God's Face (Christmas homily)

 

I know everyone over 50 remembers the “Charlie Brown Christmas.” 

Does everyone under 50 remember seeing it?

The premise is simple: poor Charlie Brown is wandering around, 

trying to figure out the “true meaning of Christmas.”

Watch the program yourself to see how it ends.

But I’m going to give you my answer.

This past Sunday we heard these words in the psalm:

“Lord…let us your face, and we shall be saved.”

Now, that’s an interesting expression, for two reasons.

First, to state the obvious, God is pure spirit: 

What can it even mean to speak of God’s “face”? 

I don’t know, but that leads to my second point: 

Many times in the Bible, God says, as he said to Moses, 

you can’t look at my face; 

it will be so overwhelming you will die!

In many other passages, people are AFRAID to see the face of God.

So, imagine praying these words in the psalms, all those centuries?

Asking God for something to SAVE us, 

what everyone feared would bring death?

In fact, most translations soften and say, 

“make your face SHINE” on us. 

But think about that. Is that really enough?

What does a child do, instinctively? Look toward mom or dad.

Whenever I baptize a child, and I hold that child later, what happens?

The baby looks at me, doesn’t recognize me, and BOO HOO!

Would you be content to have your beloved look at you, 

but you don’t look back? See what I mean?

So, Saint Jerome, relying on the Greek version of the Psalms, gives us, “SHOW us your face.”

If you became distant from someone, if you didn’t know someone, 

or if you feared you had offended someone, isn’t that what you’d need?

“SHOW me your face.” You’d know where you stood.

But the biggest problem remains: 

God is Spirit, what does “face” even mean?

Nine months ago was March 25, that was the day, 2024 years ago, 

when Mary conceived, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

A child, just a few cells at first, began to grow in her womb.

God had planned for this, and ensured she was without sin – 

immaculate – as the Mother of his Divine Son; the Mother of God!

Today is when Mary brought forth that child. He was born.

And for the very first time in history, humanity saw His Face!

Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi, and then so many more!

Only Christmas fulfills the longing of that psalm.

There’s a prayer to the “adorable Face” of Christ. 

That doesn’t just mean, oh, what a beautiful baby, 

although of course Jesus was!

No, it is literal. Jesus is God. Therefore, his Face is the Face of God.

Pope Benedict had a powerful insight about this.

He asked, why was it God’s plan to become a baby?

Because He wanted us not to be overwhelmed.

Who is ever afraid of a baby?

Mary and Joseph washed and kissed and comforted God’s Face, 

when Jesus, the God-Man was only a baby, then a boy, then a man.

Veronica wiped the Face of God on the way to Calvary.

At the tomb, on the Day of Resurrection, 

Mary Magdalene was heartbroken, 

but Jesus called her name: she saw his Face!

You might ask, when do you and I see his Face?

We will. But why not now?

If the God-Man had remained here on earth in his Body,

He’d be only in one place at a time, like the rest of us.

So, maybe this Christmas, he’d visit, oh Bangkok Thailand.

How often do you think, under that system, Jesus would visit Dayton? 

And since multiple millions would crowd here, 

what would your chances be?

Now do you understand why Jesus created the Most Holy Eucharist?

It’s not the only reason, but: 

in every church, in every Sacrifice of the Mass, 

just as God in a sense could say – and did say through the Holy Spirit, of Mary’s womb, 

“This is My Body; this is My Blood” – 

so your very ears hear Jesus say, at each and every Mass!

“This is My Body; This is My Blood…given for you!”

You and I have not been denied anything!

There are so many things, so wonderful about Christmas.

But this is the meaning: God has a Face. He shows it. And we are saved.