Here is a truly human family: Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus. Here is a loving, committed couple, sharing side by side both adversity and joy. This is the first source of happiness: faithful, persevering love which bears its fruit through self-sacrifice.
Then there is the child. He is at the heart of this revelation, at the heart of happiness, for in his every word and action he will disclose the truth, not only of God but also of our own humanity. He is the one at the centre of these celebrations, whose birth we celebrate and whose message we again proclaim.
But there is something to be understood about this child which alone unlocks the door to our true happiness. It is this. He is, in his person, both truly God and truly man. This is the key. Without a firm grasp of this truth we will lose this greatest of all gifts, we will misunderstand the real significance of his message.
If Jesus is indeed God yet not fully man, but simply God in disguise, then his message of God’s loving forgiveness is charming indeed but still out of our reach. If he is not truly human, it does not find a home in our flesh.
If Jesus is indeed truly one of us, truly man, but not true God, then his message of peace and forgiveness may well be humanly inspiring but it lacks the power to change us. For only God can do that.
Read it all.
Archbishop Vincent Nichols' Midnight Mass Homily for Christmas 2009
Here is a truly human family: Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus. Here is a loving, committed couple, sharing side by side both adversity and joy. This is the first source of happiness: faithful, persevering love which bears its fruit through self-sacrifice.
Then there is the child. He is at the heart of this revelation, at the heart of happiness, for in his every word and action he will disclose the truth, not only of God but also of our own humanity. He is the one at the centre of these celebrations, whose birth we celebrate and whose message we again proclaim.
But there is something to be understood about this child which alone unlocks the door to our true happiness. It is this. He is, in his person, both truly God and truly man. This is the key. Without a firm grasp of this truth we will lose this greatest of all gifts, we will misunderstand the real significance of his message.
If Jesus is indeed God yet not fully man, but simply God in disguise, then his message of God’s loving forgiveness is charming indeed but still out of our reach. If he is not truly human, it does not find a home in our flesh.
If Jesus is indeed truly one of us, truly man, but not true God, then his message of peace and forgiveness may well be humanly inspiring but it lacks the power to change us. For only God can do that.
Read it all.