Once again, not "In Royal David's City," but in our hearts we have arrived at the threshold of the Savior's birth. A question we might ask this morning: does this moment find me different from where I was last year on December 24th in my awareness of God's gift to me of his Savior Son?
Later tonight we celebrate the birth of the Savior who is God. This young child will begin to be the great teacher not some thirty years later in his life but from this very night of his birth. He will teach all of us "Our Salvation." There will be neither class notes nor text books! As we read in the gospel of today's liturgy, He will use the writings of the Old Testament, more often than not the words of the prophets and the Book of Psalms as his "textbooks."
Most especially, as noted in the words of Zachariah, he will teach us about our salvation by showing the consequences of our sins. This is how Jesus will guide us to the salvation we ned. In the months ahead beginning today our challenge is to be open to what Jesus teaches us. Ours is to see in this birth the beginning of the forgiveness of our sins. To deepen within our hearts and souls the daily awareness of this salvific event is to see the destruction, the unhappiness and the pain that sin can bring into our lives. This is the Christmas gift that brings us inner peace. This is the gift that brought "Joy to the World."
