Sunday after Christmas 2015 Fr Michael Margitich

I welcome and greet you with that time -honored

salutation, Christ is born. During this joyous

Christmas season, the Church, through her hymns

and prayers, proclaims the core doctrine of our

Christian faith. And that is, in one word, the

Incarnation. The Incarnation is the mystery of

the eternal God taking on human nature. Eternal

God taking on our human nature. The mystery and

silence of eternity has been broken. That which

is beyond all human logic. that which is in fact

indescribable, and as we have in the liturgy,

incomprehensible. The infinite God becomes one

of us. It is indeed beyond logic, beyond human

reason. It is one of those great mysteries in

life which we can only accept on the basis of

faith. God comes on earth, steps into the stream

of our history and in the person of the Christ

child. calls us to salvation. Long lay the world

in sin and error pining until he, the Christ

child, appeared and the world felt its worth.

Why? Why does the earth and heaven rejoice? Because

God and man is now reconciled. Listen once again

to the angelic announcement made to the shepherds.

Not to the kings. but to the shepherds. I bring

you glad tidings of great joy, who will be for

all peoples, underline that, for all peoples.

For there is born this day in the city of David

a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And as if to

emphasize this great mystery, the angel appears

to Joseph and Mary and says to them, you shall

call his name Jesus, which means Savior. Each

year, On the Sunday following Christmas, the

church commemorates three members of our Lord's

earthly family. David, the prophet and king,

the apostle James, the brother of our Lord Jesus,

and Joseph. The foster father of our Lord. But

in this season. There is another dimension or

perspective. Which we seldom. Remember or recall.

The church emphasizes. A rather chilling. reality.

That of the cost of following our Lord. Today

we recall the martyrdom of Stephen, the first

deacon who was stoned to death because of his

faith, love, And preaching of Christ. The first

martyr. I had an interesting conversation. With

one of our neighbors. Who said to me. You know

I really enjoy Christmas. It gives me a boost.

But you know what? He says, it goes by too fast.

It goes by too fast and he says, it's a downer.

I wonder how many of us feel that way. The day

after Christmas. We are again confronted with

earthly reality. We're confronted with the same

issues and problems and difficulties and even

disappointments. But the message of Christmas

can never fade. It's always bright. It's always

joyful. It's always relevant. Because the scriptures

tell us that Jesus shall be called Emmanuel,

which means God. Is with us. Understand all ye

people. Understand and repent. For God. Is with

us. Now on the basis of today's reading. Let's

take a brief look. And see how Christmas. Has

affected. The shepherds. The Virgin Mary. And

the wise men. And it comes from St. Luke. Who

tells us. That the shepherds. After hearing.

The angelic choir singing glory to God in the

highest. And on earth peace goodwill toward men.

And after worshiping the Christ child, they returned

to their fields. But there is a profound difference

because we hear them read that they had glorified,

praising God for the things that they had seen

and heard. So there was no downer. They went

back singing and praising God. Although it was

the day after, there was no letdown. Something

profoundly happened that was profoundly wonderful,

life -changing. They went back to their fields

with a song in their heart. With a song in their

heart. For now God was with them. as the angel

told him. Now, as the poet said, the wind blows,

the snow falls, but the love that flows from

the child's crib warms the world. There can be

no letdown. St. Luke tells us also about the

Virgin Mary. How she kept the words of the angels

and how she herself experienced some immaculate

and incredible experience. The scriptures tell

us she pondered. She pondered these blessed things

that she herself experienced. For Mary, there

was no letdown because she pondered all of these

things in her heart. And that's what a wise man,

Listen carefully. After worshipping and presenting

their gifts to the newborn king, the New Testament

tells us they went home another way. They went

home another day, another way. Why? Because what

they had seen and what they had experienced changed

their lives. No one, and let me emphasize this

at the point of being exaggerated, no one who

has ever met Found. And accept Christ. Lives

an old life. No. Motives. Values. Priorities.

Attitudes. Can no longer ever be the same. Because

once you have met. And accepted Christ as your

savior. Life radically changes. We don't see

life. From an earthly perspective. Always from

the dimension. Of the divine. Because Christmas

means. Finding a new and better way to live.

Not to accept what society wants us to believe

and accept. Now let us go another way. God's

way. For God has revealed himself to us. And

revealed himself in the vulnerable Christ child.

But with the words ringing in our ears, I have

come that you may have life and have it more

abundantly. So, my dear people, as we take down

our Christmas decorations, let us be careful

and mindful not to remove Christ. He was not

meant for the attic. not meant for the garage,

but for the living room in your heart throughout

the years. If He, Christ the King, the Everlasting

Father, dwells in our life, then there will be

no letdown. when the song of the angels is stilled,

when the star in the sky is gone, when the wise

men are home, when the shepherds are back with

their flock, then, and only then, does the work

of Christmas begin. Just as some of you on Christmas

Eve had accepted the work of taking care of the

nomads who you fed on Holy Thursday. I admire

you for this. And I give thanks to you. for witnessing

in such a beautiful way. You could have done

something else, but rather you came and served

the needy, the hungry, the lonely, the rejected,

to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed

the hungry, to bring peace. That is our task.

This is what Christ calls us to do and to be.

Christ is born.