Homily, Fully Present to the Word Made Flesh
Christmas Day, 2025
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
Plant City, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Can you hear that? The silence?
Can you feel that? The stillness?
Do you see that? The beauty?
It takes a lot to get to Christmas, doesn’t it? Making it to Christmas is no small feat!
All of the holiday shopping. The baking. The preparing of meals. Organizing parties. Music practices. Traveling through winter storms. Cleaning the house. Battling traffic. Talking to relatives you have a hard time talking to.
And the rest of life doesn’t stop either. Keeping up with the dishes, the laundry, homework, job responsibilities, getting sick, your loved ones getting sick.
Preparing for Christmas sometimes feels like it’s own, extra, part time job! It seems like all your free time from mid-November to the end of December is filled up preparing for the day. And throw a wedding in the mix!
And with all the busyness and hectic energy we carry with us to this day, there is a risk of allowing this moment to completely pass us by. In all of the preparing for Christmas, we can so easily forget to be fully present in this Christ-Mass. And while today’s gathering is certainly more quiet than it was last night, even today, there is a temptation to allow our minds to float to what comes next. The rest of the day. The meals. The clean up. The playing with presents. Even today we are at risk of allowing the sacred beauty of this moment pass us by.
And yet perhaps the circumstances of the first Christmas were not so different from our own in that way. Though there are two thousands years and a continent between us, in the Christmas story you can imagine just how hectic and stressful it must have been for all those involved.
Think of Mary. Imagine her, young, unmarried, traveling while nine months pregnant. How do you think she felt? What was going through her mind?
And think of Joseph, about to raise a child that was not his own, arriving in Bethlehem only to find the hustle and bustle of the city crowding his young family out into a cold stable. How do you think he felt? What was going through his mind?
And think of the shepherds. Working into the late hours under hard working conditions, caring for sheep prone to wander, feeling the brunt of the weather. How do you think they felt? What was going through their minds?
The story we hear at Christmas begins in circumstances just as hectic as our own, and probably more so. And yet in the middle of all the chaos and stress, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
At the angel’s voices, the shepherds immediately stopped everything they were doing, and made their way into Bethlehem to see this child. To witness the miracle. To be fully present to this Divine gift.
Jospeh stood quietly by his family, taking it all in, fully present to this Divine gift.
And Mary, utterly exhausted from having just given birth, listened to the shepherd’s testimony, pondering their words in her heart. Fully present to this Divine gift.
Today there is an opportunity for the good news of Christ’s birth to break open our own stressful and hectic lives. There is an opportunity to lay down all of the stress and chaos that has led us here. There is an opportunity to ponder in our hearts the miracle of Christmas. To be fully present to this Divine gift.
For the words of the angel stand true today, “to you is born this day a Savior.” To you is born this day a Savior, a Healer, a Reconciler, a Peace-Maker, a Teacher, a Friend.
Let us not let this moment pass us by. Let us not let Christmas pass us by. Let us not let this season pass us by.
Do you hear that?
Do you feel that?
Do you see that?
The Word has become flesh. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
- How often do I allow the busyness of my life to distract me from being fully present during significant moments, such as Christmas?
- In what ways can I create space in my life to reflect on the meaning of the Christmas season amidst the chaos and preparations?
- What feelings or thoughts surface for me when I consider the experiences of Mary and Joseph during their journey to Bethlehem?
- How can I respond to the invitation to be more present to the people and experiences in my life as I recognize the Divine gifts around me?
- What steps can I take to ensure that I embrace the peace and joy offered through the message of Christmas, not just during the holiday season, but throughout the year?
Thoughts on Faith 