Homily – Tuesday of the Christmas Octave “Growing Strong in the Light”

During the Christmas Octave, the Church slows us down.
She refuses to let Christmas become just a day that passes.

Instead, she asks a deeper question:
What does it mean to live differently because Christ has come?

Today’s readings answer that.

St John speaks with clarity and honesty.

He addresses everyone —
children, parents, young people.

Why?

Because Christmas is not only for one age or stage.
It is for the whole Church.

John says something very strong:

“I write to you because your sins have been forgiven.”

That is Christmas in one sentence.

Forgiveness has entered the world.
Not in theory,
but in Christ.

But John immediately adds a warning:

“Do not love the world or the things of the world.”

He does not mean creation.
He means a way of living that forgets God.

Christmas does not invite us to decorate sin.
It invites us to leave it behind.

John is very realistic.

The things that promise happiness —
pleasure, pride, possession —
do not last.

“The world and its desires are passing away.”

That is not meant to depress us.
It is meant to free us.

Christmas joy is not clinging to what fades.
It is belonging to what lasts.

“Whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

That is hope grounded in truth.

The Gospel gives us Anna.

She is elderly.
She has known loss.
She has waited many years.

And she recognises Christ immediately.

Why?

Because she has been watching and praying.

Anna shows us what St John means.
Her heart is not attached to passing things.
It is fixed on God.

So when salvation arrives quietly,
she sees it.

Luke’s words are careful and deliberate:

“The child grew and became strong.”

Christ lacks nothing.
From the first moment of His conception,
He possesses the fullness of divine knowledge and grace.

And yet, in taking our human nature,
He chooses to live a truly human life.

He grows in body.
He grows in experience.
He grows within the ordinary rhythm of time.

Christmas reminds us that salvation does not bypass humanity —
it heals it from within.

We are not transformed all at once.
We are formed over time.

We grow strong by staying close to Christ,
by letting go of what draws us away from God,
and by learning, day by day, to love what truly lasts.

Today the Church gently reminds us:

Christmas is not over.
It is still working on us.

Forgiveness has been given.
Light has entered the world.

Now we are asked to choose how we live.

Like Anna,
may we keep our hearts fixed on God.

Like St John urges us,
may we not cling to what is passing.

And as Christ shared our human life in time,
may we grow strong in grace
and live in the light Christmas has brought.