Benedict XVI’s Christmas Sermon: liturgy is the first priority

The shepherds teach us a priority: hasten to worship.  Everything else comes later.

In his sermon for Christmas Pope Benedict shows his mystical side.  He is a liturgical mystic.  That is to say, for Benedict, worship is an occasion for the deepest form of prayer, which is communion with God.  This is what liturgical worship is supposed to do for us.  It is probably what it does for him.

Pope Benedict quotes the 3rd c. Alexandrian theologian Origen and the 6th c. monastic St. Benedict.

The Holy Father first and foremost stresses the individuals relationship with God, as you yourself, your individual encounter with him in worship.  This encounter has consequences.  One of the consequences is attention to others.   But there is a priority.

My emphases and comments.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

"A child is born for us, a son is given to us" (Is 9:5). What Isaiah prophesied as he gazed into the future from afar, consoling Israel amid its trials and its darkness, is now proclaimed to the shepherds as a present reality by the Angel, from whom a cloud of light streams forth: "To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:11). The Lord is here. From this moment, God is truly "God with us". No longer is he the distant God who can in some way be perceived from afar, in creation and in our own consciousness. He has entered the world. He is close to us. The words of the risen Christ to his followers are addressed also to us: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20). For you the Saviour is born: through the Gospel and those who proclaim it, God now reminds us of the message that the Angel announced to the shepherds. It is a message that cannot leave us indifferent. If it is true, it changes everything. If it is true, it also affects me. Like the shepherds, then, I too must say: Come on, I want to go to Bethlehem to see the Word that has occurred there. The story of the shepherds is included in the Gospel for a reason. They show us the right way to respond to the message that we too have received. What is it that these first witnesses of God’s incarnation have to tell us?

The first thing we are told about the shepherds is that they were on the watch – they could hear the message precisely because they were awake. We must be awake, so that we can hear the message. We must become truly vigilant people. What does this mean? The principal difference between someone dreaming and someone awake is that the dreamer is in a world of his own. His "self" is locked into this dreamworld that is his alone and does not connect him with others. To wake up means to leave that private world of one’s own and to enter the common reality, the truth that alone can unite all people. Conflict and lack of reconciliation in the world stem from the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world. Selfishness, both individual and collective, makes us prisoners of our interests and our desires that stand against the truth and separate us from one another. Awake, the Gospel tells us. Step outside, so as to enter the great communal truth, the communion of the one God. To awake, then, means to develop a receptivity for God: for the silent promptings with which he chooses to guide us; for the many indications of his presence. There are people who describe themselves as "religiously tone deaf". The gift of a capacity to perceive God seems as if it is withheld from some. And indeed – our way of thinking and acting, the mentality of today’s world, the whole range of our experience is inclined to deaden our receptivity for God, to make us "tone deaf" towards him. And yet in every soul, the desire for God, the capacity to encounter him, is present, whether in a hidden way or overtly. In order to arrive at this vigilance, this awakening to what is essential, we should pray for ourselves and for others, for those who appear "tone deaf" and yet in whom there is a keen desire for God to manifest himself. The great theologian Origen said this: if I had the grace to see as Paul saw, I could even now (during the Liturgy) contemplate a great host of angels (cf. in Lk 23:9). And indeed, in the sacred liturgy, we are surrounded by the angels of God and the saints. The Lord himself is present in our midst. Lord, open the eyes of our hearts, so that we may become vigilant and clear-sighted, in this way bringing you close to others as well!  [Concern for others follows from our contemplation of God and His heavenly host.  This is an important point which we really have to get right when we think about our liturgical practice.  Mass really isn’t the occasion for paying attention to each other, as if it were an occasion for social justice, or out reach, or relationship building.  That is not to say that we should simply ignore each other.  But our liturgical worship must be first and foremost about our contemplation of God, our encounter with mystery.  This encounter then has many other consequences down the line including charity for neighbor, proper relations with spouse, children, etc.  For Benedict, proper worship of God, where that privileged encounter takes place is the starting point.]

[Benedict continues in his liturgical mystic mode….] Let us return to the Christmas Gospel. It tells us that after listening to the Angel’s message, the shepherds said one to another: "‘Let us go over to Bethlehem’ … they went at once" (Lk 2:15f.). "They made haste" is literally what the Greek text says. What had been announced to them was so important that they had to go immediately. In fact, what had been said to them was utterly out of the ordinary. It changed the world. The Saviour is born. The long-awaited Son of David has come into the world in his own city. What could be more important? No doubt they were partly driven by curiosity, but first and foremost it was their excitement at the wonderful news that had been conveyed to them, of all people, to the little ones, to the seemingly unimportant. They made haste – they went at once. In our daily life, it is not like that. For most people, the things of God are not given priority, they do not impose themselves on us directly And so the great majority of us tend to postpone them. First we do what seems urgent here and now. In the list of priorities God is often more or less at the end. [This is indeed often the case in liturgical "worship" as well.]  We can always deal with that later, we tend to think. The Gospel tells us: God is the highest priority. [ATTENTION…] If anything in our life deserves haste without delay, then, it is God’s work alone. [What does he mean here by "God’s work"? … ] The Rule of Saint Benedict contains this teaching: "Place nothing at all before the work of God (i.e. the divine office)". For monks, the Liturgy is the first priority. Everything else comes later. In its essence, though, this saying applies to everyone. God is important, by far the most important thing in our lives. [Why did I lead this entry with that quote about the shepherds as the key to what followed? …. ] The shepherds teach us this priority. From them we should learn not to be crushed by all the pressing matters in our daily lives. From them we should learn the inner freedom to put other tasks in second place – however important they may be – so as to make our way towards God, to allow him into our lives and into our time. Time given to God and, in his name, to our neighbour is never time lost. It is the time when we are most truly alive, when we live our humanity to the full.  [Note the order of priorities.  First, seeking that encounter with God.  Then, all other things.]

Some commentators point out that the shepherds, the simple souls, were the first to come to Jesus in the manger and to encounter the Redeemer of the world. The wise men from the East, representing those with social standing and fame, arrived much later. The commentators go on to say: this is quite natural. The shepherds lived nearby. They only needed to "come over" (cf. Lk 2:15), as we do when we go to visit our neighbours. The wise men, however, lived far away. They had to undertake a long and arduous journey in order to arrive in Bethlehem. And they needed guidance and direction. Today too there are simple and lowly souls who live very close to the Lord. They are, so to speak, his neighbours and they can easily go to see him. But most of us in the world today live far from Jesus Christ, the incarnate God who came to dwell amongst us. We live our lives by philosophies, amid worldly affairs and occupations that totally absorb us and are a great distance from the manger[This is a good reminder not to think of ourselves as so sophisticated that we don’t need to be humble before God.  Again, there are liturgical angles to this.  Very often liberal types will make statements along the lines of, "We are modern people.  We no longer kneel as if we are serfs before the a feudal lord.  We are grown up now, and take Communion in the hand, rather than like children receive in the mouth."  Etc.  I think that attitude is a trap, and Pope Benedict exposes it well.] In all kinds of ways, God has to prod us and reach out to us again and again, so that we can manage to escape from the muddle of our thoughts and activities and discover the way that leads to him. But a path exists for all of us. The Lord provides everyone with tailor-made signals. He calls each one of us, so that we too can say: "Come on, ‘let us go over’ to Bethlehem – to the God who has come to meet us. Yes indeed, God has set out towards us. Left to ourselves we could not reach him. The path is too much for our strength. But God has come down. He comes towards us. He has travelled the longer part of the journey. Now he invites us: come and see how much I love you. Come and see that I am here. Transeamus usque Bethlehem, the Latin Bible says. Let us go there! [Here it is…] Let us surpass ourselves! Let us journey towards God in all sorts of ways: along our interior path towards him, but also along very concrete paths – the Liturgy of the Church, the service of our neighbour, in whom Christ awaits us.

Let us once again listen directly to the Gospel. The shepherds tell one another the reason why they are setting off: "Let us see this thing that has happened." Literally the Greek text says: "Let us see this Word that has occurred there." Yes indeed, such is the radical newness of this night: the Word can be seen. For it has become flesh. The God of whom no image may be made – because any image would only diminish, or rather distort him – this God has himself become visible in the One who is his true image, as Saint Paul puts it (cf. 2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). In the figure of Jesus Christ, in the whole of his life and ministry, in his dying and rising, we can see the Word of God and hence the mystery of the living God himself. This is what God is like. The Angel had said to the shepherds: "This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Lk 2:12; cf. 2:16). God’s sign, the sign given to the shepherds and to us, is not an astonishing miracle. God’s sign is his humility. God’s sign is that he makes himself small; he becomes a child; he lets us touch him and he asks for our love. How we would prefer a different sign, an imposing, irresistible sign of God’s power and greatness! But his sign summons us to faith and love, and thus it gives us hope: this is what God is like. He has power, he is Goodness itself. He invites us to become like him. Yes indeed, we become like God if we allow ourselves to be shaped by this sign; if we ourselves learn humility and hence true greatness; if we renounce violence and use only the weapons of truth and love. Origen, taking up one of John the Baptist’s sayings, saw the essence of paganism expressed in the symbol of stones: paganism is a lack of feeling, it means a heart of stone that is incapable of loving and perceiving God’s love. Origen says of the pagans: "Lacking feeling and reason, they are transformed into stones and wood" (in Lk 22:9). Christ, though, wishes to give us a heart of flesh. When we see him, the God who became a child, our hearts are opened. In the Liturgy of the holy night, God comes to us as man, so that we might become truly human. [Here is an echo of Augustine.  The Word became the son of man, that we might become the sons of God.  Also, this may echo the key for reading Gaudium et spes, a section which even for the theologian J. Ratzinger saved, in a sense, that Apostolic Constitution, namely, GS 22 in which we read that Christ reveals man more fully to himself.  We learn who we are by coming to know Him.] Let us listen once again to Origen: "Indeed, what use would it be to you that Christ once came in the flesh if he did not enter your soul? Let us pray that he may come to us each day, that we may be able to say: I live, yet it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20)" (in Lk 22:3).

Yes indeed, that is what we should pray for on this Holy Night. Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, come to us! Enter within me, within my soul. Transform me. Renew me. Change me, change us all from stone and wood into living people, in whom your love is made present and the world is transformed. Amen.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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15 Comments

  1. r.j.sciurus says:

    A wonderful Christmas gift from the Holy Father.

  2. gloriainexcelsis says:

    I love every word this Holy Father shares with the faithful. His books, his Wednesday homilies about the Saints, the whole series of homilies on St. Paul, etc., etc. We are blessed to have him.

  3. Did Papa make a joke? Not “Let’s not go there” but “Let’s go there”? :)

    Well, he probably didn’t mean it that way, but I’m free to take it that way….

    This was a great homily. All about God wanting us to wake up, listen, pay attention, come alive.

    “Wachet Auf”, maybe. :)

  4. Agnes says:

    Such a rich homily. I’ll have to take a little more time with it in a few days after things settle down.

    You said, “Concern for others follows from our contemplation of God and His heavenly host. ” Exactly. When we are receptive, the Liturgical mystery brings God’s grace into our lives, sets things in order, and sparks a fire that purges self-love and replaces it with a rightly ordered love for others as brothers and sisters in Christ.

    “Make haste.” Again, some of us practically go running and skipping and leaping to the Holy Mass while others drag themselves as if going in for a root canal. Why? Make haste! He is almost here!

    banshee – “Wake up…come alive.” Yes indeedy! Merry Christmas!

  5. Maltese says:

    Wow! This is wonderfully rich!

  6. Mzltese: What aspects do you find are rich?

  7. techno_aesthete says:

    Thank you, Father, for the audio file.

  8. Sid says:

    “Place nothing at all before the work of God (i.e. the divine office)” For monks, the Liturgy is the first priority. Everything else comes later. In its essence, though, this saying applies to everyone.[…]The shepherds teach us this priority.

    One consequence of this sermon, the best 1st Day of Christmas sermon that I’ve ever heard, is that the laity should themselves “hasten” to pray the Divine Office. It is liturgy that one can attend even at home, even alone. Yet the Divine Office even better in a group. And that means (1) pastors should encourage the Office and open their churches to those who wish to pray in in common; and (2) a confraternity of the Divine Office might well be formed among those who pray the Office, and the local chapter of this confraternity might pray at least Lauds and Vespers together.

    While the Latin volumes of the Office are the best, in English The Mundelein Psalter is the best choice for Lauds and Vespers, and the translations of all but the Psalms and Canticles are faithful to the Latin text. Music is provided for chant and the Latin hymns are translated.

    For the other Hours, for those not obliged in Holy Orders to use the US ICEL text, the UK text is the better choice.

    A Merry 12 Days of Christmas!

  9. This is a really, really beautiful homily! I’m inspired. Glad His Holiness wasn’t too shaken by the security breach. Save the liturgy, save the world!

    Merry Christmas everyone!

  10. q7swallows says:

    Yet another Christmas gift!

    How I love this pope . . . words fail.

  11. Words fail to begin to describe…

  12. stilicho says:

    NPR also had a story this evening on the forthcoming English translation which featured some “flattering” comments by FR. Ryan of Seattle.

  13. chironomo says:

    A beautiful and very deep homily. I sometimes wish though that we could actually hear the words “Liturgy must be the first priority” from the Holy Father, perhaps an admonishment against those who beleive that liturgy is about “fellowship” or “community building”…it is all and well to clothe these ideas in very eloquent speech, but wouldn’t it be refreshing to hear something like “It is time to return to authentic worship of God, rather than worship that is about gathering together or being inclusive”.

    It was a great homily though…don’t get me wrong!

  14. irishgirl says:

    Wonderful homily from the Holy Father-I was able to follow it by both hearing it and following the translated text.

    Thanks for posting the audio, Father Z!

  15. pedesxpi says:

    This was excellent! It fits with what I was explaining to my daughter earlier today about the importance of the angels’ hymn ” Glory be to God on High”: The only way we can have true peace on earth and good will among men is by first entering into the angels’ worship of God on High by giving worship to His only begotten divine son who has lived among us.

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