Today, earth has entered Heaven and Heaven has come down to earth, for our journey to Bethlehem has ended and we kneel before the child Jesus, ponder like Mary in our hearts and with joy and praise glorify this little child in our midst.

For, the same reality experienced over 2000 years ago occurs again this day, in this church, in our town, in our world, for all of creation itself bows before its creator, and the very mystery of the Incarnation becomes tangible and unfolds before us. That, in the words of St. Athanasius: “God became man, so that man might become God.”

And, it is this mystery that we celebrate this morning, that, as I once heard it said: “There can be no ascent of man unless God descends,” there could be no salvation or redemption unless He came, for, without the Incarnation, without God becoming man, Heaven would still be closed and we would never know a saint nor how to become one, because the true mystery of the Incarnation is that we are able to live as Christ, to imitate Him so perfectly that we are transformed so that truly we live with in and through Him.

It is a mystery that we cannot even begin to fathom, begin to comprehend, yet, what we do understand is so overwhelming in itself that we cannot but help to rejoice, to join with the angels and the saints in the triumphant hymn of praise. For, in the words of St. John Chrysostom: “The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt his glory. [And] All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven.”

For, indeed, that is why there is cause for rejoicing, that is why we are here this morning, because our savior has come, and as St. John Chrysostom beautifully puts it: “Bethlehem this day resembles heaven,” so that the infant lying on the wood of a manger is, this day, worshipped and adored.

Today, is not just Christmas, it is a reminder of the culmination of our salvation and that what we have is truly God’s gift to us, that this day, that this child, more than any other gift we may receive, is the only gift we need, because, as clichéd as it may sound, it is not a thousand presents that He gives us but only His presence among us.
That is why we should be brimming with joy, and with the shepherds, gather before Joseph and Mary, hold in our arms the cradle of Christ, and with the angels above, repeat the sounding joy: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth.”