The following is a transcript of Bishop Caggiano’s homily, given Christmas afternoon, December 25, at St. Augustine
My dear sisters and brothers,
Allow me to begin by offering to you and to your families and your loved ones my best wishes and prayers for a blessed and Merry Christmas to you all. We gather here in the growing darkness of this night to join our sisters and brothers in faith all throughout the world, to raise our minds and voices in praise and adoration of God our Father, for this night He has given us a great gift, a gift beyond price, a gift that was long promised to His chosen people who longed for the One to Come, who would be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, who would break the rod of Midian, who would set God’s people free, the one who gives rest to every human heart that allows Him entrance.
And He came. He came while the world slept. He came while Herod paced the rooms of his palace, wondering when the Messiah would come and how He could destroy him, in that He came. He came with the rich and the famous and those in religious authority were sumptuously dining, and only the shepherds came to welcome Him. He came while the magicians and magi of the east, watching their charts and stars, had intuited that the moment had arrived, and they came to pay Him homage.
He came, and He comes to you and I tonight.
He comes every moment of our lives, does he not, my friends, when we ask Him to come to be born anew in our suffering, in our pain, in our joys, in our triumphs, in the midst of our families, with our neighbors and friends in this broken world. He comes. He comes as our Savior, our Messiah, our Redeemer, and our King. He came to overthrow kings and those in authority who refuse to do the will of the Father. He came to establish a kingdom that no one and nothing will stop. He came so that you and I, born poor, may one day become rich in Him. He came to cause death to die and to give a place to all who follow Him, who share His name in everlasting glory.
My dear friends, I am sure you and I are going to gather with our families and friends, tonight, tomorrow, and exchange gifts. To sign of the love we have for each other, to sign of the joy we have in our hearts for this great feast. But it is also, my friends, a symbol that we should not forget, a small token symbol of the one gift above all others that has changed reality, creation, the world, our church, and you and me, forever.
Friends, we may ask the question, how is it possible for God, who created all things, who is light and love Himself, with whom and for whom all things are held in being, the One who knows all things, has all power, all grace. How is it possible for that God to His Son, the eternal word, to become a child? How is that possible?
And the answer, my friends, lies in the heart of this mystery tonight. For it is only possible because God freely chose to make an exchange of gifts. For in His great love, He exchanged the glory of His heavenly throne for the wood of a manger. He chose because of His love for you and me, He chose to leave the homage of the angels and saints to come into a world where they would gradually evermore reject Him. He gave up all his authority and privilege as God so that He might become poor like you and I, born into a broken life so that He might heal it and lift us up.
My friends, the mystery of this night is that God chose to exchange his glory to become poor like us so that you and I who are born poor may one day be like God. That is the great proof of God’s reckless love for you, for me, and for all His children. That is the gift that never stops giving.
Having said that, my friends, there is nothing more to say. There are no words, there is no language that can adequately describe the greatness of the mystery of the gift you and I have received except this, my friends. As the words of the hymne remind us. We ought to bow down before the manger. We ought to have the courage to look into the face of God. You and I must make it our business to spend time in silent prayer, thanking God for the gift in which you and I have eternal life.
And may I ask that as God exchange so much so that you and I may be given much? Can we this Christmas have the courage to do the same for our neighbor, to give to those to those who are poor a share of what we have, to those who are lonely a share in our company, to those who are looking for love and affection, a share in our love and mercy? Can we dare to imitate the infant born in Bethlehem and allow those around us who may be struggling to be lifted up in glory because of your love and mine?
That is the miracle of Christmas. For that, we give thanks and praise to Christ, who was born in Bethlehem. To Him, our newborn king, our Messiah, to Him who is the one who will lift us up to glory. To Him be all honor in glory now and forever. Amen.