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"Christmas is about being changed by God's Generosity" - Archbishop Neill's Christmas Sermon
Each Christmas is different. It is different for some perhaps because of changed circumstances since last year ? the birth of a new child or grandchild to join the family circle, or the loss of a loved one that was always there. For others, Christmas may this year be celebrated in a new place, even in a new country, far from home. It is Christmas that focuses our thoughts on change, whether such is a cause of joy or of sorrow. On a broader front, some years at Christmas we are conscious economically of very tough times, or as with this year, that things seem to be quite bright on that front for many people. Yet whatever the context, there is an essential constancy to the Christmas message ? it has to do with generosity.
One of the early Christian letters in the New Testament puts it like this: ?You know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich? (2 Corinthians 8:9).
These words express something of the earliest reflection on the person of Jesus by those who had experienced something of the power of the Risen Christ ? they saw him as quite simply emptying himself of privilege in order to raise us to new life, and new possibilities. An early hymn has the same imagery ? ?Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death ? even death on a cross.? (Philippians 2:6-8) When this is quoted in the New Testament, we are urged to have the same mind in ourselves as we have in Christ Jesus. It is a mind characterised by the generosity of God.
What does generosity require of us living in the Ireland of today? What does it mean for us as individuals, as much as for society as a whole? Generosity immediately implies giving, and you will rightly say ? so it should! At Christmas we have all been reminded of the needs of the developing world and of the poor on our own doorsteps. Can we now afford to do that bit more as a country for world development? It seems hard to make excuses not to visit this issue again.
Perhaps for some among us, Christmas is a bit less of a struggle than in some years in that cash is not quite so tight, and it should be possible to give that bit more. However short we are of worldly goods, the timeless lesson has always been the same ? that to give something to others is itself enriching. Jesus laid great store by the poor widow who gave the tiniest coin possible, but out of her poverty.
The generosity which is at the heart of the Christmas message goes beyond the putting of money in a box, on a plate, or in an envelope. God?s gift to us in Jesus is a much more costly generosity ? as the texts quoted express it ? it is about self-emptying, about humbling oneself, about becoming poor so that others might be rich. It is a generosity born out of love, not out of guilt or compulsion. Indeed neither guilt, nor compulsion, is ever the seed of generosity. Such may lead to extravagant gestures, to fantastic largesse but not to generosity.
Generosity is the result of loving and being loved. It is a sharing of love in a way that builds up, affirms and encourages another person. True generosity neither diminishes nor humiliates, true generosity reflects the Christ born in Bethlehem. There are so many areas of life where people can feel diminished when they seek help ? it may be as they go to collect Social Welfare benefits, it may be as they struggle to get for their special child the education that is required, it may be as they try to become resident among us, it may be as they lie on a stretcher in a hospital corridor awaiting urgent attention, it may even be as they look for a job in middle age. These are all areas in which problems exist, but there is a generous approach, and a generous attitude, that no lack of resources should undermine
At Christmas, we are giving and receiving gifts, we are being hospitable, and we are attempting to be cheerful and pleasant to each other! This is a window of generosity that comes in the middle of winter. The trouble is that it remains simply that unless we get to the heart of it all. Christmas is not about good resolutions, but it is about receiving God?s generosity in such a way as it begins, even once more, to change us.
The story which we tell in readings and carols, the message brought to us in music and in silence is of this great generosity of God ? that he wants to share our lives, that he gives Jesus to us to transform our poverty into his riches, our coldness into his deep love. Generosity implies not only love, but the involvement that love implies ? God involves himself with us in sending Jesus. He invites us to be involved with him, and to share that loving involvement with others ? that they may be encouraged, strengthened, made to feel worthwhile. This is good news. It begins with what we celebrate here this morning ? the generous giving of God ? a giving so generous that we will receive in sacramental reality as a body broken, as blood outpoured, in the life of Jesus given for us and to us. ?You know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich?
Diocesan Communications Officer, Dublin & Glendalough
087 2356472
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Lynn Glanville
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