"I wish it could be Christmas everyday" sang the British rock band Wizzard forty years ago. More recently Kenny Rogers sang, "Keep the spirit in your heart / And it's Christmas everyday".
Father Chuck O'Malley attending a dying woman asked her if she was "there" yet, at experiencing life after death. She said, "I am sometimes here, sometimes there." O'Malley tells us, "There is no bag of proof, but I stayed with her."
Father O'Malley is the proof! You and I are the proof of the presence of Christ on this earth. Whether God's presence is felt or not often depends on us. Faith is lived in the family and the community.
To those who suffer we are the loving presence to soothe heartaches, bind up wounds and renew life. God is love, and whether God is present or not in a situation often depends on us.
We have just concluded Christmas celebrations for another year and are stepping into the opportunities of a New Year. Was it just the same old decorations, songs, shopping, gift exchange and routine as last year? The answer depends on what our presence contributed to the season.
We are not the same as we were last year. Hopefully we are more successful in our role as Christ to the world. The presence of a new Pope Francis has shaken our world a little and hopefully renewed us.
In his first apostolic exhortation called "The Joy of the Gospel" he says, "This is the vision of the Church; this is who we need to be." He said we need to be a Church who is focused on evangelization, on the joy of the gospel message.
He challenges us: "If we are people of evangelization, we ought not to look like people who have just come out of a funeral." Do a face check when you leave the church on a Sunday.
What does it take to shake us out of our complacency? To awaken us as Christians?
Father Brendan McGuire relates an experience flying in a jet this past year: "The pilot warned us about turbulenceWe were bouncing all over the place with 20 foot drops constantly. People got really frightened because we started to nose dive at one point. We could hear the engines really strain."
This lasted for 30 minutes, then the flight continued and landed uneventfully. Two things happened immediately. Everyone called some loved ones saying, "You can't believe what just happened."
And the second thing was more amazing. Everyone left the plane in smiles. And their conversations ended in similar fashion: "I love you; tell the kids I love them; I miss them." It was really touching.
McGuire concludes: "Does it require something as drastic as a near accident to get us to smile"?
The message of every Christmas is that God is with us. In the words and deeds of Christ we see the face of the Father. And Jesus asks us to be His witnesses. We need to do the task of Christians with a spirit of joy and enthusiasm. We need to bring peace to our families, church communities and the world.
We proceed with God's Holy Spirit in us, realizing we are not the same people we were last year. Christmas happens every day because Christmas is Christ with us. Happy on the mountains are the feet of the one who brings good news.
