The late Fr. Dela Costa, the first Filipino provincial superior of the Jesuits, delivered this homily at midnight Mass at the Ateneo Law School. This reflection piece was selected for CDN readers by columnist Juan L. Mercado.

CHRISTMAS is when we celebrate the unexpected; it is the festival of surprise.

This is the night when shepherds wake to the song of angels; when the earth has a star for a satellite; when wise men go on a fool’s errand, bringing gifts to a Prince they have not seen, in a country they do not know. This is the night when one small donkey, bears on its back, the weight of the world’s desire, and an ox plays host to the Lord of heaven. This is the night when we are told to seek our king, not in a palace, but in a stable.

Although we have stood here, year after year, as our fathers before us, the wonder! has not faded; nor will it ever fade; the wonder of that moment when we push open that little door, and enter, and entering find, a mother who is virgin, and a baby who is God.

Chesterton has said it for us all: the only way to view Christmas properly is to stand on one’s head. Was there ever a home more topsy-turvy than Christmas, the cave where Christ was born? For here, suddenly, in the very heart of earth, is heaven; down is up, and up is down; the angels look down on the God who made them, and God looks up to the things he made.

There is no room in an Inn for Him who made room and to spare, for the Milky Way, and where God is homeless, all men are at home. We were promised a savior, but we never dreamed God Himself would come and save us. We know that He loved us, but we never dared to think that he loved us so much as to become one of us.

But that is the way God gives! . His gifts are never quite what we expect, but always something better than we hoped for. We can only dream of things too good to be true; God has a habit of giving things too true to be false. That is why our faith is a faith of the unexpected, a religion of surprise.

Now, more than ever, living in times so troubled, facing a future so uncertain, we need such faith. We need it for ourselves, and we need to give it to others. We must remind the world that if Christmas comes in the depths of winter, it is that there may be an Easter in the springtime.

Every day is Christmas when you have the kind of mind,
That stores up all the goodness and the sweetness it can find.
When you don’t need an occasion, to spread a bit of cheer,
But just keep on a-giving, of yourself throughout the year.

Every day is Christmas, with a gaily wrapped surprise,
When you’ve learned to see the friendship, in someone else’s eyes.
When you try a little harder, and complain a little less,
Holding fast to all the fervor of the faith that you possess.

Every day is Christmas, when you’ve found that you can be
More concerned with words like “you” and less with “I” and “me.”
When it’s fun to do a favor, and to lend a helping hand,
When being understood means less, than when you understand.

Every day is Christmas, with a beauty deeply cast,
When you find it doesn’t matter, if you’re first or if you’re last.
When you can face your conscience, and be glad of what you are,
Then every day is Christmas, with a stable and a star.

Over 2,000 years ago on a dark winter night, an amazing event occurred. A star of incredible brightness appeared over a small town in the area we now call the “Middle East”. This star was a signal that the Savior had been born.

Its brightness drowned out the light of all the other stars, a bright shining light in the darkness of man’s existence. The light of this stellar event was to serve as a beacon to all. It was not just visible to the rich, but also the poor. Kings and paupers both trembled in awe of this signal from the Almighty. The sight of the angel of the Lord, appearing to the shepherds in the fields, was to announce the coming of the Savior.

The wisemen of the time knew that this coming had been foretold, and journeyed to the town to worship the newly born child. The celestial body acted as a guide, an ancient day “Bat signal”. Calling those from near and far, to Bethlehem. This infant was the promise of the Messiah, the Lamb of sacrifice. Born so that the world might know God, and sent to his death so that the world might have everlasting life.

A shining beacon that both the poor and the prosperous were drawn to. A symbol of unquestioning love, of forgiveness and of the life we should lead.

In His birth, all eyes turned toward heaven, for this was a miraculous star. And in His death all eyes again were lifted upward, there hanging on a cross, beaten and bleeding. Both of these scenes hold the same promise, Love from the Father and forgiveness for all of our sins.

When you look at your Christmas tree this year, look at the gifts under it, then allow your eyes to move upward to the star. Remember what it represents.. . a new life, announced by a brilliant, sparkling light.

Sent to show the way, to remove our sin, and to bring the love of the Lord into our hearts. As you look at this decoration, take time to think of this…you are doing the same thing that peasants and princes did over 2,000 years ago. Lifting their eyes to a sign from God, and bending their knees in honor of the gift below.