The journey -- HOW DID YOU GET HERE?

For whatever reason, as a child, I remember adults often asking each other at social gatherings a question that I thought was strange.  Shortly after arrival, coats now off and initial greetings expressed someone could be heard asking, “How did you get here?
”  It seemed to be an odd question, but I remember it being asked often and I remember hearing tales of the various routes as well as a debate of the benefits and hindrances of the route taken.  Except my relatives from Staten Island, they never knew how they got here, we were just glad they did. 

What I realize now is that the question, “How did you get here?” was a conversation starter, which led to other revelations about the person, as they spoke about their route. “I used to live over there.”  “I drive that way to get to work.”  “I grew up in that neighborhood.”  The recounting of the physical journey often provided information about the person’s life journey.  And just like sometimes the questions lead to further description about the quality of the person’s trip, “It was bumper to bumper on the Belt Parkway.”  “It was a beautiful ride looking at the trees on the Southern State.” In the same way, when we come to know a person’s life journey we may also come to understand the qualities of that journey, its joys and its challenges.

As I meditated on the mystery of the birth of Jesus, which followed a physical journey to Bethlehem, this question, “How did you get here,” came to mind.  It’s a question worthy of asking all who we find in that stable.  It is a question worthy of asking each of us who gather to worship in faith this Christmas. 

Joseph may have been inclined to ask this question of the shepherds, when they arrived at the place where his wife gave birth.  Perhaps they would tell of the path they took from the fields, but I am sure they would have perhaps recounted why they came in from the margins of society to this place.  Shepherds were an outcast people, having no real roots.  They handled unclean animals and did not have a practice of worship.  They cared for their flock on lands that they did not themselves own.  Yet angels appeared and told them not to fear, not to feel unworthy, they heard a call they did not understand.

How did you get here?  Maybe like the shepherds there are those who are living on the margins.  Looked down upon, not living a life of faith, poor in spirit and material wealth.  Yet for a reason perhaps difficult to explain, there is a call to celebrate the Lord’s birth, to be in his Eucharistic presence.

Mary may have asked the Magi, “How did you get here?” and they might answer describing their journey from far distant lands, but I am sure they might also tell her how their knowledge, their wisdom, their study and their intellectual gifts convinced them to follow the star to Bethlehem to the place where she lay her child.

Like the Magi, there are those who come to celebrate the mystery of Christmas and this Holy Eucharist after wrestling with doubts.  Being challenged by the wisdom of the world they have tried to understand who God is.  Struggling with these challenges to faith, they find themselves here at Christmas and at the Lord’s Table because of a wisdom and insight that comes from an understanding that doubt is not an obstacle to faith but a means to it.

If the Child, who would later identify himself as the Good

Shepherd could talk, he might have asked those sheep how they got here and if they could talk, they might simply say, “We followed the Shepherds – but we like it here because it’s warm.” 

How did you get here?  Some may not know why they come to the celebration of Christ’s birth.  They come because they follow a tradition.  They come not out of inspiration but perhaps invitation.  They come, not feeling any depth of faith but still appreciate the warmth of church and the prayerful environment.”

And all of these could ask the question of the Holy Family, “How did you get here, a stable in the middle of nowhere?”  In response, they might tell the tale of their physical journey from Nazareth.  Maybe they would share the depth of their faith, that in their lifelong closeness to God they trusted in his plan.  But maybe they would answer more simply, “We were homeless, we needed a place to stay.”

Many celebrate Christ’s birth and gather at mass regularly because they have in fact felt close to God throughout their lives and have trusted in his plan.  But those very same also like the Holy Family have to admit that they got here, because they would be spiritually homeless otherwise.

In fact the last answer is ultimately how we all come here to Christmas, to the holy celebration of mass.  We are spiritually homeless without the Son of God.  Because of the birth of Jesus, this world is not simply a place that God created, but the place where he now dwells among us. 

If we felt comfortable enough, we might pose the question to each other.  We might have the courage to tell the story of our journey through spiritual emptiness, a life on the periphery, overcoming doubts, hurts and other obstacles.  In that discussion we would come to see that each of us is spiritually homeless until we seek his presence and dwell with him.

One of the most frequently used words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis is, “dialogue.”  He wants us to ask questions and listen to the answers.  He wants the church to open its doors and ask all who come, not “Why are you here?” but “How did you get here?”  What is your story?  What has been the quality of your journey? He wants the church to say to all, be spiritually homeless no more.  Come and know the warmth of Christ and his Church.

Each Christmas, each celebration of the Eucharist is the culmination of a journey.  How we get here to the manger, to church, to the altar is a significant story that the Lord wants to know.  Most importantly he wants us to know him.  In his birth he became our companion on our journey.  And through his incarnation, divine mission and his passion, death and resurrection, he leads us from homelessness to the community of faith, the church, the Eucharist and the eternal home prepared for us.

We know how we got here, therefore let us rejoice that we are here in the presence of Jesus Christ the Newborn King.  Merry Christmas.