Christmas 2012 (Luke 2:1-20)

Mary gave birth to her first born son.

At Christmas, a young working class woman named Mary reminds us that God is real, God is personal, God is Jesus Christ.

Throughout history people have speculated about God. Is God real? Is God one? Is God many? Who is God? Is there God? Is God whoever I want or need God to be?

From time to time I hear people say: if God is real then where is God? If God is real then God must prove the divine existence to my satisfaction.

Moses reports that the answer God gave him to these questions is: I am. I am who I am Moses. I am nothing like anything you can imagine. I am not defined by your speculations, needs or desires. I will not be constrained by your politics, philosophies or ideologies.

Mary reports that the answer God gave her is: Jesus.

Jesus is the I Am made real and made personal. Jesus is the assurance of God to Mary and to all people everywhere that God is for us. God is with us.

The infant Jesus reveals that while God has many attributes: omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and so much more- God is not any of these things. God is the infinite and eternal I am who reveals that he is love.

Mary reminds us: do not look for God amongst the rich and powerful. Do not define God from the place of fear, self-will or pride. Look for God in the stable outside Bethlehem. Let God define himself in his only begotten Son, Jesus.

The revelation of God as Love cannot be contained in a book, a ritual or a spiritual discipline. The revelation that God is love can only be embodied in a person: Jesus.

Love is not a law to which we submit. Love is not a prophet who authorizes holy war. Love is not serenity now meditation that seeks to detach the mind, heart and will from this world. Love is an ongoing personal relationship we experience.

God becomes real to us in the relationship God invites us to experience. The relationship began with the birth of Jesus. The relationship gives us a new life and a new way of living. The new life is eternal. The new way of living is the way of faith, hope and love. It is the way of goodness, kindness, gentleness, compassion, humility and grace.

In Jesus the timeless touches time. In Jesus the infinite intersects space. In Jesus the eternal God who is love reveals himself to us as we make a real choice to respond to his invitation to be in a relationship with The Beloved.

Holy Mother Mary speaks to us from her throne in Heaven. She reminds us that she gave birth to a child at a particular time in a particular place. She asks us to ponder the imponderable truth that this child, as weak and as helpless as all infants is the fullness of God in human flesh. Jesus is that fullness of God. His mother Mary reminds us that God is real, God is personal, God is Jesus.

Mary gave birth to her first born Son. She named him Jesus. The universal Lord of Love. The universal savior and forever friend of all people everywhere.