The faithful welcome Christ at Midnight Mass

"We are reminded that since the shepherds were the first that the angels came to announce the good news to, that we must, too, give a priority to the poor in our midst, those who are struggling in these economic times," said Bishop Wester. "We also keep in mind those who are outside tonight. Jesus was born outside. Mary and Joseph could not find room at the Inn. We remember the homeless, immigrants and refugees, children who have run away from home, those who are victims of bigotry of any kind, the sick in their own isolation, those who are mourning the loss of loved ones, and those for whatever reason exist on the edges in our society. We identify with them all because all of us are like those shepherds, all of us are poor. All of us are in need of Jesus Christ our redeemer and our savior."

Bishop Wester referred to a story about a parish priest who, after celebrating many Christmas Masses, was tired. He went to his sister’s house for dinner and sat down in a chair to take a nap before dinner. But his niece came up and said, "Uncle Mike, I want to show you something."

"So they went over to the manger scene," said Bishop Wester. "It was a gorgeous ceramic manger scene that had been in the family for many generations. It was intricate, so delicate, and beautiful. Fr. Mike was so pleased that his niece understood the true meaning of Christmas. She was not getting all those toys and presents.

"Fr. Mike said, ‘Sarah, what is this?’" Sarah answered, ‘It’s fragile,’" said Bishop Wester. "Fr. Mike said, Oh, that’s true it is fragile.’"

"There is a path one could take on that reflection, to say, Jesus became fragile for us," said Bishop Wester. "Jesus became vulnerable. God, all powerful, all mighty, all knowing, all loving, took on our form, and took on the form of a slave. And, that is a beautiful reflection.

"But I want to just briefly ask you, and me, on this Christmas night, what about the image itself?" asked Bishop Wester. "Maybe Sarah is right on the mark. It is fragile, it is a beautiful image filled with memories and even sentimentality. It brings back many happy days for so many of us. We might want to pause in front of the manger scene and say, there is the true meaning of Christmas.

"But is it possible that indeed this image is in fact fragile, and perhaps is it supposed to be fragile?" asked Bishop Wester. "Can it be broken and should it be broken? Here is what I mean.

"God became one of us so that God could engage us in a relationship of unfathomable intimacy so that you and I can be one with God," said Bishop Wester. "It is something that is even hard to say. We can be one with God in the person of Jesus Christ. This person of Jesus Christ is far more than simply an infant. The infant is a very important part of the whole mystery, the incarnation. But it is only one part. If we fixate only on that part, and that is all Christmas is, then it needs to be broken."

Bishop Wester said Saint Francis teaches us that the wood of the manger reminds us of the wood of the cross. The infant Jesus whom we adore tonight, is the same Jesus who died on the cross for us to bring us redemption. He is the same Jesus Christ who moves us from darkness to light, from sin to grace, and from death to light. He is the same Jesus Christ who never intended just to remain as a baby, but intended to grow, and age in wisdom and grace. He intended to accept the cross, and intended to suffer for us, and to die for us, and to rise again on the third day.

"Midnight is the time of Christmas. It is the traditional time when we believe Christ will come again. The symbolic time, when Jesus Christ will gather all of creation together in himself and bring us as one to the father. Therefore, this baby Jesus is much more than that. He is one who seeks to radically change us, and transform us, and to constantly draw us into new life. Christmas is for children, and it is wonderfully so. But it is also for those of mature faith, and those who wish to grow in their faith, and wish to enter into this relationship with Jesus Christ.

"We must embrace the real Christ, the Christ who is, the Christ who remains with the father, and who is calling us to new life every moment of our lives," said Bishop Wester. "For those of us who are married, it is a time to break the old stereotypes and the old images and allow them to become fragile and break so that we can be newly present to our spouses in new ways, and deepen the love that makes our marriage so beautiful.

Bishop Wester said, "For those of us who carry grudges that are etched in stone, usually with ourselves being right, we have to allow that stone to become fragile and break so that we can find a new way to relate to those people with whom we have not been speaking.

"For those of us who have forged habits over the years, we have to allow those bad habits to become fragile and break because they weigh us down, and they ruin our health, our happiness, and our very lives.

"For those of us who have attitudes that are jaded, negative, and cynical, we have to allow them to become fragile and break so that we can see life in a new way with a new perspective.

"For those of us who have put God in a corner, boxed him in, and controlled God, we have to let those images become fragile and break so that God can break into our lives again and help us to become new again.

"For those of us who have self perceptions of ourselves that put ourselves down and think we are no good, for those of us who suffer with depression and even suicidal thoughts, we have to allow those old images to become fragile and break so hopefully and carefully we can see life in a new way.

"Christmas is not all that easy," said Bishop Wester. "It is not just a time of sentimentality. It is a time of grace. We have to take all of the imagery that has been so crusted and cemented, and lay it at the feet of the newborn savior, and say Lord, help me to be formed and fashioned the way you want me to be.

"These images that we hold will continually be transformed and lead us to a new way of being because Christ is with us," said Bishop Wester. "To him be the glory and the power and the honor, the one who is, who was, and who will be, the alpha and the omega. The beginning and the end for ages on end."