Christmas Night 2023
Bethlehem was a little village. It had no special importance except that it was the place where David was born. His family was ancient and respected, but David gave it an even greater renown. From him came the race of the kings who reigned over Judah from 1000 BC to the time of the exile in Babylon in the sixth Century. There were many obscure descendants of David at the time of Jesus’ birth. Joseph was one of them. When asked where the Messiah was to be born, the scribes answered without hesitation that it was to happen “in Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel’” (Mt 2:5-6).
O Bethlehem! How much reverence in this way of speaking! What a sense of God’s mystery! A land, a place, a city, even little, can boast that they have been chosen by God for the birth of the Messiah – for the gift of His only begotten Son, the Saviour of the world. God was made flesh at a particular time and in a definite place. He did not appear at the same time to all the inhabitants of the earth, as He will do when ‘He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead’. He slipped in without noise, unobserved of the world, certainly not especially welcomed by the local people who did not make room for his family in the inn. He was born in the margins of the society of His time – as Pope Francis likes to say – in a place where, despite the prophecies, He was not really expected.
O Bethlehem, the city which attests that Jesus is the son of David! He did not come to abolish, but to accomplish. He came as a King, although his Kingdom is not of this world. He came as the son of David, although He had no intention of restoring the kingship in Israel. He entered a lineage and a history, although He is the Lord of time and history. He linked Himself with a place which was His place and with a family which was His family, but He did not let Himself be enclosed by these limitations. He appeared at one time and in one place, but He belongs to all times and all places. By His presence, He made the place where He was the centre of the world. Bethlehem, tonight, is the centre of the world because Jesus, true God and true man, is the centre of all God’s creation.
O Bethlehem, you welcome us tonight. You let the world enter your houses and your inns, your churches and your Basilica. We know, though, that because of the present war, there are no celebrations, no joyous gathering, no usual Christmas at Bethlehem. Our hearts are broken with sadness even if the star of hope remains high in our sky. Moreover, O Bethlehem, we are with you. We do not forsake you. See, we have come. Our faith finds shelter under the wings of your mystery. Our chants and our liturgies are yours. We sing for you who cannot sing. We sing with you who are singing in your heart. We sing with you at the heart of the Church, in the centre of the world.
0 Bethlehem, you are, according to the meaning of your name, the ‘house of the bread’. The Bread of Life is born in you tonight and He is offered on all the altars of the world. Our altar is Christ’s table where our King Priest, the new Melchisedek, offers the bread and the wine. The Babe in the crib and the Bread on our altar are one and the same Christ. Holy Church for ever receives them from you, beloved and suffering city, blessed and awe-filled city. We thank you for we, too, are born in you. In you is manifested the Body of which we are parts. In you is born the Head of whom we are the members. All of us who are nourished by the same Bread and the same Chalice, offered in the house of the Bread, are one Body in Christ, sharing the same life, in the same Holy Spirit.
O Bethlehem, city where true Life is born and offered to all who believe! In you in the source of life and in your light, we see light. City plunged in the night, on the first Christmas night and again today, give us and give to our world the Light from above, the Peace from above, the Joy of heaven.
May this holy night be a true Christmas for our sisters and brothers in Bethlehem and in the Holy Land, but also in so many places, alas, Ukraine and many others, where war creates suffering. May our celebrations be theirs. May they feel our communion and our support. Above all, may they be assured that the Saviour of the world, manifested in Bethlehem, will never forsake those He has so much loved. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us. In Him we are one. He is our Peace. Amen.