Fr. Chris - Christmas - Homily

"Merry Christmas St Joseph Parish"
Christmas is truly a high-point in our Christian Faith, the joyous, key event which gave birth, not just to our Saviour, but to the very birth of Christianity itself.
 
Christmas is also a time for celebrating ourselves, celebrating the new life God gave us, his Children, through the birth of his Son. And we must celebrate life even in the face of difficulties, while celebrating the joy of our achievements and contributions to the world he created for us.
 
One of those achievements was the birth of our beloved parish on Dec. 19th, 1970, only days before the birthday of Christ himself. Last weekend we commemorated our 50th Anniversary, a high-light of our Christmas Season and a high-point in our Faith journeys. More than a family of churches – St Joseph’s and St Patrick’s – and more than a religious community, Saint Joseph Parish is in fact a living being, striving to be like Christ, its founder, by contributing to the spiritual salvation of the world it lives in. And truly, it has done a marvellous job, thriving thanks to the dedicated, sincere work of her talented, caring, and committed parishioners.  
 
Another glorious achievement took place at Christmas time just 2 years before. On Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968, astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders, were orbiting through the darkness on the other side of the Moon, a first in the history of space travel. Just before the Apollo 8 mission launched, the crew was told they would be asked to ‘say something’, unscripted to the public who would be watching their journey live on television. The unexpected request left them feeling rather uncomfortable able what to do, until one of the astronaut’s wives suggested over a private radio communication what they might do, considering the season. While the largest television audience of all time watched, including myself and perhaps many of you here, this is what Borman, Lovell, and Anders did to even the surprise of the staff at Cape Canaveral:
 
Bill Anders: "We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message which we would like to send to you.
 
'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good:
and God divided the light from the darkness.'"
 
Jim Lovell: "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,
and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven.
And the evening and the morning were the second day."
 
Frank Borman: "'And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters
he called the Seas: and God saw that it was good.' …

And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck,
a Merry Christmas -- and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."
 
God, Thank You for sending us your Son. Thank You for giving us life with all its complexity and diversity. Thank You for giving us the strength and ingenuity to tackle anything which confronts us or beckons us, even if it be the desire to see and reach out across the universe of which you have made us stewards. Thank You for our children, our families, our friends and our neighbours. Thank You for our parish which continues to thrive through all manner of challenges.
 
Merry Christmas to you, Saint Joseph Parish, on our birthday. As Tiny Tim once said, “God Bless you everyone”, and may he keep you well and safe in his embrace.   
               
  – Rev Fr Christopher Tracey, Saint Joseph Parish, Saugeen Shores, Ontario
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