the sorrowful. The shepherds participated inside of this journey and show the fruit that will come forth from it to all of us. Our Holy Father, Francis, currently leads this journey for all of us and continually finds ways to remind us of the joys of the Gospel by the actions of his life. May we not pass over this Christmas as some secular event, but instead may we embrace the true meaning of this season which is the Incarnation when the Word became flesh. From this encounter our lives will always take on meaning, we will always discover joy, and will always be born anew.
Again, in the words of Francis: "the joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. With Christ joy is constantly born anew."
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