Christmas
Summary of Fr. Gerry Creedon's homily December 25, 2009
"They found him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." lk2:5
It all happened over two millennia ago. Dickens brought the Christmas spirit to industrial England with the Christmas Carol in another century. Last week I read a story that had elements of the nativity for 2009.
Chris and Emily, two teenage pals were strolling home from 7-eleven after high school. They may have gone there to buy cigarettes. Smoking was more in vogue in 1989. At the front door of a town house in Fairfax they discovered a newborn baby wrapped in a yellow towel. They banged and kicked at the door and rang the doorbell. Nobody answered. They wondered what they should do. "Had some one forgotten the baby? Was she hungry? Should they go back to the 7-eleven and get some food? Should they leave the baby? Should they take her? Would they get in trouble?" Chris says, "I walked over and carefully unfolded the towels, and here's a newborn baby girl, just crying. She still had part of her umbilical cord attached. and she had a full head of hair. I picked her up and held her. ”It turned out that she was 12 hours old, weighed almost 7 ounces and measured19 inches long. She had olive skin, with dark eyes and hair. Emily's stepfather called 911. There appeared no heavenly hosts, just the distant ambulance sirens. The paramedic took the baby, who was later adopted. Mia, now 20, learned of the two teenagers who had rescued her through a newspaper account she found as a child. She had always wanted to meet them. Last week she discovered them though facebook. The three were reunited on December the 20th. Chris said, "It was the best Christmas present I have ever gotten."
Life presents all of us with the response of fear or faith. Joseph was at first eager to avoid an irregular pregnancy. He wished to divorce Mary, who wondered how all of this could come to pass. It took an angel to remove their doubt and to learn to say yes. Whether the challenge come from family, community, or world, all of us are asked at Christmas time to leave aside our fears and open our hearts in trust to the Lord of life and love, who may present himself to us in many disguises.
