Et homo factus est…
…and was made man. These are the words from the Creed which was say at mass and for this mass tonight we will kneel as we say them. What is it that enters our thoughts as we say them? What thoughts do they conjure up for on this this night of all nights when we’ve come out at midnight in the heart of winter and gathered together in our humble little church to celebrate and to give praise to God? The picture of the nativity by the French artist Georges de Latour opposite is an exquisite representation of the new born Christ child swaddled in his mother’s arms. It is the epitome of calmness and tenderness, of awe-filled amazement at the beauty of the gift of life which Mary now looks on, with thoughts unbeknown to us yet somehow transmitted. The darkness of the background is illuminated by a gentle flame coming from a candle which the midwife holds and which reflects onto the baby. It is perhaps a statement which tells us that in this child the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. Maybe for all we know, those were the very words that whirled through Mary’s mind and caused her to gaze so purposefully on the face of her firstborn. Words which would later be brought back to her mind when Jesus in John’s gospel tells the people that I am the light of the world.
Darkness comes to us in many forms and the issues and difficulties which confront our world at this moment in its history seem particularly acute and hard to overcome and we may well ask where today is the light that will enter our world to dispel the darkness of war and terrorism? Where is the illuminated thinking that is needed to overcome the destructive and negative philosophy which is drawing people into a spiral of deadly violence? Our creed tells us where to look and our gospels bring us the good news of how to bring this about. Yet people will say that such solutions are unrealistic and quite simply impossible. Our world is too complex, too full of inequality, unable to resolve disputes and differences which have lasted for so many years. But such thoughts can’t negate the message which the birth of this baby brings. And whist it is a fact that suffering in the world will continue we are called upon to witness to the truth that illumines all people; that our human condition has at its heart a restless love which has the power to rise above and overcome the obstacles of suffering and pain, of hatred and evil. We have gathered here this night to witness to that love in a particular way. We will take the bread and the cup and see in them the very objects of our pain and suffering, our work and our joys, transformed into the personification of that restless love sacrificed for all people.
As Mary gazes into the eyes of her baby, just as every parent does, she ponders on what the future will bring. For her son Jesus it will be a path of much sorrow but a path which transcends that pain in an all encompassing trust in his Father, a trust which in the resurrection overcomes and prevails against the powers that seek to destroy and crush the human heart. This is the trust which humanity must itself aspire to achieve. It is a trust in the intrinsic goodness of our human condition which in spite of all our faults and failings can rise to new heights. For there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.
Happy Christmas from all at St Thomas More Parish
Christmas Midnight Mass 25.12.2015
Et homo factus est…
Darkness comes to us in many forms and the issues and difficulties which confront our world at this moment in its history seem particularly acute and hard to overcome and we may well ask where today is the light that will enter our world to dispel the darkness of war and terrorism? Where is the illuminated thinking that is needed to overcome the destructive and negative philosophy which is drawing people into a spiral of deadly violence? Our creed tells us where to look and our gospels bring us the good news of how to bring this about. Yet people will say that such solutions are unrealistic and quite simply impossible. Our world is too complex, too full of inequality, unable to resolve disputes and differences which have lasted for so many years. But such thoughts can’t negate the message which the birth of this baby brings. And whist it is a fact that suffering in the world will continue we are called upon to witness to the truth that illumines all people; that our human condition has at its heart a restless love which has the power to rise above and overcome the obstacles of suffering and pain, of hatred and evil. We have gathered here this night to witness to that love in a particular way. We will take the bread and the cup and see in them the very objects of our pain and suffering, our work and our joys, transformed into the personification of that restless love sacrificed for all people.
As Mary gazes into the eyes of her baby, just as every parent does, she ponders on what the future will bring. For her son Jesus it will be a path of much sorrow but a path which transcends that pain in an all encompassing trust in his Father, a trust which in the resurrection overcomes and prevails against the powers that seek to destroy and crush the human heart. This is the trust which humanity must itself aspire to achieve. It is a trust in the intrinsic goodness of our human condition which in spite of all our faults and failings can rise to new heights. For there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.
Happy Christmas from all at St Thomas More Parish