Archbishop of Sydney

Christmas 2006

Isaiah 9:1-7; Titus 2:11-14; Lk. 2:1-14

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
25/12/2006

Charles Chaput is the Catholic archbishop of Denver, Colorado in the United States, a vigorous spokesman for Christ and things Catholic.  Earlier this month he gave an interesting address to the Orange County Prayer Breakfast on the meanings of the Advent season as a preparation for Christmas.  He claimed that Advent is a vigil, a time for keeping watch when others are sleeping and he also claimed that “Advent” derives from a very ancient Indo-European word “weg” which means lively or active.  The inference is that we should have been anxious and active, almost restless as we approached this feast of Christmas, even if many of those around us seem to be dozing or in a deep religious sleep.

 He began the address by quoting a good friend of his who each year prepares a list of his favourite Christmas carols, including Dr. Elmo’s classic “Grandma got run over by a reindeer”.  Here are the words

 “Grandma got run over by a reindeer,
 Walking home from our house, Christmas eve.
 You can say there’s no such thing as Santa
 But as for me and Grandpa – we believe”.

 It’s awful and not even funny and the archbishop asked his friend why he always included it in the list.  The reply was “For the pagans a little belief is better than none at all”.

 Someone once told me that an effective advertisement is one which people remember, either because it is very good or very bad, because it delights or annoys and these dreadful four lines might help us to examine again what we are celebrating at Christmas.

 I believe that the push to exclude Christ from Christmas has stalled, and secular political correctness has not succeeded here to the extent it has in England.  Four out of five English businesses do not put up Christmas decorations lest they give offense and in Birmingham the authorities claim to be celebrating the pagan “Winterval” instead of Christmas.  Public opinion here in Australia would not accept this and not merely because it is mid-summer.

 I can understand those who have little interest in religion giving their own explanation for Christmas as a family holiday time for goodwill, presents and getting together, just as I can understand the distaste for Christmas of that small minority of Australians who are anti-Christian.  What is a bit baffling is the silence, perhaps the embarrassment, the readiness to escape into euphemisms, “seasons greetings”, of many Christians, including us Catholics.  Why do we feel the need to wrap up our beliefs and conceal them in bright, but misleading packages?  Or do we remember, are we clear about what we celebrate?

 The passage chosen from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah is emphatic about the importance of the event he foreshadows.  The beauty of the language should not conceal his excitement.  A light, a great light has shone on those walking in darkness.  The rod of the oppressor, the bar which weighed down the shoulders of the Jewish people have been broken.  The child to be born will be called “Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince of Peace”.

 This seems to be more important than Santa Claus and his reindeers, even when the presents are thrown in too!

 The angel who appeared to the shepherds was even more explicit.  “Listen, I bring you news of great joy … Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord”.

 Usually the most important truths are simple, and elegant, even in the worlds of physics and mathematics.  This is true in religious matters and especially true for Christians.

 For ourselves, but above all for our young people and outsiders, we need to keep it simple, there is no need to make it all too complicated.

 Last Christmas day Pope Benedict brought out his first encyclical, or official letter, entitled “God is love”.  That is where we start and Christmas embodies two truths.  The one true God, the Mystery of Love, loves each one of us and sent his Son, the Eternal Word, our saviour, to be born to live and die among us.

 Christ did not come as a foreign correspondent, like a member of an overseas press corps to examine our situation and report back home.  He came as one of us to save us.

 A belief in Christ as God distinguishes us from the other great monotheist religions, as the Jews do not accept Jesus as Messiah and the Moslems do not accept that Jesus was divine or that he died on the cross, although they do receive him as a prophet.

 Others admire Jesus, but do not accept Him as Redeemer or Saviour, because they do not believe him to be divine.

 We should not make mistakes like this; neither should we talk or act as though we do, as though we are unsure of Jesus’ divine identity. 

 It is too easy to finish up where we never intended to go and to be taken there by our habits of speech.

 Sometimes even in some Catholic secondary schools Christ is not regularly at centre stage is excluded from the limelight.  The causes vary from being too busy, to comparative religion, to the charism of the founder.  Sometimes Jesus is in the shadows because He is male, or because he is too religious, too centred or doing the will of the Father.  Some see social justice as Christianity’s core business, or ecology (saving the planet), or the struggle for human life, marriage and the family, or even ecumenism.

 All of these are worthy activities, but we only worship one God and Christ his Son and we do this within our Catholic tradition.  Therefore faith is t the heart of our religion, faith in Christ.

 As always at Christmas we should refocus on the central truths of God’s love for us and the necessity for us to love one another.  The Christ child grew to be our exemplar, teacher and redeemer.

 Christmas is a feast of love and hope, which begins our deliverance from sin and death.  That is why Pope St. Leo the Great, long ago in the fifth century, called Christmas “the Birthday of joy”.  What begins in the stable ends in our salvation, because Jesus the new born of Bethlehem is Jesus the King who will return at the end of time.

 I pray that the faith of each one of us here tonight will be strengthened, so purifying our love and clarifying our hope in the final triumph of goodness.   

 I pray for all those sick, suffering and depressed; for those suffering from the drought and bushfires.  I pray in particular for the fire fighters, that they will enjoy peace and rest this Christmas.

 May the peace which comes from Christian faith, hope and love be yours at this holy time.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.