Homily for the Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus.” Mt 1:18-25
What can the birth of this Christ child tell a world lurching through the shadow of a pandemic? Or reverse the question, what can the pandemic tell a world celebrating the birth of this Christ child?
First, a look at the Corona virus. The Corona is microscopic. The images you see of the tell-tale crown are magnified 60,000 times. Something that small and insignificant has changed the behavior of all the people living on this planet.
People are afraid to come together, even as family. Restaurants, bars and gyms are mostly empty. There are fewer people on the roads. Many work from home, which might be a good thing but has the unintended consequence of increased isolation and decreased connectedness. School has become a grand experiment, going back and forth between on-line, in-person and home school options.
Something that small is responsible for the death of millions. Something that small has altered the living habits of people around the world.
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Tonight the world celebrates the birth of something very small. Not a virus, but a baby. Tonight, the world celebrates Christmas, the Nativity of the Lord. This small little baby, more so than the virus, changed the trajectory of the world – not just for a season or two, but for two Millenia.
But instead of death, the baby brings life. Instead of captivity, the baby brings freedom. Instead of despair, the baby brings hope. Instead of future uncertainty, the baby brings a sure and certain future.
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With this little baby, God punctured the bubble of our world and allowed the Spirit to enflame the hearts of believers around the planet.
As one Church father has said, “God shared in our humanity so that we might share in his divinity.” In viral terms, God infected the world with the spark of the divine. God’s divinity can’t be seen through a microscope, but through the hearts of all believers summoning these divine powers and unleashing them upon the world.
One might think of this infection as the Nativity Virus.
How do you know if you’re at risk of catching the virus? If you believe that God became man, to save us from our own self-destruction and bring us into the kingdom of his beloved son, then you might have contracted the Nativity Virus. If you believe Immanuel, God is with us, you might have the Nativity Virus. If you believe that the Spirit of God has infused the world with light and grace, then you might have the Nativity Virus.
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There are huge differences between the Nativity Virus and the Corona Virus.
The Corona virus received its birth in a bustling metropolis in China. The Nativity Virus was born in Bethlehem, a sleepy little village in Palestine.
The Corona virus causes people to have a lack of taste. The Nativity virus intensifies the senses and allows people to live life to its fullest. The Nativity Virus allows people to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord”
The Corona Virus is often accompanied by a fever. People who have the Nativity Virus are almost always on fire with the Holy Spirit.
With the Corona virus, faith is placed in masks and vaccines. With the Nativity virus, faith is placed in our Lord Jesus Christ.
With the Corona Virus, contact tracing determines who needs to be quarantined and placed in isolation. With the Nativity Virus, contact tracing is celebrated and spreads from one believer to another. Rather than quarantine and isolation, those who have the Nativity Virus seek others, search for community and, being infected with the love and grace of God, search for other people they can share this with.
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Have you caught the Nativity Virus? Then spread the virus around. When you enter a situation, infect others. Infect others with hope. Infect others with joy. Infect others with laughter. Infect others with peace. Infect others with generosity. Infect others with love. If you have the Nativity Virus, you are highly contagious.
You can’t infect others if you wear a mask – if you hide behind your own insecurity and fear. In order to infect others, you need to let people see your true self. You need to be transparent so that the divine light shines through you and you can’t do that if you wear a mask.
You can’t infect other if you remain socially distanced. Both the Corona Virus and the Nativity Virus thrive in community. You faith will not grow in isolation. Faith only grows when it is shared.
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Our world is treating the pandemic as a physical problem, an affliction of the body. As such, one that can be eradicated by masks and vaccines. The pandemic is equally a moral problem. There are great disparities between how people are affected by the devastating impact of the virus. Jobs, health care, freedom of movement, working from home, ability to home-school… vary greatly between the haves and the have nots. The pandemic is equally a spiritual problem. Months of isolation from the interpersonal contact and community building have left faith communities fragmented and people in a spiritual darkness.
The antidote to a moral disease and a spiritual affliction is not receiving a vaccine, wearIng a mask, or remaining isolated. The antidote to a moral and spiritual problem is to spread the Nativity Virus. Carriers of the virus need to find ways to advocate for justice for the afflicted. Carriers of the virus need to find way for the Holy Spirit to flourish in a world closing in on itself.
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The world is hurting. As examples, people who were lonely before the virus are even lonelier now. Visits to people in prisons, nursing homes and assisted living centers have been curtailed or eliminated. People who were poor before the virus are even poorer now. The people who were struggling with school before are struggling even more now. We look ahead to darkness. When’s this going to end?!?
The world needs to be reminded that two thousand years ago, everything changed. A tiny little baby brought meaning and direction to a people walking in darkness and despair. The world needs to be introduced once again to the Nativity Virus. Will you be the carrier?