Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, dear families, students, and friends, on behalf of Father Jerabek, the clergy and staff of the Cathedral, and the Diocese of Birmingham, I wish you a very Blessed Christmas! A cordial welcome to our visitors and guests today along with our parishioners! We are thrilled you’ve joined us for this celebration of Christmas here at the Cathedral of St. Paul in downtown Birmingham! 

Today the Church proclaims, with unmistakable joy, what Isaiah announced long ago: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the One Who brings good news.” (Isaiah 52:7) Today, that good news is not an idea or a slogan—it is a person. It is Jesus Christ, born for us. With Psalm 98, we lift our voices in praise of God: “Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous deeds.” (Psalm 96:1) Christ is born! That is reason enough to celebrate, but for us, it is something even more. Its significance expands to provide meaning and purpose to anyone searching for the value of life itself.

This Christmas comes at a providential moment for the Church, as we near the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Hope. Over this past year, we have been invited to rediscover the theological virtue of hope. It is not some sort of wishful thinking, but a confidence rooted in God’s faithfulness, as One Who doesn’t renege on His promises but fulfills them. Christmas shows us what hope looks like when that which we long for deep in our hearts takes flesh and becomes one of us.

The first to receive this message of hope were the shepherds—ordinary people, fulfilling their duties and work obligations on the night shift (or as a youngster, it was known as the “graveyard shift”) waiting without knowing exactly what they were waiting for. When the angels announce the birth of the Savior, they say to one another: “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place.” (Luke 2:15) St. Luke tells us they went in haste. There was no hesitation or delay in their response to the glad tidings! They went looking, and, lo and behold, they found Christ. Then something utterly amazing happens. They return “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” (Luke 2:20) That is hope in action-encountering God and going back transformed. That is part and parcel of the Christian life. We encounter Christ and something changes within ourselves by which we see everything differently – and we see something more. We become new people with an outlook on life that is far deeper and more meaningful than anything one can imagine.

Bethlehem itself reminds us of how God works. This village was outside of Jerusalem but nearby. It was not a powerful or prominent town. It was not well connected or impressive as a village. Yet it was there, quiet and overlooked, that Christ entered our world. God chose a small insignificant place to begin something that would transform the world, indeed everything. Whenever I think of Bethlehem, I think of the many small towns around our diocese. They seem to be in places that are small and insignificant, but even there, Christ becomes present during the Mass announcing the good tidings, “I am here with you!”

We are told Mary and Joseph stand at the heart of this mystery. Mary, it is reported “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) Many of us feel a certain nostalgia today with the Christmas decorations, the familiar hymns and carols, the memories, the family traditions. Like Mary, we are invited not just to remember but to treasure. We are to recognize that God is still at work in our lives, often in ways that require patience and trust.

St. John the Evangelist gives us the deepest truth of Christmas in the very first chapter: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) The eternal God draws close in an unexpected way. As Pope Benedict XVI once said in a Christmas homily some years ago, God “has made Himself small so that we can understand Him, welcome Him, and love Him.” This is the foundation of our hope. Oh, to only hold Him in our arms and see the wonder and innocence that He is, eyes wide open to take in life.

That hope matters profoundly in our world today. We are keenly aware of wars, violence, anxieties, and troubles—both near and far. Many people are searching for something that will be the true solution to bring peace and good to all. What we needed was not a something, but a Someone to bring peace. Christmas reveals that peace does not come through force or fear, but through love made visible and vulnerable. Christ enters our world to refocus and redirect our lives toward mercy, reconciliation, and trust.

St. Leo the Great captured this beautifully when he proclaimed: “Christian, remember your dignity.” (Leo the Great, Homily for Christmas, Sermo 22) In other words, remember who you are! In the birth of Christ, we see both Who God is, and who we are called to become: people of hope, people who return, like the shepherds, glorifying and praising God for what we have seen and heard. Having encountered Christ, we can’t wait to tell someone of what we’ve found.

And that is why we are here today. We are here to celebrate hope fulfilled and hope renewed.

So, let me leave you with three simple words to carry with you from this celebration. 

Go. Like the shepherds, do not hesitate. Seek Christ where He chooses to be found, especially in the ordinary moments of life.

Ponder. Like Mary, hold the ineffable mystery close. Let Christmas shape your heart, not just your calendar.

Rejoice. Return glorifying and praising God. Gratitude is one of the clearest signs of hope.

And later today, when you gather with family and friends, and as you prepare to tuck into Christmas dinner, pause, if only for a moment. Thank God for this extraordinary gift: His Son, Jesus, born for us-the source of our hope and our peace.

All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God! Today, Christ is born! That’s Good News, indeed!