All the sounds of the earth are like music,
All the sounds of the earth are like music,
The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree,
And an ol' Weeping' Willow is laughing at me.

This may seem like a strange way to begin a reflection about the birth of Jesus. This is the song which my Father sang as he was going up the lift in the regional hospital in Limerick to see my newly born sister Mary. I sometimes wonder how the hospital porter must have felt who found himself in the lift forced to share in my Father’s joy! Whenever people start telling stories about newborn babies, like so many families, stories like this one are shared and cause an endearing embarrassment. Also, like most parents, my mother and father can remember what weight my siblings and I all were, where we were born, what time of the day we were born, what we looked like, the people involved in the different arrivals, how long the labour lasted and why we were give the names we were given. These stories are all part of our family’s heritage and folklore.

At Christmas, we hear the stories about the birth of Jesus. The reactions of Mary and Joseph, the story of no room at the inn, the stable, the shepherds, the kings, the swaddling clothes. These stories are our heritage and folklore too, because Jesus is our brother. We are privileged to hear his story because it is our story. Jesus, word become flesh, And what a story it is. God is born for us so that we might share life with God. We do not invoke mere history when we share the Christmas story, we invoke the power of memory. We are made a living witness to the events we celebrate and we are challenged to unite ourselves more closely with the baby we cherish.

Like everyone here, Jesus entered into the world as a little baby. Like all babies, he brought joy and wonder. I think that it is impossible to be in the presence of a baby without feeling the desire to love. We want to take a baby into our arms and cradle this new life and testament to the victory of life and the continuing human story. Indeed it is impossible to resist the love that a baby draws out of us. Throughout his life, Jesus was a source of love and called people to love him in return. This request is still made of us today. We are invited to hold the baby Jesus in our hearts and to feel his love, and to bring that love into the world.

Before he was made Pope Benedict the XVI, the young theologian Joseph Ratzinger spoke eloquently about this unique event in human history. “God did not enter into our human history with gongs booming and cymbals clashing and accompanied by a great show of power impelling us to love Him. No, He chose to come into our realities in poverty, as a fragile, vulnerable, human baby boy, inviting us to love Him.” For me, so much of the freedom and joy our faith is expressed beautifully in this statement. These sentiments are pre-empted in the writings of St. Vincent. “Our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the instructions and signs given to the shepherds, allowed Himself to be found as a child wrapped in swaddling cloths, and lay in a manger.” (OOCC, III, pp.66-67)

A baby loves unconditionally. A baby does not see colour, creed, class, sex, age. A baby loves without guile or angle. As a person grows, they often lose this gift. As I have gotten older, in so many ways I have lost this capacity. It seems to be part of the general human experience. This is not the case with Jesus. His pure love never diminished. When we revisit the baby Jesus, we see the purity and innocence of God, and the purity and innocence that perhaps we have lost. This Holy season, we celebrate how we are renewed by Christ and the proclamation of the holy angels to the shepherds on that magical night on the hillside in Bethlehem is heard even more urgently. “Glory to God in the Highest Heavens, and on earth peace for those he favours. ”

Let me leave you all surrounded by the grace of this Irish Christmas Blessing:

The light of the Christmas star to you
The warmth of home and hearth to you
The cheer and good will of friends to you
The hope of a childlike heart to you
The joy of a thousand angels to you
The love of the Son and God's peace to you.

Nollaig Shona Dhiaibh go Leir, and gach dea-ghui don Bhliain seo Chugainn. Happy Christmas to you all, and every good prayer for the year ahead.