Midnight Mass
1990 (Year B), 24 December /
Midnight Mass
St Peter de Beauvoir Town
And so, at last, we reach our celebration of the Christmas. The longed for promise is fulfilled. The supreme gift is given and we come together with thankfulness as we remember that we have been offered the keys to the kingdom of heaven. This is a time of Grace and Benediction, for the whole of creation. It means that we are invited into that kingdom not as guests, but as children of the Divine.
It was for this that God became a child in Bethlehem and it means that nobody can be kept out of this joy and happiness.
On this most holy of nights when earth is embraced by heaven and the King of Heaven is gently held in the arms of a woman. Heaven and Earth are joined together not in awesome wonder but in the defenceless cries of a newborn baby.
The angels heard those cries and they filled the heavens with their songs of praise. The shepherds heard it and saw it too, and they filled with awe. And yet though the invitation was primarily to join in glory. The words which announced this momentous event had to do with fear.
The proclamation was prefaced by ‘Fear Not’. Yet Fear is what overcame nearly every participant in the drama. To Zechariah first then afterwards to Mary. It was fear which those shepherds felt sitting guarding their sheep. It was fear which made Herod jealous for his throne.
‘Fear Not ‘ were the traditional opening words that were uttered by the divine messenger, Gabriel, when first they spoke to humans. ‘Fear not’. Each time it was used it is to give a great promise to the helpless.
And now too, into our world which is permeated by fear comes the Divine command to ‘Fear Not’.
Fear ‘ not 0, Jacob... for lo, I will save you from afar, for I am with you to save you. Fear not, for I am with you… fear not for I have redeemed you.’ Our tradition shows the powerful presence of God. Where God is, it says, life is changed, hope is possible and exile is ended.
Life is changed, hope is possible, exile is ended – to a world which even now, in the Gulf, seems determined on a path of self-destruction, and the gift of a baby changes all things; for it requires that we see all people as our sisters and brothers. To a world which has almost given up any sense of hope the Christmas message cries out that hope and promise can be fulfilled. To a world which condemns whole groups of people to exile, either inside their own country or far outside its borders, the Christmas message proclaims this estrangement need not last forever and that reconciliation can happen. God wills that we might be one with him, and if we are at one with him then we can live in unity with the rest of creation.
To a world that is ever more fearful the Christmas Gospel proclaims that we should never live in fear – but in peace.
Yet our world does not understand this presence of God – it still lives in fear of what that presence might mean. It fears that it will mean judgement. It fears abandoning what it thinks is its control. It fears God, and so it tries to contain him, to make him safe, and so our religious observances become filled with sentiment and nostalgia,
Against this the Bible protests vigorously and those who propound this shallow picture of Christmas indeed have much to fear. For they see God as being merely ‘with ‘ us. They fail to see the enduring presence of God, which does not in the end bring fear, but amazement and love. For God is not only ‘with’ us, he is engaged ‘for’ his people for all time.
May this feast which first brought fear, so fill the world that we might see the glory of God in all its splendour. May we see beyond the fear to a vision and reality of creation which honours all people as sisters and brothers. May that creation join with the angels in singing the praises of our creator, and in earth may there be peace. AMEN