Jesus is in our midst today, born humble, lost, alone and despised….Do we “see” him?…..Is there still no room in the Inn?

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading we hear from the Prophet Samuel who tells us about King David…Jesus was born from the line of David…..Similar to Jesus, David was born a “no-body”…..”It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel”…All this happened right under the nose of the world…No one gave David a second look as he worked in the fields…Similarly, the same thing happened with Jesus….Born in a barn…..Juxtapose the “blindness” of the world to Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin…..When Mary greeted her, this is what she said….”When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”…Elizabeth immediately knew that God was in her presence…So the question we should consider is….How did Elizabeth understand and the rest of the world “missed it”…….The birth of Christ took place in real time - Its a historical event….And as his birth was taking place, the Inn Keepers turned Joseph and Mary away…They were “blind”……How can we ensure we do not “miss it”?

“O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.”

Mother Teresa was clear - When her sisters helped the poor around the world, they were directly serving Christ himself in the flesh….These are Mother Teresa’s words….”When we touch the sick and needy, we touch the suffering body of Christ”…..She goes on…..”Jesus comes to meet us. To welcome him, let us go to meet him: He comes to us in the hungry, the naked, the lonely, the alcoholic, the drug addict, the prostitute, the street beggars. He may come to you or me in a father who is alone, in a mother, in a brother, or in a sister. If we reject them, if we do not go out to meet them, we reject Jesus himself”…….Mother Teresa tells the world very directly, that we are still “blind” and “miss” Jesus in our very midst…He is in the poor she tells us - Or better put, He is the poor walking among us right in front of our eyes, poverty has many disguises, its not always material…..There are many ways to encounter Christ…One of those ways for people of good will to encounter Jesus, without knowing it is Christ is when they serve the poor with their own two hands…There is a great mystery in our service to the poor, which human eyes do not perceive…When we give ourself to others who need our help…..”Doors” begin to open in our hearts and our eyes slowly begin to “see”…I have witnessed this many times with people who serve the poor with Mother Teresa sisters around the world…..They may not realize it in real time, but as serve the poor, they are touching the wounds of Christ, when they reach a hand to assist the forgotten, the lost and the marginalized of the world…..In time, those who serve the poor “see”…And this acquired sight leads to the Blessed Sacrament, which is the light of the world

“The daybreak from on high has visited us”

Samuel the prophet reminds us at Mass today, that King David was a no-body and soon Jesus will be born, another “no-body”….In these two men, great things resulted….And the "sophisticated" world missed it….Mother Teresa also reminds us that we must learn to “see”….And in order to gain our sight, we must extend a hand to others - Giving of our self - Its too easy to give money……Mother Teresa said it best….”Jesus is the one we take care of, visit, clothe, feed, and comfort every time we do this to the poorest of the poor, to the sick, to the dying, to the lepers, and to the ones who suffer from AIDS………We should not serve the poor like they were Jesus. We should serve the poor because they are Jesus”…..Jesus is in our midst today, born humble, lost, alone and despised….Do we “see” him?…..Is there still no room in the Inn?