December 24, 2025
Have you ever noticed how some of our most beloved Christmas carols sing of Christmas in the present tense?
- Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright, Christ the Savior is born
- Come, all ye faithful – come and behold him, born the king of angels. Yea Lord we greet thee, born this happy morning
- What Child Is This? – who laid to rest on Mary’s lap is sleeping
- O Little Town of Bethlehem how still we see thee lie.
- Good Christian Friend Rejoice – Christ is born today!
- Joy the World – the Lord is come
Our early Christian forebears used a Latin term to describe the mystery of Jesus’ birth among us. The term is Hodie which means “today” or “now” or “nowadays.” Our ancient forebears who sang and spoke “hodie” were not inclined to neatly chop up time into past, present, and future but saw time as a continuum. So, Jesus birth was spoken of as today.
Yes, the past is indeed commemorated. Yes, Jesus was born very long ago in Bethlehem, but the mystery of Christmas is in the present. Now. In this time, in our time. Nowadays.
Christ is born in us tonight, today. Into this messy world. Into this weary and war torn world. Into this world filled with complicated relationships, injustice and unnecessary tyranny. Into this world of suffering and sorrow and into this world of joy and hope and peace. This Christmas mystery is now and evermore.
Why is this so important? Well, we can easily relegate Jesus’ birth to the past and that may give us even more permission to over-sentimentalize Christmas, but to know that the mystery of Christmas is today, we profess that Christ continues to bring light out of darkness, speech out of silence, hope out of despair, life out of death.
Today the Word is made flesh in this Eucharist and among us gathered here in worship and through God’s work in the world around us in what is seen and unseen.
Today love is come and will never leave us. For the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Amen.