Homily, December 21,2025

December 21, 2025

342

From the Pastor

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Those with lives built on faith in God and directed in love will have less trouble perceiving the signs and the presence of God around them. Those who live self-directed lives of their own design for the sake of their own interests will struggle with faith often missing the evidence of God in or around them. In a faith centered person directed in love, times of fear will not overwhelm them even in the most radical circumstance. The self-directed person absent of faith, in a time of fear or threat, will be more easily overwhelmed, leading them to poor decisions that may cause a calamitous result.

In the eighth century, Ahaz was king of Judah in Southern Israel. During his reign, he was under threat by the Assyrian army. In fear, resisting the call of Isaiah the Prophet, Ahaz makes his own plan to defeat the Assyrians. God tries to rescue Ahaz who refuses to turn to God, preferring to trust in his own design. God invites Ahaz to ask for a sign, but Ahaz refuses. God persists by giving the sign: ‘a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel.’ With little faith or trust, Ahaz rejects God’s call with disastrous results. Despite our resistance, God will not allow his will to be thwarted.

Prophetically, the Virgin is Mary, and the Son is Jesus, our Emmanuel. Consider the scene. Joseph and Mary, deep in love, plan to marry. Both are fully committed in faith. By the action and sign of God their faith is tested, but not their love. Confused and unknowing, Mary says yes to the birth of a Son through the Holy Spirit. Wretchedly torn, Joseph makes the decision to divorce quietly. Trusting his faith, he accepts a change of heart through a sign given by God in a dream. Love conquers fear and social chattering. In love, Joseph trusts a sign from God beyond his personal feelings of hurt and doubt.

God uses the rich bond of love held by Mary and Joseph. Their love was a powerful bond only made stronger by the faith and trust they held in God. In a time of fear and confusion, unlike Ahaz, Mary and Joseph clung to their love for each other and their love for God. Directed in faith, centered in love they rightly perceive and trust the signs given them by God.

We are a few days before Christmas and the celebration of God coming to us in Christ. Is your faith and love in the right place, or are you driving the bus?

The Solemnity of Christmas

Merry Christmas! May every good gift and blessing in the birth of Christ be yours. Through the birth of the Child Jesus as Christ and Redeemer everything is different in the heavens and on earth. Jesus is the Light of the world and there is no darkness that can overcome the light of truth revealed in this love.

Given the tension and disorder in the world today, you might ask: what is so different in the world since the birth of Christ? At face value, much has stayed the same; war, poverty, hatred, hunger, prejudice, and every other form of human disorder. We are clearly a work in progress. Yet, everything is different.

Through the Infant Christ, God enters our wounded and broken world. For the baptized and those committed to the Christian way, Christ is born in us. Through the birth of Christ, we are already in God and God is already in us. The world is ruled by the Prince of Darkness, and the Evil one often has his way in the world, giving the impression that darkness rules. This is the lie of sin.

The life of God flows through the Incarnate Christ into those who seek to follow His way. In Christ we become people of the Light, and Christ who is the Light of the world defeats the power of darkness through the surpassing power of love. We are both recipients and agents of this love. As we receive the love of Christ through the gift of redemption that heals, forgives, and liberates us from sin and death, we become agents of light and love in the world.

Today is a day of deep joy and celebration built on gratitude for the love God has personally given us in the Lord Jesus. Families will gather, gifts will be shared, fellowship will take place at the table, and bonds of love will be built and renewed. There will also be toys fought over, milk spilled, feelings hurt, or loud disagreements heard. Some will be alone and left out, while others overdo the cheer. But at the end of the day, Christ will still be born into our world and in our hearts. Messes will be cleaned up, hurt feelings will mend, and broken toys fixed. Why? Because the light of Christ is with and in us and any trial that weighs us down or throws us off our peace cannot surpass the love of Christ born into our world. Feel the love, share it warmly, thank God for Jesus, and be Jesus for others. One day, in the love we worship and adore in the Christ child, the perfection of heaven will come. A very blessed and Merry Christmas to all.

Father John Esper