With slightly over two weeks until Christmas, our minds are undoubtedly racing with our to-do lists, coupled by a sense of nostalgia regarding places, experiences, or people who have touched our lives.
Whether we are envisioning a Norman Rockwell style of Christmas, recalling past Christmas shopping trips downtown to Gimbels, Horne’s, Kaufmann’s, or to the once-vibrant Greengate and Century III Malls, fondly remembering our experiences at a B.E. Taylor Christmas show, or missing a loved one who is no longer with us, we often yearn for a sense of normalcy in our lives and the familiarity of days gone by, especially at Christmas.
While we may not recognize it, what we are searching for a sense of home. We are yearning for the sights, smells, laughs, and embraces that made us feel loved and at peace in the world. And while we nostalgically search for that sense of “home” to fill the that void in our hearts, the solution for our quest lies in our understanding of the true meaning of Christmas.
The Christmas Gospel that you will hear in a couple of weeks may sound quite familiar. In fact, as children, it’s probably one of the first Scripture readings that we encountered as our family gathered around the TV and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas. But as children, most of us probably didn’t realize that we were listening to a passage from the Gospel of Luke.
As Charlie Brown was searching for the meaning of Christmas, the answer came from an unexpected source, when Linus quoted the Gospel of Luke 2:8-14 saying: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”. When he was finished, Linus turns and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown”.
When we embrace the true meaning of Christmas, we are swaddled in the peace of Christ and the realization that the true home we are searching for is with God. And there no better place to experience our true home than at Mass and in the intimacy of receiving our Lord in the Eucharist. When we do, we can’t wait to experience this joy every day of our lives.
So, Come Home for Christmas… and stay awhile! Invite others to Come Home with you, so that they too may experience the love of God, the peace of Christ, and the warm embrace of family that radiates from The Body of Christ. And that’s what Christmas is all about!