WORK OF THE SIMON COMMUNITY 'IS A POINTER TO WHAT LOVE REQUIRES AND WHAT REAL LOVE GIVES': ARCHBISHOP NEILL'S CHRISTMAS SERMON

In his Christmas Sermon, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill emphasized the vulnerability of the Christ Child born on Christmas day adding “To share this vulnerable love in the world of today is what the Christ Child would ask of us.”

Continuing, the Archbishop said that in Dublin, the homeless are amongst the most vulnerable in society adding, “To meet the suffering and vulnerability of so many, Jesus made himself vulnerable. It is the way in which real love is shown. The sacrificial work of SIMON and others who work for the homeless is a pointer to what love requires and what real love gives. Our faith in Jesus is shown by the way we reach out to those who are the most vulnerable, the most threatened, the most misunderstood.”

Concluding the Archbishop said, “It is those who discover this way – the way of Jesus at the very centre of life – that at the same time come to realise the true meaning of security and peace. The peace of God which passes understanding, that peace of which the angels sang, is part of the vulnerable love of God.”

SERMON AT CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL, DUBLIN
ON CHRISTMAS DAY, 2 DECEMBER 2007, 11.00
The Archbishop of Dublin, The Most Revd Dr John Neill

Christmas celebration gives many of us a sense of security and a sense of peace. This is fitting as we hear the message of the angels – “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace, goodwill among people”. At the heart of Christmas, as well as the message of peace, there is a message of vulnerability. Christmas peace is not about complacency. An early Christian hymn quoted in a New Testament letter puts it very succinctly:

“Christ Jesus………..in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness……he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death…” (Philippians 2:6-8a)

The Christmas story is the exact opposite to the manner in which the divine might be expected to enter the human arena. Choirs of angels appear, but they are seen only by some shepherds on the hillside, There is a crib, but it is a feeding stall for animals. There is a star to be followed by sages but the result is not a public demonstration of divine power, rather a lonely exile in Egypt and the slaughter of innocent children. In Christmas, we see God’s involvement in the world at its most vulnerable. The shadow of the cross does indeed hang just behind the crib.

The wonder of the Incarnation is shown in this God who in Jesus is as vulnerable as a newborn baby, and whose whole life and ministry is lived out with this vulnerability. He is deliberately misunderstood by some, threatened and eventually crucified. His response is love, acceptance, healing and hope. This is a love that is so genuine because it is so vulnerable. “Christ Jesus………..in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself…..”

The wonderful thing about this Love of God incarnate in Jesus in all its vulnerability is that it attracted those who were themselves vulnerable and hurting the most. It attracted the leper, the one ostracised by society, indeed ostracised as those suffering from HIV/AIDS find themselves ostracised today. It attracted the mother burying her son, the father whose daughter was dying, a blind beggar by the roadside and so the list could go on.

To share this vulnerable love in the world of today is what the Christ Child would ask of us. In this city of Dublin, among the most vulnerable people are those who are homeless. Though some of these may have accommodation which is totally inadequate, some have none. Some quickly become homeless as they leave medical care or are released from prison. There are fewer people actually living on the streets than there were a few years ago, but some of the hostel accommodation is virtually as dangerous, and for the very young even more dangerous. There are very many young people among the homeless, and the health consequences for them are only too obvious.

To meet the suffering and vulnerability of so many, Jesus made himself vulnerable. It is the way in which real love is shown. The sacrificial work of SIMON and others who work for the homeless is a pointer to what love requires and what real love gives. Our faith in Jesus is shown by the way we reach out to those who are the most vulnerable, the most threatened, the most misunderstood.

We do well to remind ourselves that it is not only the socially deprived that are vulnerable. Those who have lost all sense of direction and meaning in life, in a society focussed on wealth creation and instant gratification, are extremely vulnerable. They may have all the world can offer, but little of what the living God offers.

It is because of these realities that Christmas is a time for reaching out – and for encouraging those who work tirelessly throughout the year for those in need. We are asked to go even some small way towards addressing those needs through realistic giving. It is a time above all to stop and ask of ourselves what really matters, and see whether our values reflect those of the Son of God who for our sakes emptied himself.

The sad thing is that if Christmas is no more than a “ceasefire” between the haves and the have-nots, a ceasefire between the strong and the most vulnerable, a ceasefire between the secular and the religious worlds – if this is all it is – a ceasefire, a pause - then Christmas can become something rather false and empty. It can become rather like that moment in World War One when soldiers stepped out of the trenches for one brief interlude for a Christmas greeting before continuing to shell one another. God in Jesus did not become vulnerable only for one night in a stable, he was vulnerable in the whole of his life on earth. Can this Christmas spirit continue into the whole of our lives? The Gospel or Good News is that Christmas is more than the once a year reminder of a wonderful story.

Christmas tells us of God loving so much that he gave Jesus to change our lives, to allow us to share that real quality and meaning of life that is of the very being of God – Life eternal. Life eternal shares this vulnerable love which God offers, and is life that is placed firmly in God’s ways and entrusted to God’s keeping. Jesus who was born into the world at Christmas, by His Holy Spirit draws our lives to be at one with his – to find in him our meaning, our very life itself.

At the altar in a few minutes we are invited to receive the life of Jesus into our lives. This sacramental moment cannot effectively stand alone, for at Christmas, we hear again the offer of this same Jesus to come into our lives at every level, to make us his very own. This is to comfort and strengthen us, but also to make us vulnerable with the very love of Jesus. “Christ Jesus………..in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave …”

It is those who discover this way – the way of Jesus at the very centre of life – that at the same time come to realise the true meaning of security and peace. The peace of God which passes understanding, that peace of which the angels sang, is part of the vulnerable love of God.

I wish you each a very happy Christmas, with the words of the Angelic song: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace, goodwill among people”.

- ENDS –