Deacon Mike Meyer / Wednesday, December 24, 2025 / Categories: Blog, Homilies Heavenly Peace Homily for the Nativity of the Lord Ted “hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!”[1] When he was in college, the greed and consumerism that clung to Christmas annoyed him so much that he penned a piece for the Dartmouth student newspaper suggesting that we “stop the whole thing.”[2] Unfortunately, Ted’s sour attitude toward Christmas continued well into his adulthood. So much so that while brushing his teeth on December 26th of his fifty-third year, Ted noticed a very Grinch-like face staring back at him in the mirror. He realized, then, that it wasn’t Christmas that had gone wrong; it was him. So, he set out to rediscover something about Christmas that he’d lost.[3] Something our Christmas readings help us find. Our Christmas Masses bless us with cherished readings filled with tidings of comfort and joy. A child, the Messiah foretold by Isaiah in our first reading and celebrated in our Psalm, is born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem of Judea. This child, Jesus, whom shepherds guard and angels sing, will usher in a new era, a boundless kingdom where we encounter the light of perfect, heavenly peace. We all want peace, whether it’s peace from war and violence, peace from the “noise, noise, noise, noise”[4] of our busy lives, or maybe even peace from the hustle and bustle of Christmas. We tend to think of “peace” as the end of war, tranquility, or freedom from disturbance, but the peace prophesied by Isaiah and fulfilled in Jesus Christ is much deeper than those definitions allow. The peace of Christ is best expressed by the Hebrew word—shalom (שׁלום). Shalom certainly means “peace,” but it also means “well-being,” “inward completeness,” and “wholeness.” It’s a peace that gives us “dreamy sweet dreams without care.”[5] So, while we may want peace from the craziness of life, we crave, even need, the peace, the shalom, that can only be found in God through Jesus Christ—the peace made available to us on that first Christmas night in Bethlehem and ever since. That peace is what Ted was missing. You see, people have an infinite yearning for this peace, this shalom, that only the infinite source of peace itself can fulfill. The infinite source of peace is God. So, no matter how hard we may try, we’ll never find the deep, eternal peace, the shalom we crave without God in our lives. That’s why Saint Augustine famously confessed to God, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You”[6] The only hope for peace on earth, then, is peace between heaven and earth. The only hope for peace in our lives is peace between us and the one who gave us our lives. Peace rests in our relationship with God, and God took the first step in rebuilding that relationship when he sent his only begotten Son to redeem us from our sins, reconcile us with God, and give us the best Christmas present imaginable—the profound, eternal peace that only God can offer. Now it’s up to us to accept that gift. How do we do that? We begin with a strong dose of humility. To develop a relationship with God, we need to admit that we need God. We have to acknowledge that God’s our creator and we’re mere creatures, that all we have comes from God, and that without God, we’re nothing. We do this through prayer, praise, and worship. In short, we go to Church. I know I say it a lot, but I’m going to say it again: People who attend religious services at least once a week experience lower overall mortality rates, less anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and loneliness, and higher rates of life satisfaction, social integration, and purpose in life. In Church we find God, and in God we find peace. If you crave peace in your life, come to Church! We also receive the gift of Christ’s peace when we live as Jesus taught us to live, when we love God by loving and serving our neighbor—feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and providing for the poor. Numerous studies confirm that people who find a purpose beyond themselves, who engage with and help others, are physically, mentally, and spiritually healthier than those who don’t. We receive the gift of God’s peace when we give the gift of God’s peace to others. If you’ve “puzzled three hours, till [your] puzzler got sore,”[7] trying to find a little peace in your life, dedicate your time, talent, and treasure to helping others, and you’ll find it. That’s what Ted did. You see, Ted was an exceptionally gifted writer and illustrator, so he decided to write a children’s book to help himself, and maybe others, rediscover what he’d lost. He cast himself, in a way, as the protagonist who journeys from being a “nasty, wasty skunk” to an esteemed guest at the Who-ville Christmas feast, where he himself was honored to carve the roast beast. ‘Twas the Grinch Who Stole Christmas who helped old Ted see that Christmas was not what he thought it to be. It isn’t the presents, the grind, and the greed; it’s the gift of Christ’s peace that all of us need. “And what happened then . . .? Well . . . in Who-ville they say, that [Ted Geisel’s] small heart grew three sizes that day!”[8] Merry Christmas! May the peace of Christ be with you all! Readings: Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14 [1] Dr. Seuss, Your Favorite Seuss, ed. Janet Schulman and Cathy Goldsmith (New York: Random House, 2004), 160. [2] Seuss, 166. [3] Seuss, 158. [4] Seuss, 163. [5] Seuss, 170. [6] Augustine, The Confessions 1.1.1. [7] Seuss, 186 [8] Seuss, 186. The Kingdom of God Is at Hand! Print 130 Please login or register to post comments.