Readings of the day: Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 96:1-2, 3, 11-12, 13; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14
[Looking at a map, a shepherd approaches a
child in the congregation and asks for directions.]
Excuse me. Do
you know which way it is to Bethlehem? Google Maps doesn’t seem to work very
well around here.
I was out in the
fields, keeping watch over my sheep. Suddenly, some of the shepherds who were
with me started talking about something important that happened in Bethlehem.
They said they had heard a message from an angel. I said I still needed to
register with the census keeper, and that I would catch up with the other
shepherds later.
Those Romans
with their censuses! They make the malls during the last-minute Christmas
shopping sprees look so peaceful by comparison! I wanted to beat the census
registration lines, but by the time I got past the crowds, my shepherd friends
were nowhere in sight. So much for waiting up, guys…
[The wayward shepherd retrieves his
smartphone.] Wait! Yes! There’s a Wi-Fi signal! My GPS says I’m in…
Iron-de-quoit? New York? That can’t be right. Wow, I really am a long way from
Bethlehem!
I know: I’ll
call a taxi. [The shepherd calls a taxi,
but no taxi is available to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.] Hmm… There are no taxis
going to Bethlehem tonight, but the Wise Man Taxi Company suggests calling a camel.
The camels are running round-trips to Bethlehem, 365 days a year. Excellent! [Dials] Let’s see… 1-800-BETHLEHEM-CAMEL
[Another pause takes place as the
shepherd listens to the camel dispatcher on the phone.]
Good news! I can
get to Bethlehem on a camel… for free! But I need your help. I need to answer
three questions to get to Bethlehem by camel. But I cannot answer the questions
myself. The camel company says that I need to ask these questions of the
children gathered here.
First, I need
you to answer this: What is the name of the child born in Bethlehem today?
Second, the
camel company’s dispatchers need more specific directions. They need to know in
what kind of building in Bethlehem the child is to be found. I understand that
Jesus is in this kind of building along with his mother, Mary, Joseph, angels,
some animals, and my shepherd friends from the fields back home. In what kind
of building in Bethlehem is the baby Jesus?
Third (the other
two questions were easier; now here’s a really hard question), who exactly is
this Jesus? I mean, why is he so important that all my shepherd friends rushed
off to get to Bethlehem early, and all the taxis to Bethlehem tonight were
busy? What I mean to ask, exactly, is this. Let’s fill in the blank: Jesus is
Son of Mary, and also Son of , the Savior of the world.
[When the children get the correct answers to
the three questions...] Great work! Now excuse me while I call the camel
company back. [The telephone rings.]
Yes, the children did an excellent job. The child’s name is Jesus. He is sleeping
in a manger in Bethlehem, and he is the Son of Mary and the Son of God, the
Savior of the world.
...Thank you so
much, especially to all the children here. Now, I have to go before I miss my
camel ride to Bethlehem. Merry Christmas to all of you!
I have just one more
little thing to ask before I go. What did the Gospel you just heard say the
shepherds did once they had seen Jesus in the manger? They “returned,
glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” So, when you go
home tonight after Mass, please say a prayer to thank God for the best
Christmas gift ever: For giving us Jesus, born to us in a manger in Bethlehem,
the Son of Mary and the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
---
* This homily followed a children's pageant proclamation of the Gospel reading at Christ the King Church, St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Irondequoit, NY. The readings used for this Mass were those for Christmas Mass at midnight.
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