Homily originally presented December 25, 2018

The Top Man came and visited us!

What a difficult year this has been for many Americans.

Yes, as a result of the forces of Mother Nature, many Americans experienced ...

the loss of loved ones ... the complete loss of property and possessions ...

and the loss of their livelihood and community.

What a difficult situation to be in  ... to be surrounded by trouble.

One thing that helps in these situations is knowing that others care and

that you have the promise of their assistance to make things right again.

It’s especially great when someone high in authority comes to visit you ...

to console you ... and assure you that help is on the way.

We saw 3 examples of this over the last 3 months.  

In September, the President of the United States visited towns

in North and South Carolina ravaged by Hurricane Florence.

In October, the President of the United States visited cities

in Florida and Georgia leveled by Hurricane Michael.

In November, the President of the United States visited areas

in California devastated by Forest Fires.

In each place, the President offered words of comfort and promises of help

   to all those affected by the disasters.

Being visited by the top man in the country brings two things to people in need:

1. comfort that he is aware of the problem ... and
2. hope that the resources will be coming to enable recovery.

And that’s exactly what happened 2018 years ago, when halfway around the world … Jesus came to the little town of Bethlehem, in the land of Judea.

It was there that the Top Man in the World, came to visit so that He could offer comfort and hope to the people suffering from the consequences of sin.

You see, the problem of sin was bringing hurt to way more than just a City ...

or a Town  or even a Coastline … sin was engulfing the whole world!

This is accurately described in the beautiful Christmas song, “O Holy Night”

Where we hear the words:

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining …

Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.”

The “He” of course ... is the Top Man …

not the top man of the country … but the top man ... of the whole world!

The top Man was a Baby Boy, wrapped in Swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.  

This Baby would grow into a man who would tell us, “Do not be afraid …

    I am with you … I will help you … I love you … and I will never leave you!

Yes, just as the people of our country felt great comfort when the President came to visit them in their time of trial … so too, the people awaiting the coming of the Savior rejoiced that the promise of help was near at hand.

Another verse in “O Holy Night” goes,

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks ... a new and glorious morn.

Having the top man come to visit you is reason for great joy and great hope ...

          for it brings the promise of tangible help and assistance.

And so it was with the coming of Baby Jesus.

Isaiah foretold the happiness of that great day ... as we heard today:

“the people who walked in darkness, have seen a great light;

you have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing.”

And then, the angel announced the fulfillment of this promise

when he declared to the Shepherds in Bethlehem:

“Behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”

Who came to visit us?    a Prophet?    a President?

No … a Savior … Jesus … who is Lord of all … who is both God and man!

This Top Man has the power to help us in every way and most especially in

overcoming and preventing the short-term and long-term damage of sin.

Today we gather ... with great joy … to celebrate that Day ... 2018 years ago ...

when our Savior, Jesus Christ, came to visit us.

Jesus didn’t arrive by car or by plane …

no, he arrived by the power of the Holy Spirit and the cooperation of Mary.

This Supernatural arrival ... of Almighty God, who is pure Spirit,

taking on our human form and becoming one of us is called the Incarnation.

So profound and so essential was the coming of Baby Jesus into the world

that we give special reverence to this awesome event …the Birth of our Lord

in the flesh … each time we recite our Profession of Faith.

And while we normally bow in reverence to the Incarnation, today as we celebrate His Birthday, we will give heightened reverence by genuflecting when we pray,

“and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”

Jesus coming among us as a man was just the start of the process of our Redemption.

In order for Jesus to put us back into a right relationship with God, He would have to overcome sin. And in order to overcome sin, He would have to overcome the greatest consequence of sin.       And the greatest consequence of sin is death.

Jesus had to overcome death itself in order to save us; and He eventually did that

when He overcame His death ... in His triumphant Resurrection!

But the whole process of our Redemption actually started right here at the Manger, when the Top Man of the whole universe, had compassion on us in our crisis of sin and came to us in person … to offer us Hope and Help.

His coming to us is the reason for our joy … it’s the reason for our hope!

You know, human Presidents make short visits to those in trouble and then leave.

Jesus, our Savior, stayed 33 years with us… and really never left us!

In His great love,

He left us the 7 Sacraments as efficacious signs of His power and His presence!

So, He remains here …

to help us recover from the damage of sin ... over and over again!

As we celebrate the Birth of Our Lord this Christmas,

let’s rejoice in the fact that we received a visit from the Top Man ...

the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who is Savior and Lord .

He came to visit us in our time of greatest need … and He’s still with us.

He’s called Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

His name is Jesus, which means God saves us.

God is with us and He saves us.

Today marks a day and time of great joy and hope for the whole world!

Let’s celebrate and share that joy and hope with everyone we meet.