In the dark of night an angel speaks, the message is simple: Do not be afraid; I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day a Saviour, who is the Christ, the Lord. This is the message of Christmas. It is a message that is spoken tonight to us.

It is said of this Mass for Christmas that it does not simply commemorate an event which happened in the past, but it takes that event of the past and makes it present to us. The mystery of the birth of Jesus, where the Son of God becomes also the Son of Mary, where God takes on our human condition, is not simply an event which took place two thousand years ago in Bethlehem.  In this sacrament of the Mass for Christmas, Jesus makes present to us his birth, his coming into our world and into our lives so we may enter into this miraculous happening as did the shepherds of Bethlehem long ago.

So let us then enter into the miracle of Christmas. Let us hear the message of the angel. It speaks to us of good news, of great joy, of being saved, of freedom from fear and it speaks to us of love, above all, of love.

In the dark of night an angel speaks, the message is simple: Do not be afraid; I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day a Saviour, who is the Christ, the Lord. This is the message of Christmas. It is a message that is spoken tonight to us.

It is said of this Mass for Christmas that it does not simply commemorate an event which happened in the past, but it takes that event of the past and makes it present to us. The mystery of the birth of Jesus, where the Son of God becomes also the Son of Mary, where God takes on our human condition, is not simply an event which took place two thousand years ago in Bethlehem.  In this sacrament of the Mass for Christmas, Jesus makes present to us his birth, his coming into our world and into our lives so we may enter into this miraculous happening as did the shepherds of Bethlehem long ago.

So let us then enter into the miracle of Christmas. Let us hear the message of the angel. It speaks to us of good news, of great joy, of being saved, of freedom from fear and it speaks to us of love, above all, of love.

We know that there are many voices which bring to us different messages about Christmas. There is the never ending voice that tries to convince us that Christmas is all about giving presents. This voice tells us that we must spend and spend and spend to make sure we have the perfect present. It encourages us to spend not only the money we have but the money we don’t have. We know that a lot of people carry a heavy load of debt and that burden is the source of a lot of worry. So this type of Christmas is not very good for people.

Other things we see on TV and in the movies seem to say that everyone is happy at Christmas. Families are together and there is harmony and peace everywhere. But we know that many families are not able to be together at Christmas.

Many people here tonight have come from other countries and have started a new life here. So your parents and families are far away. And among families that are together, all is not necessarily love and peace. Families have problems, there are divisions and upsets; there are hurt and angry feelings. The notion of a perfect and happy Christmas just makes many things worse for many people.

We have all sorts of fears and worries in our lives. You know what they are in your life. We all have them. I am sure that my just mentioning them has caused many here to be aware of them again and then we feel that jab of fear or worry. We hear people say: I have so many problems and worries that Christmas means nothing to me this year. Or they say: “this terrible thing has happened to me and has ruined Christmas.’

But is this the Christmas that the angel announces, or is it some other “Christmas,” A false  Christmas proclaimed to us by false voices? Who is Christmas really for?

As I have said, we have entered into the sacred mystery of Christmas, the birth of the Jesus, here tonight. It is made present by Jesus who is the Christ, the Lord, through his sacrament of the Christmas Mass. So let us hear again what He says to us through His Holy Word.

The very first words spoken to us tonight as we sat and listened to the Word of the Lord were these: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shone.” The words of the Gospel told us that when the angel of the Lord gave his message to the shepherds it was in the dark of night.

I believe that this tells us that Christmas is not about expensive gifts or happy and care free families or even lives that are without pain or worry. When we listen to what God says to us tonight, we hear that Christmas is about us people who walk in darkness in our lives. It is about us whose lives often seem to be in the middle of a very black and dark night because we have financial worries, and we have family worries and we have things which give us pain and cause us to be afraid.

When we come to understand that we need someone who will stand with us, someone who is stronger than any and all of these things which press us down, then we understand the message of the angel and the meaning of Christmas. “Today is born to you a Saviour.” His name is Jesus. The name Jesus in Hebrew means “God is salvation.” Jesus was born into our world to be that salvation, to be our salvation. Jesus is my salvation and your salvation.

Jesus is Emmanuel, a name which means “God with us.” Jesus is God with us, not just at Christmas but every minute, every second of every year of our lives. Jesus walks with us and shares our burdens and at times even lifts them from our tired shoulders.

With Jesus’ birth, a light shines on all of us who live at times in a land of deep darkness. As in the dark skies of Bethlehem, in our own times of deepest night, the glory of the Lord, the divine light of God, shines around us and gives us hope. This is good news of great joy for us.

The angel said that this message is “for all the people.” It is for everyone, not only those whose lives are happy and care free, but it is especially for all of us who feel the darkness and the fears of life. As we heard St. Paul say to us tonight: “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.” The message says to us: “Do not be afraid, I am bringing you good news of great joy… to you is born this day a Saviour.” Yes, we do have that One who saves us. We have a light that shines in our dark times. We have all of that because God has loved us to the point of sending His own Son into our world to be God’s Salvation for us.

What hope this gives to us, and therefore what hope we have to give to our world around us.

And so we do find happiness tonight, and indeed every night of our lives in the true blessings of Christmas. The blessings of good news, great joy, freedom from fear, hope, light in our times of darkness, meaning and purpose for our life and above all, love, above all, love: love for us, love for those we love, and love for all people everywhere.

Merry Christmas