Homily on Luke 2:15-21
Originally given 31 December 2023 at St. Alban's Church, Coventry
American President Theodore Roosevelt once said, 'comparison is the thief of joy.'
'Comparison is the thief of joy.'
These words have been ringing through my head this holiday season. For those who were able to attend an Advent group, we had some discussions about comparisons this time of year, and the pressure of all the commercialisation of Christmastime. Some might say it's harder on parents of young children, children who see shiny new toys on adverts and talk with school friends about everything they have or don't have. But it's also incredibly difficult for the recently, and not-so-recently bereaved, remembering Christmases from years ago with the people they loved who are now gone. Without a doubt it's difficult for people unable to celebrate in war-torn countries or places devastated by natural disasters. Instead of being the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas has become a time of comparing on social media who has the most Insta-perfect Christmas decorations, or who spent the most money on the most luxurious gifts, or who has the best matching Christmas pyjamas.
As we contemplate what Christmastime has become, I remind you of the opening quote, 'Comparison is the thief of joy.'
Today's Gospel reading tells of the shepherds hearing about the birth of the Christ child, and going to see him laid in a manger. In other words, the lowest class of people who were covered in mud and smelling of sheep were the first to hear that the saviour of the world, the king of kings, had been born, and they went to see that he was in a building used for livestock sleeping in a feeding trough for horses or cattle. And witnessing this scene, the shepherds responded with joyful praise.
Now two millenia later, we respond with joyful praise. Because Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Not because of the parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, or caroling out in the snow, but because God chose to become flesh in the most gritty way, celebrated by the lowest class of people, surrounded by the smell of manure and livestock. Christmas is wonderful because Christ shows us that the best gift comes from the most humble surroundings.
'Comparison is the thief of joy.' Nothing compares to the greatest gift the world has received. And we must not try to compare our Christmas celebrations with the secular, sanitised, gift-wrapped ideas of the world. Because our Christmas is not about what others have or don't have. Our Christmas is about what we have all been equally given: The gift of God made flesh in the form of a baby, born to show us pure love.
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