Homily for Christmas 2025

Each Christmas, there are different traditions, songs and readings we are used to hearing which bring a sense of comfort, and also, each year, they come up with something new, such as the latest adventure of Kevin the Carrot.  Sometimes I find that with some of the older carols and translations of the Bible, the words sound a bit like Yorkshire-speak.  For example, in the King James Version of the Bible, when the angel appears to the shepherds, it says they were “sore afraid”.  You can imagine a Yorkshire granddad with his grandchildren gathered round, telling them all the Christmas story:  “Y’ knorr, when angels came down, shepherds, they were soor afraid”.

But there can be other words and details that we hear, year after year, but don’t really know what they refer to unless we do a bit of research.  What, for example, are “swaddling cloths”?  The Oxford Quick Reference Dictionary says that they are “narrow bandages formerly used to wrap and restrain a baby”.  You might have seen crib scenes or paintings where the baby Jesus looks a bit like an Egyptian mummy, wrapped in these narrow bandages called swaddling cloths.  It’s interesting to note that they weren’t just to keep the baby warm, but they also acted as a restraint, so the baby couldn’t move too far and cause or get into trouble.  It was a way of parents exercising control over an unruly baby.

It reminds me of when I was at primary school.  If my memory serves me correctly, there was a boy in our class who was, shall we say, a bit too talkative, so the teacher put sellotape over his mouth.  Later on, the sellotape came unstuck.

Like the shepherds, sometimes our response to God and His message can be that we are afraid – what might this mean?  What might have to change?  Will I like it?  But I like things as they are now.  So we also might want to wrap God in swaddling cloths, so He can’t cause too much trouble in our lives.  “Stay there in the corner and don’t move.  Let me keep an eye on you and don’t go wandering off.”  We might fear God getting into all areas of our lives, causing disruption and radical change.  But the shepherds learn that God among us is Good News.  He is the long-awaited Messiah, the Saviour.  They visit Him, they encounter Him, and they are transformed by the experience:  “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen”.  Meanwhile, “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart”.  Rather than storing up wealth, she treasured up these wonderful encounters God  brought into her life, and of course the days of infancy with her new Child.

As we know, later on, King Herod sees Him as a threat and wants to do away with Him, so the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph have to flee to Egypt until Herod is dead.  King Herod represents an extreme:  someone who misunderstands what Christ is all about, and desperately want to cling to his power and old way of life, no matter what the cost.  Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He is not here to take the place of a king or a ruler; that would be to occupy the wrong place.  His role is much superior.  If only all nations acknowledged His rightful place, and if only all hearts let Him reign.  How much different our world could be!

People are, still, afraid.  It’s a bit like the joke about the Catholic version of the Bible.  John chapter one begins with:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.  But the joke says that the Catholic version says:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was ‘no!’”  Rather instead, Jesus is God’s “yes” to humanity.  In Isaiah, chapter sixty-two, it says:  “and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken” (verse 12).  God is here because He loves us.  He searches us out because we belong in His family.  Our place is not to be cast into the outer darkness, but the warmth of the family home.  He is God.  He loves us.  He yearns for us.  He warms and melts our hearts.  Captivated by His love, the rest becomes easy.

Sooo, shepherds, the’ were soor afraid.  But we don’t need to be afraid.

Curious about exploring things further?  If you would like to ask further questions about the topics raised in these homilies (or maybe think it wasn’t explained too well!), please feel free to e-mail Fr Michael at stjoseph.thame@rcaob.org.uk