Episode Transcript
[00:00:12] Speaker A: Welcome to the Blessed Sacrament Homilies podcast, where our mission is to help everyone recognize and experience the presence of God. We hope you are nourished and encouraged by the Word. Thank you for joining us.
[00:00:25] Speaker B: The Lord be with you and with your spirit. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke.
[00:00:31] Speaker C: Glory to you, O Lord.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment when Quirinius was governor of Syria, so all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph, too, went up from Galilee, from. From the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there, the time came for her to have her child and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them.
And they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, do not be afraid. For behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be.
[00:01:57] Speaker C: For all the people.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: For today in the city of David, a savior has been born for you who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you. You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was a multitude of heavenly hosts with the angel praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth. Peace to those on whom his favor.
[00:02:33] Speaker C: Rests the gospel of the Lord.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:02:39] Speaker C: The first week of November, 1999, I got to go to the Holy Land. And on that trip there were two other priests and our bishop. And as part of the trip, we were there for nine days. Each one of us got assigned a place to celebrate Mass and lead the group that was on the tour.
Well, the place I was assigned was the shepherd's field outside of Bethlehem.
And I got to admit I thought I got the short straw.
It wasn't a place that I found particularly inspiring or that I thought I could preach on very well.
But something happened, and that something for me had to be the grace of God that revealed something that I hadn't really spent a lot of time thinking about.
And that is that what happened in this dirty, dusty little town on the outskirts of Jerusalem is that God revealed how much God loves us in a way that is deeper than any author could ever have described.
Because God gave his only son to come into the world, not just to be here for us as a king that would rule over us.
Not just to reveal miraculous things, but to truly dwell in us.
[00:04:21] Speaker B: To want.
[00:04:21] Speaker C: To be so close and so loving with us.
That God wanted to make sure that his presence in Christ was going to be one with us.
And that's what happened in that dusty little town.
[00:04:38] Speaker B: And never again.
[00:04:41] Speaker C: Would the people be required to travel to a far off temple or look to the holy of holies. To have a real tangible experience of God.
All we have to do is look inside or look to those people we love, or look to those people we pray with.
And that real profound presence of God is right there.
That's what this day did for us. It took a God who could seem distant in a far off heaven and brought God so close to each one of us that sometimes we don't even notice.
We miss it, but that doesn't make it less true. God is dwelling in our hearts, in our lives, in our midst right now. And the gift of the incarnation is the beginning of that story.
And the celebration of his birth in Bethlehem is the day. We remember that reality particularly well.
Because it's the greatest gift the world's ever been given.
And that gift is right here in me and right there in.
