THE GRINCH THAT STOLE CHRISTMAS

A SERMON FOR THE 4TH SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Just a few days left now before the arrival of Christmas morning.  How do we feel about that?  Are we doubling our prayers, preparing our soul for the greatest gift that God has ever given to the world—the gift of a Redeemer?  Are we growing in excitement as the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph approach the little town of Bethlehem, there to present to the world and to us an Infant Saviour who will save our souls?  Does the thought of Christmas morning awaken in us the unparalleled joy of knowing that the Light of the World will be born to dispel the darkness of this world of sin?

I hope that this is the case.  However, pardon my cynicism.  It comes from a life of observing the way in which people actually do prepare for Christmas.  And I don’t just mean the non-believers, whose life is wrapped up in themselves and their own little world.  For them, Christmas means nothing more than an annual break from the dismal routine of life, a mix of nostalgia and materialism in which they stuff not only their stockings with trinkets, but their minds too with hollow memories of childhood—vague warm and fuzzy images of little Currier & Ives villages with sleigh bells ringing and the crunch of snow beneath their feet.  And are we any better?  What about us, as practicing Catholics?  So let’s take a quick break from the Christmas bustle, take a deep breath, and ask ourselves, “What about me?”

Is my chief concern at this time the approaching birth of the Saviour of the world?  Or am I so bogged down with last-minute shopping, decorating, celebrating, cooking, writing cards, wrapping gifts, travel plans, that there isn’t a minute left, not a second, to spare for what I should really be thinking about?  It’s sad we have to question ourselves like this, but I fear the answer in some cases may be even more sad.  In fact, if we’re honest with ourselves, don’t we all have to admit that the Grinch has stolen our Christmas?

The honest and objective truth about Christmas is that it’s the greatest gift we’ve been given by Almighty God.  Christmas is a gift from God, the gift of his only-begotten Son.  What better gift could there ever possibly be?  To commemorate this wonderful gift, we too give Christmas presents, simple tokens of love that are supposed to remind us of the love God has for us.  Alas, God giveth, but the world taketh away.  The world robs us of this beautiful gift of Christmas.  No sooner do we begin the holidays, rejoicing in God for all his good gifts on the National Day of Thanksgiving, than the Grinch steps in to bring us down to earth, stealing our thoughts of God and replacing them with worldly, material distractions.  We wake up the morning after Thanksgiving, with thoughts of God banished from our minds.  As our alarm clock goes off, those thoughts are instantly invaded by the Grinch, reminding us that it’s Black Friday, time to go shopping, time to spend some money.  The Grinch takes away that motivation of love for God and neighbor, and replaces it with the ignoble incentive of taking advantage of the sales and saving a few dollars 

And off to the mall we go, blithely ignoring the Christmas carols that try to cover up the sound of the cash registers.  Besides, these days, they don’t even play real carols,  there’s no First Noel, no Silent Nightplaying in the streets, reminding us of God’s gift, the Christ Child.  Now all we hear is “Here comes Santa Claus,” with warnings that “We’d better watch out” in case “Grandma gets run over by a reindeer,” and other such nonsense.  Let’s make no mistake, the world is not interested in the coming of the Saviour, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  Nor should we be surprised by that.  Why would the world be anything other than worldly?

It’s good to keep our Christmas traditions, especially as a family.  Decorating the Christmas tree, cooking the turkey, sitting round the log fire and watching “It’s a Wonderful Life,”—however you choose to celebrate the holiday.  Even silly secular Christmas songs have their place.  But please, let’s remember that these customs are meant to enhance the holiday, not to re-place what is the essence of Christmas, that Christ is born of the most pure Virgin Mary.  

So as we sit, raging in our cars as we try to find a parking place at the mall, let’s use the experience to remember Mary and Joseph trying to find room at the inn.  As we climb our ladders in the piercing cold to hang lights from our roof, let’s remember how St. Joseph cleaned out the stable as best he could, turning it into a palace for the newborn King.  And as we rack our brains to think up gifts for people we barely know who couldn’t care less, let’s spare a thought for the poor Christ Child, whose gift of salvation would be spurned and rejected by so many.  In other words, just as the Grinch tries to take away our Christmas by replacing it with the material, let’s use those material distractions for our own sanctification, twisting them around back to God and against the world, all the better to remind us of the things of our salvation.  In this spirit, this holy Christmas spirit, we will find ourselves as ready as we can be for the big day.

Let us turn our eyes to the bright night sky, as three wise men once did in the East.  Set our sights on the stars, and then past them to the infinite heaven beyond.  Imagine the descent of the holy herald angels over Bethlehem, coming to announce with great joy the birth of the Messiah.  And then, on Christmas Day, be ready to give our Christmas gift to God.  Be ready to join those angels in singing out in our hearts our Gloria in excelsis Deo.  Give “Glory to God in the Highest” for our Redemption is nigh.  And in return, we will receive our own, our greatest, Christmas gift from God, the gift of Peace on Earth to Men of Good Will.