“An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them …” (Lk. 2:9). Before the shepherds saw God, they saw angels. They didn’t expect to see either. They were just doing their forgotten job on yet another cold, dark night. And then … If we asked them what they thought God looked like, they probably would have looked at us sideways. The shepherds didn’t go to church. They might not have thought of God a lot. They may have even thought that they, with their unnoticed life at the edges of society, wandering from place to place, didn’t fit in with God, if He existed at all. And then … Their first response to the angels is to be afraid. But the angels talk them out of fear: “Be not afraid: for behold I bring you good news of a great joy which will be for all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:10-11). The angel didn’t go to the palace, the government, or the temple. The angel went to the shepherds. And then … The angel went to the shepherds. And through the shepherd the angels send their message of joy to “all the people”: To us in born a Savior. That is what God looks like: a Savior. The Savior intervenes not with grand universal power, but as the smallest most unnoticed joy: “a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:12). Unnoticed shepherds; an unnoticed manger; an unnoticed stable; an unnoticed child. That was the path to God Himself. “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Lk. 2:13-14). Sometimes we think we don’t matter. We don’t look for God because we don’t expect to find Him. And we forget we are not looking. And then, the unexpected angel hints at something, Someone, more. This Christmas, notice the miracle already unfolding within the ordinarily unnoticed things. And look there for Him.
Together with Fr. Bordonaro, Msgr. Murray, Msgr. Jenkins, Deacon Hasson, and our team in the rectory office, have a most blessed Christmas and joyful holiday season! Thank you for all you do for our amazing parish of Saint Eleanor! Your dedication throughout the year means so much!
Thank you for the beautiful way you embrace the faith – our greatest gift! God Bless, Msgr. Bransfield
