In many and various ways, God spoke of old to our ancestors through the prophets.  But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son.  For centuries, The Lord called to his people through sacred rites and sacrifices, through symbols and figures, through the voices of the prophets.  But all this prophecy, this history, this ritual, could only bring us a tiny part of the story of who God is.  But then, God revealed himself completely: the Son of God, truly God himself, came to earth, to instruct us, to save us, and to show us once and for all how profound is God’s love for the human family.  His love is so profound that he is not content to look down on us from above, to speak to us in shadow and symbol: he desires to be with us, to enter into our life, to join us, to live with us: to share our human experiences, beginning to end: birth, family, years of hard work, joys, sorrows, yes even suffering and death.  Emmanuel: God with us, in everything we experience.  

The Word was with God in the beginning; he wasn’t created; there was no time when the Word did not exist.  But now the Word is made flesh and dwells among us.  When we gaze upon this child in the manger, we see salvation, we see paradox, we see mystery.  The words of the prophet are fulfilled: unto us a child is born, for us a Son is given: and upon his shoulder all authority rests.  The words of this morning’s Gospel are almost certainly the greatest work of theology ever written, an incredible description of who this infant child truly is.  He is the one through whom all things are made: everything that was ever created, is created through him.  He is called “The Word.”  Translating the original Greek Logos, he might also be called “Reason” or “Logic.”  He’s what makes everything make sense.  Everything in creation, from a blade of grass to the farthest star, makes sense because of him.  And the greatest and most important part of creation, the human person: well, we really only make sense through the lens of Christ.  This is what St. John is telling us this morning.  This is what it means for this child to be truly man and truly God.  It shows us what we are capable of.  Human nature can do great things, if God is in us.  The fact that this baby can be true and perfect man while he is also true and perfect God proves that sin is not actually who we are; weakness is not who we are; death is not who we are.  He’s the perfect man.  He shows us what is really means to be fully human.  Humanity and Divinity can be joined together.  Therefore we are not made for mediocrity.  We are made for greatness.  For holiness.  We are made for heaven.  And this child can get us there.  If we do our best to live our life in him.  He enters into humanity so that humanity can enter into God.  

This Feast of Christmas, Christ’s Mass, is the feast of the Emmanuel: of the Word made Flesh; of God with us.  Of God, still with us.  Just as our world was sanctified by his coming on that silent night so many years ago, Christ still makes our world holy with his presence among us even today: the same Christ who lay so tenderly in the manger will come to us again this morning upon the humble manger of our altar.  It is the beautiful teaching of the Church that at every Mass, we are present for the entire mystery of Christ’s life: when we gaze at what was once bread transformed now into his Sacred Body, we truly see the infant lying in the manger; we are there as Christ teaches his disciples; as he heals the sick; and most powerfully, as Christ is lifted up for us in the most Holy Moment of the Mass, we are truly present also at the foot of his Cross, as he lifts himself up for our salvation, love made perfect in sacrifice.  The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.  He still dwells among us, and he desires to enter into our hearts through the Holy Eucharist, and show us what our humanity is truly capable of: real sacrificial love, peace which the world around us cannot give, purpose and meaning to our lives, and finally eternal salvation with him.  Glancing tenderly at our Salvation lying in the manger, we see his glory, glory as of the only-begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.  O Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.  Amen.  Alleluia.