Freddy the forgetful Shepherd.
I had fallen asleep that night, but Rufus woke me up by shoving his stinky foot under my nose. The others were already running to Bethlehem. Rufus filled me in as I half ran, half stumbled along the way.
So great was my rush to get to the manger, so full of wine, so forgetful, so greedy that I arrived at Bethlehem tottery, empty-handed. It is true that I had found the denarius to pay for the wine, but then there was nothing in my pockets when I got to the stable. I am continuously and extremely poor in all sorts of ways.
As the others were competing to offer their gifts, I stood apart, squirming with embarrassment.
At a certain point, St. Joseph and Our Lady found it hard to receive all the gifts, especially Mary, who had to hold the baby. Seeing that I had empty hands, she asked me to draw near and she put the baby Jesus in my arms.
Receiving Jesus, I became aware of having received what I did not deserve, of holding in my arms the greatest gift of all time. I looked at my hands, these hands that seemed to always be empty, except for the odd goblet of wine. Now instead my hands, my arms were full and had become a cradle for God.
I felt loved and overcome. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was something else, but I found myself in tears. And there seemed to be only one thing for it. I began to show Jesus to the others, for I could not keep him, the gift of gifts, to myself.
To you my dear brothers and sisters, if your hands seem empty, if you think your heart is poor in love, this Christmass is especially for you. The grace of God has appeared, to shine forth in your life. He shines from the crib, from the altar, from your face and mine. Accept it and the light of Christmas will shine forth in you.
In Jesus, God Almighty made himself tiny, so that he might be vulnerable and accessible to us.
St. Paul described the coming of Jesus as “grace,” because it means something completely free. God’s gift of Jesus is not something anyone deserves or anyone can ever repay. It doesn’t work that way. It’s not a business transaction with cash, card or gift voucher.
Christmas tells each person, no matter how poor or sinful, that they are utterly and totally loved by God.
The grace of God that is revealed in a manky messy stable in Bethlehem is divine love, the love that changes lives, renews history, liberates from evil, fills hearts with peace and joy.
Christmas is a reminder that when we failed to measure up, God became small for our sake; while we were going about our own business, he came into our midst.
God does not love you because you think and act the right way. He loves you, plain and simple. You may have made a complete mess of things, but the Lord continues to love you.
The only thing people need to do with God’s grace is to accept it and let themselves be loved by God.
Accepting this grace means being ready to give thanks in return. Often we live our lives with such little gratitude. Today is the right day to draw near to the tabernacle, the creche, and the manger, and to say ‘Thank you.’
Receiving the gift of Jesus, we should try to be like him by being a gift for others. It is the best way to change the world: we change, the church changes, and history changes, once we stop trying to change others but try to change ourselves and make our life a gift.
Jesus shows this to us this Christmass in 2022. He did not change history by pressuring anyone or by a flood of words, but by the gift of his life. He did not wait until we were good, or sober or rich or happy before he loved us, but gave himself freely to us. Do not wait for our neighbours to be good before we do good to them, for the church to be perfect before we love her, and for others to respect us before we serve them.
If you are like Freddy the forgetful Shepherd, coming to the altar where God is made visible and you feel as though you have nothing; if your heart is empty and you think that embarrassment and unworthiness are all you have, then this Christmass is particularly for you. All you have to do is come, receive and adore Him.
This christmass in 2022, Let Our Lady give her son to you and then show him to others. In your poverty and in your joy, he is all you need. Hold onto him and delight in him; because as sure as the angels sang, he is already holding onto you.