Dear Christ the King Family,
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.”
We all have a deep-seated desire to be at home—at home with ourselves and with others, to have a place where we belong. It’s one of the deepest human needs. Maybe when we were little preschoolers at our first experience of school we cried because we wanted to go home rather than be in this new, strange environment. Although we get better at covering up that need as we grow older, that vulnerability of the heart still remains. It’s quite interesting, then, that in the midst of a situation that appears so tangled and complicated to Joseph, God urges him through his angel not to fear and take Mary his wife into his home. It speaks to the depths of God’s love that in coming into this world he did so in complete humility and did not shy away from embracing our weak human nature. Consider how vulnerable God made himself not only on Christmas Day as a newborn child, but also in the many willing responses of ‘yes’ he needed from other people. First was the ‘yes’ from Mary to welcome the Messiah when Gabriel announced God’s plan to her, and then he depended on Joseph’s willingness to say ‘yes’ and take them into his home. This moment, then, when Joseph takes her into his home reminds us of our call to welcome the living presence of our Lord in the Church into our hearts as well. Just like Mary and Joseph, God risks his love every day with us and allows his relationship with us to depend on our ‘yes’. It’s quite interesting then that when we say “Amen” in response to “The Body of Christ” when we receive the Eucharist, we’re essentially saying “Yes, I believe!”
There are many imperfections and faults from the human beings who make up the Church and sometimes those messy and complicated situations might feel like too much to deal with…we, or loved ones in our families might find ourselves in the same position as Joseph and even think it is better to divorce ourselves from the Church quietly and move on. Yet God urges us just as much as He did to Joseph: “Do not be afraid! Take Her into your home.” While you rest and rejoice in these weeks ahead with your family, take those words to heart. Welcome the living presence of Christ and his Church in your heart, come to Mass, and encourage those who have been distant to join you with gentleness and patience. You’ll discover that there and anywhere you go for Mass, when we make a home for God in our hearts, you in turn will always find that longing for being at home satisfied with God. Even if your heart feels too cluttered and occupied and busy, like that overcrowded inn—even if all you have to offer at the moment is a stable within your heart—God will not hold back from offering his entire Being in humility, patience, and love. The Lord who comes into our lives is none other than Emmanuel, he is God-with-us! From myself, Father Cameron, Father Bob, Deacon Joe and Deacon Andy, know of our love and prayers for you and your homes, and may you all have a Merry Christmas and blessed encounters with the Lord in this season!
In Christ, Our Newborn King,
Fr. David
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