Mass of Christmas Day

JOHN 1:1-5, 9-14
I LOVE EMAIL. I CAN TYPE WHAT I WANT TO TELL SOMEONE, HIT THE SEND KEY, AND KNOW THAT AT SOME POINT SHE WILL READ IT. AND THEN, WHEN IT IS CONVENIENT, I CAN READ HER REPLY. MY SISTER OUT IN RENO DOESN'T SEEM TO BE NEARLY AS BIG A FAN OF EMAIL. WHEN SHE HAS SOMETHING SHE REALLY WANTS TO TELL ME, SHE CALLS ME UP. THIS MEANS THAT I HAVE TO STOP WHAT I'M DOING, ANSWER HER QUESTIONS, ASK MY OWN, AND ON IT GOES. WHAT A MESSY WAY TO COMMUNICATE!
BUT HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY TEACHERS CONTINUE TO GIVE LECTURES, WHY CLERGY CONTINUE TO PREACH, OR WHY EVEN IN THE SUPREME COURT BEFORE THE NINE JUDGES PASS JUDGMENT, THEY ALLOW ORAL ARGUMENT? AFTER ALL, THE LAWYERS HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME METICULOUSLY WRITING DOWN ALL THE REASONS THEY THINK SUPPORT THEIR POSITION. AND THEN THEY HAVE HALF AN HOUR TO MAKE AN ORAL PRESENTATION.
THE POINT IS, AS MY SISTER RECOGNIZES MORE THAN I DO, I GUESS, THAT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ONE PERSON AND ANOTHER IS MOST PROFOUND WHEN IT CONSISTS OF WORDS THAT ARE SPOKEN AND HEARD. THE WAY I SAY SOMETHING, THE PITCH OF MY VOICE – WE ALL KNOW THAT WE CAN USE THE EXACT SAME SENTENCE TO SAY COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. AND IN A DIALOG, THERE IS CONTINUED CLARIFICATION OF MEANING AS EACH PERSON ASKS QUESTIONS OF THE OTHER, UNTIL BOTH KNOW WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN THE MIND OF THE OTHER, AT LEAST AS MUCH AS CAN BE KNOWN.
THE WRITTEN WORD, IN A SENSE, IS A MASK. IT IS STRIPPED OF NUANCE AND EMOTION. IT IS TRUE THAT IF YOU WANT A JUDGE TO DECIDE IN YOUR FAVOR ABOUT A CONTRACT, IT HELPS A LOT TO HAVE IT WRITTEN DOWN. BUT THAT IS ONLY BECAUSE IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MAKE A VIDEO RECORDING OF THE CONVERSATION THAT LED TO THAT CONTRACT. THE FACT REMAINS THAT IF WE REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS IN THE MIND OF SOMEONE ELSE, WE MUST HEAR THE WORD HE SPEAKS.
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WAS WRITTEN A LONG TIME AFTER CHRIST HAD DIED AND RISEN FROM THE DEAD. THERE IS EVIDENCE OF MORE THAN ONE HAND IN THE WRITING OF THE GOSPEL; PERHAPS A CORE FROM JOHN THE APOSTLE, AND SOME ADDITIONS BY SOME OF HIS FOLLOWERS. BUT THIS GOSPEL, UNLIKE THE OTHER GOSPELS, SEEMS TO BE THE RESULT OF A LIFETIME OF THINKING ABOUT JESUS. WHO IS THIS JESUS? THE GOSPEL OF JOHN TRIES TO ANSWER THIS. AND THE BEST IMAGE JOHN CAN COME UP WITH IS THAT HE CALLS JESUS THE WORD, THE SINGLE WORD SPOKEN BY THE FATHER, WHO DWELLS IN SILENT MYSTERY. THE WORD HAS GONE BY OTHER NAMES; THE BOOK OF SIRACH DESCRIBES THE WORD AS WISDOM, AND PICTURES WISDOM AS PLAYING IN THE FATHER'S PRESENCE, AND BRINGING THE UNIVERSE INTO BEING. IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS GOD SPEAKS AND CREATION COMES INTO BEING; GOD CREATES THROUGH THE WORD.
SO THAT IS WHY EVERYTHING IN CREATION SHOWS SOMETHING OF THE MIND OF GOD; BUT CREATION IS LIKE WRITTEN TEXT; YOU CAN CHOOSE TO READ IT OR NOT; AND WHEN YOU DO READ IT, YOU CAN INTERPRET IT IN VARIOUS WAYS. AND THAT IS WHY GOD SPOKE THE WORD THAT IS JESUS; THIS IS THE LIVING WORD, THE WORD WHICH TELLS US EXACTLY WHAT IS IN THE MIND OF GOD, THE WORD THAT IS LIFE, LIFE GIVING, AND GIVES LIGHT TO THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE WORD, LIGHT THAT ALLOWS US TO UNDERSTAND GOD AND CREATION AND EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO US, AS MUCH AS WE ARE ABLE; LIGHT THAT DRIVES AWAY THE DARKNESS THAT SAYS, NOTHING MATTERS, THE WORLD HAS NO MEANING, DEATH IS THE END OF EVERYTHING.
THIS WORD, THIS WINDOW INTO THE VERY LIFE OF THE TRINITY, IS STILL WITH US; THE WORD TOOK ON FLESH AND LIVED AMONG US AND STILL DOES TO THIS DAY.
SO WHERE ARE THE WISE MEN, THE SHEPHERDS, THE VIRGIN MOTHER? WHERE IS JOSEPH THE CARPENTER, THE HERALD ANGELS, THE STAR IN THE HEAVENS ON THIS COLD CHRISTMAS DAY? JOHN DOES NOT WANT US TO BE DISTRACTED, EVEN BY THESE BELOVED IMAGES. HERE IS GOD WITH US, AND THE WORD GOD SPEAKS IS A TINY BABY – THE FATHER TRUSTS US WITH HIS SON; A TINY BABY – THE FATHER WANTS OUR LOVE, AND WHO IS THERE THAT DOES NOT LOVE A BABY? A TINY BABY – THE FATHER, EVEN THOUGH HE HAS BEEN DISOBEYED, REJECTED, EVEN THOUGH HIS CHILDREN HAVE TURNED AGAINST HIM TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THE BABY IS A PROMISE THAT GOD WILL NEVER STOP TRYING, NEVER STOP OFFERING US COMPLETE UNION WITH HIMSELF, JOY FOR ALL ETERNITY. A TINY BABY – THE BEGINNING OF A SENTENCE THAT WILL END ON EASTER SUNDAY, BUT IN A SENSE, WILL NEVER END – THE WORD THAT GOD SPEAKS WILL ECHO DOWN THROUGH ALL OF TIME.
IN THE OLDEN DAYS, THE VERY LAST THING THAT HAPPENED IN THE MASS WAS THE PROCLAMATION OF THE FIRST FEW VERSES OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN – WHAT YOU JUST HEARD. WHEN I WAS LITTLE, IT WAS PROCLAIMED IN LATIN, SO IT DIDN'T MEAN MUCH. BUT SOMETIME, READ IT OUT LOUD, OR HAVE IT READ TO YOU. TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO THE WORDS, AND LET THEM WORK IN YOU AS THE MUST HAVE WORKED IN OUR ANCESTORS WHO NEVER TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT THE WORD, THE WORD WHO WAS WITH GOD, THE WORD WHO WAS GOD, WHO WAS THERE AT THE CREATION, WHO TOOK ON FLESH, WHO LIVED WITH US, AND WHO GIVES LIFE AND LIGHT TO THOSE WHO ACCEPT HIM. THEY ARE POWERFUL LIFE CHANGING WORDS. BUT THEY ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO THE WORD OF WHICH THEY SPEAK, THE TINY BABY LYING IN THE MANGER. .