CHARLOTTE — Holiday decorations and fireworks shows signal the joy and gift of a savior, but we are called to “go beyond the show” and recognize what that reality means for our own lives, Bishop Michael Martin preached on New Year’s Day.
More than 200 people started their new year with Bishop Martin on Wednesday as he celebrated Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
The holy day has a special significance for Catholics in western North Carolina because Mary, Mother of God is the patroness of the Diocese of Charlotte.
Bishop Martin’s homily combined reflections both on the holy day and the fact that the Mass came at the beginning of a new year.
In a light moment, he asked the congregation, “Who made it to midnight last night?” Only a few people raised their hands. The bishop said he, too, did not stay up until midnight. “I can’t remember the last time I rang in the New Year at midnight,” he smiled.
“New Year’s Eve has got a certain thrill to it,” with fireworks shows that marvel and entertain, he admitted. “But once the fireworks are over, it’s still the same… there’s a lot of pop, but not a whole lot of sizzle. The show is over, the smoke clears, and our lives are exactly the same as they were before the show.”
He continued, “We’re called upon today to reflect on something that’s more than just a momentary show. We’re called upon to reflect today upon a reality that makes a difference – a reality that changes not just all of us, but changes the entire created universe.”
“God wants us to know that beyond the show, there’s real life … in Jesus,” he said.
“We’re called to continue our celebration of Christmas joy, to continue to hold up that the twinkle lights of Christmas, that the beauty of decoration isn’t just a decoration, but rather teaches us about a deeper truth: that we have been blessed by a savior, that when all the Christmas decorations come down, we will still have a savior.” — Bishop Michael Martin
The day’s readings offer perspective on God’s blessings and how special it was that God sent His Son to the world to be born of Mary, brought forth especially in the day’s Gospel from Luke which describes how Mary pondered on all the happenings of the Nativity in her heart, he said.
God desires to bless humanity through the gift of His Son, born of a woman and announced to the world, he said.
“To be blessed by God is a sacred and powerful and transformational dynamic. It’s not just a laser light show. It’s, rather, something that makes us different at our core,” he said.
Bishop Martin urged people to rejoice and to ponder – like Mary – about the special gift of Christ’s birth.
“We’re called to continue our celebration of Christmas joy, to continue to hold up that the twinkle lights of Christmas, that the beauty of decoration isn’t just a decoration, but rather teaches us about a deeper truth: that we have been blessed by a savior, that when all the Christmas decorations come down, we will still have a savior,” he said.
That reality changes us and calls us to respond, he said.
“Our challenge is to ask ourselves: what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do with this truth that has been given to us?”
God “empowers us – you and me, sinners that we are” – with the opportunity to build up His Kingdom here on earth, going “beyond the fireworks” to “last long, long, long – eternal – as the great kingdom that God has come to save and build in our midst.”
“That’s a pyrotechnic show worthy of staying up for, worthy of worship,” he said.
— Christina Lee Knauss, Troy Hull and César Hurtado.