The world is already moving on from Christmas.

The Church refuses to.

Because what we are celebrating is not a moment,
but a mystery that takes time to enter into.

Today’s readings draw us deeper —
beyond the crib,
beyond sentiment,
into the meaning of what has happened.

The first reading from Sirach speaks of Wisdom.

Not as an idea.
Not as advice.

But as something living.

Wisdom comes forth from God.
She pitches her tent among His people.
She takes root.

The Church has always heard this as more than poetry.

What Sirach calls Wisdom,
the Gospel will reveal as the Word.

Christmas is the fulfilment of this promise:
God’s Wisdom does not remain distant.
He comes to dwell among us.

Not above us.
Not beyond us.

With us.

The Gospel today does not begin with Bethlehem.

It begins before time.

“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.”

This is the Church’s answer
to every attempt to reduce Christmas
to atmosphere or memory.

The child born in time
is the eternal Word.

He is not created.
He is not promoted.

He is God.

And yet the Gospel says something even more astonishing:

“The Word became flesh
and dwelt among us.”

God does not merely visit humanity.
He makes His home with us.

He chooses nearness.

St Paul tells us why this matters.

He says that God chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world.

Christmas is not a response to failure.
It is part of God’s eternal plan.

From all eternity,
God desired to share His life with us.

And so He sends His Son
to draw us into that life.

This is why Paul speaks of blessing, adoption, inheritance.

Christmas is not simply about God coming close.
It is about God making us His own.

St John is honest.

“The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it.”

But he also tells us:

“He came to His own,
and His own did not receive Him.”

Christmas is not automatic.

The Word comes.
The light shines.

But it must be received.

And receiving Him changes us.

“To those who did receive Him,
He gave power to become children of God.”

This is transformation.

The Word did not dwell among us only once.

He still does.

He dwells among us in His Church.
He dwells among us in the Scriptures.
He dwells among us in the Eucharist.

Christmas continues every time
Christ is welcomed,
listened to,
and received.

This is why the Church lingers over Christmas.

Because the Word has not gone away.

So the Church asks us a quiet but serious question today.

Not whether we enjoyed Christmas.
But whether we will live from it.

Will we allow the Word to dwell in us —
to shape our thinking,
to correct our choices,
to heal what is wounded?

Will we live as people who know
that God has come close
and has not withdrawn?

Because Christmas does not end at the crib.

It moves toward the Cross —
and beyond it, toward glory.

The child we adore
is the Word through whom all things were made
and through whom all things are redeemed.

On this Second Sunday of Christmas,
the Church gathers everything into one truth:

Wisdom has made her home among us.
The Word has taken flesh.
God has chosen to dwell with His people.

May we receive Him —
not as an idea,
but as Lord.

May the Word dwell in us.
May His light guide us.
And may our lives show
that Christmas has truly taken root.