John 1:1-18, Christmas Day 2020

There will be no Christmas this year.

For some people there will be no Christmas this year. As St. Oscar Romero puts it bluntly, “The self-sufficient, the proud, those who, because they have everything, look down on others, those who have no need even of God — for them there will be no Christmas…”

There will be no Christmas for those who hoard their riches, who guard jealously their fame, and who wield their power unjustly over others. The glitter and glamorous lights of worldly wealth, honor, and power will outshine the star of Bethlehem. The noise and clatter of worldly allurements will drown out the sound and the song of the angels. With their hardened hearts securely locked from within by these illusions of security and self-sufficiency, they will not welcome the arrival of the heavenly Child. There will be no Christmas for them…