Christmas Eve 2023 Homily: Holy Cross House

My dear Followers of Jesus,

Tonight is a tender night.

Let us rest in love. For our Savior is birthed through water and blood into our waiting world. Jesus is King. Mary, his mother, our new Eve. His first birth becomes our entry into hope. His second birth from blood and water from his side, becomes our redemption from death itself. Let us rest in Jesus.

Tonight is a tender night.  

There was no room in the inn for Mary and Joseph to birth their child. Love was manifest on straw in a cave. Jesus now finds his home in our hearts. We are now one family. Tonight, we invite Christ Jesus into our home.  

Tonight is a tender night.   

For our eyes shed a tear when memories well-up in us. We miss our parents, our siblings, our ministries, and those who loved us in the past. We may think we have outlived love. We may believe love will never happen again. We are here now in this shelter, this house, where Christ still desires to be born in our midst with bounty and grace. So, be open and do not be afraid. Let not your hearts age with hardness and anxiety. We can’t think we have seen it all. We are not in charge of miracles. Christ is knocking.  Open up with longing, be ready for the Promised Light.  

Tonight is a tender night.

So, relinquish fear and doubt. Do not let your stubbornness determine your life or cynical words form your identity. Instead, continue to dream with me tonight. Like angels and shepherds, we have words of encouragement to offer one another. We have love that cannot be lost in our impatience or complaints. We have love to be lived for one another, our caregivers, our benefactors, and those who depend on us for prayer. We possess faith and love to pray for the lost, the discouraged, the orphaned, the abused, and the war-weary.   

Tonight is a tender night.

We hold the mystery of the Incarnate Word in our ears and God’s Only Begotten Son on our tongues. We clear our throats to sing again of our Savior born not just on the margins of a village, but in the ill-health of our bodies. Our voices may not be what they used to be and our strength may have weakened, but our faith remains strong on Christmas Eve. Christ is here for all eternity. So be a child again this night, wait for the Lord with wonder and joy. Wait as Holy Cross religious for justice and for peace. Love is born here. What more do we dare ask?  

Tonight is a radical and evocative night.

God give you peace.