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 CHRISTMAS: The Nativity of the Lord: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: "It will be Christmas if…"

Readings: 1st Is 52:7–10; 2nd Heb 1:1–6; Gosp. Jn 1:1–18

Dear friends in Christ, I would want today's homily to centre on a theme different from those we heard from the readings of today. During the Christmas music concert (Cantata) that we did at Prantantico, Arezzo, Italy, on December 15, 2023, one of the fourteen songs that we rendered struck a special key in my heart, and I want today’s homily to centre on that particular song. The theme of the song is ‘Sarà Natale se…’ (‘It will be Christmas if…’). I don’t know if all those who sang or heard this particular song were touched by it the way I was touched.

This song began by informing all of us that “we have a special task this Christmas.” What is this special task? It says, “it is to remind the world that it is Christmas.” So, we have the pastoral duty to remind those we encounter from today (our family members, our colleagues at work, and our friends everywhere, including online friends) that today is Christmas and that we are in a Christmas season. This means that we will not be indifferent to those around us; rather, we must tell them about the reason for this season we are celebrating; we must tell them that our savior has visited us anew; we must wish them a happy Christmas; we must talk to someone about Christmas. We have to become announcers of the presence of Christ.

This song then said that “if we put wings on our hearts, we will be angels that bring love.” So, dear friends, we are not just to give people a dry and empty Christmas greeting; rather, our Christmas greetings must carry love; they must impart love in the lives of those who received them. We are to be the harbingers of the good news of love, announcing to the whole world with cheerfulness and love that our Saviour is here, just as the angels that appeared to the shepherds on that very night announced that the savior has been born.

Then, the song went on to say, “it will be Christmas if you love; it will be Christmas if you donate, and if you call someone to come and stay with you. It will be Christmas if you live, if you laugh, and if you extend your hand to someone who suffers more. It will be Christmas if you seek, if you believe, and if you sing every day with friends.”

What are these beautiful lines of this song telling us? They are telling us that our Christmas will be true Christmas only and only when we love others, only when we donate to others, when we laugh with others, when we extend the hands of help to those who suffer among us, when we are cheerful with the people around us, and only when we put smiles on the faces of the people around us. If we don’t do any of these things, we are not celebrating a real Christmas. This is a challenge to us. So, it is possible that some people can do all the merriments associated with Christmas and, yet, they didn’t actually celebrate Christmas. If our Christmas celebration is empty of these beautiful actions mentioned in this song, we didn’t celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus.

Then, finally, the song went on to say that “our Christmas will be real Christmas if it doesn’t last for only an hour or for a day, but Christmas for an entire year.” This is an invitation for us to make each day of our lives a Christmas. It means we don’t have to smile, laugh with people, donate to people, extend our hands to help others, believe in God, and call others to stay with us only on the day of Christmas, but all the days of our lives. This song is inviting us to do good every day of our lives. Let’s, therefore, make every day of our lives a Christmas.

Peace be with you as you make today a true Christmas. Happy Christmas.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima