This morning, the world wakes up to the best news: Jesus Christ is born! The long-anticipated promise of salvation has been fulfilled. Heaven has come down to earth, and the Word of God has been made flesh.

That’s the essence of Christmas. We’re being invited to think about not the noisy celebrations of the world, but instead the quiet wonder of what we truly celebrate. In Bethlehem, the Creator of all things chose to step into His creation – not with grandeur or spectacle, but in simplicity and vulnerability…He chose to visit us as a child. God came to be with us.

At the heart of Christmas is the gift of presence. God did not remain distant from us…He didn’t send a representative to carry out His mission. He Himself entered into our world; He took on our humanity in all its frailty and limitations so that He could show us that we are loved beyond belief. He didn’t come to be admired from afar but to walk alongside us, to accompany us, to share in our joys and sorrows, and ultimately, to save us from sin and death.

But this gift of presence doesn’t end in Bethlehem. The same God who was born in a stable and laid in a manger remains with us today. In fact, He’s going to be made present with us in just a few moments within the gift of the Eucharist. Let’s think about it this way: Jesus, the Bread of Life, was placed in a manger – a feeding trough. From the very beginning of His earthly life, He revealed that His purpose for coming was to nourish us, to be food that would strengthen us for the journey of holiness.

On this Christmas morning, as we gather around the altar, we come to a deeper realization of the connection between the Incarnation and the Eucharist. In the manger, Christ gave Himself to the world in His humanity. On the altar, He continues to give Himself to us in His divinity and humanity, under the appearances of bread and wine.

If we look at the definition of the word “Bethlehem”…what does it mean? It means “house of bread.” Even at the beginning of His humanity, Jesus was giving us a glimpse of the gift we celebrate in every Mass. The child born in Bethlehem is the same Lord who will later say, “This is My Body, given up for you.” The gift of Christmas is not just an event in history; it is an ongoing reality that we encounter every time we receive the Eucharist.

Today, as we rejoice in the birth of our Savior, we have to ask ourselves: How am I welcoming Jesus into my life? What do we offer Him? Have we prepared a place in our hearts for Him to dwell?

What we have seen in the weeks leading up to this morning is that the world tries to distract us with the busyness of the season – with making sure we have all those last minute gifts, making sure we have the Christmas decorations just right, and going to all of those parties and events. And because of those things, we can often miss the fact that the greatest gift we could ever receive has already been given. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us…y’all, He is here. He comes to be with us, to transform us, and to draw us into the life of God Himself. That is the purpose of today. That is what we celebrate every time we come to Mass.

So, as we celebrate this joyful and holy day, let’s approach the altar with the same awe and reverence as those who first knelt at the manger. May we recognize in the Eucharist the same Christ who was born for us in Bethlehem. And if we choose to invite the Lord into our hearts today in some deeper way this morning, we will leave this church transformed.

The world has been forever changed because of Christmas. The King of Kings has come, not in power, but in humility. He is born for us, He is with us, and He invites us to share in His life.

Merry Christmas and may the peace of newborn Christ-child fill each of our hearts.

Photo: Nativity scene, Myriam Zille. Used under Unsplash license.