About this episode

Ricardo delivers a Christmas homily reflecting on the true context of Jesus' birth as described in Luke's Gospel.

Every year we take out the nativity. We arrange it carefully. Mary. Joseph. A baby in a manger. It feels sacred—one of the last spaces in our world left untouched. But contemporary retellings challenge that calm. This year in Dedham, the Holy Family was removed and kept in the sanctuary for protection from ICE. In Evanston, the baby Jesus wrapped in emergency thermal blankets, his hands bound with zip ties. A few years ago in Bethlehem, a Lutheran pastor placed the Christ child on bomb rubble. We demand these displays be removed. But what if the real danger isn’t the frame we construct—traditional crib or contemporary protest? What if it’s that we’re so busy fixing on one perfect pageant or one protest image that we miss the actual context of Jesus’ birth? We assume Mary and Joseph were turned away. Luke doesn’t say that. The Holy Family is welcomed into a warm home, pressed shoulder to shoulder with people doing all they can to make space. The house owner says: this is all we have. And it’s accepted. God is born there. Ricardo tells us in this surprise Christmas Eve homily: God does not wait for us to clear space. He enters even when lives are full, when schedules are packed…

People in this episode

Host: Ricardo

Topics covered

• Christmas homily
• Jesus' birth
• Luke's Gospel
• contemporary retellings
• Holy Family
• making space for God

Keywords

• Christmas
• homily
• Luke
• Holy Family
• nativity
• spirituality
• religion

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Jesuits

Books & works: Luke’s Gospel

Places: Dedham, Evanston, Bethlehem

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