Transcript of Abbot Clement's Homily at Christmas Morning Mass, 2002

        Why did God become man? If we remember our Creed we know exactly why, He came in order that we may be saved. That’s really not the full story. Because the angels proclaimed the glory of God and they want to reveal what this glory is. If you remember your Old Testament when Moses was called to strike the rock before the people because they were crying out they were thirsty in the desert. Moses got angry at the people. So he had to strike the rock twice. Then later on the text says, "that the Lord would not let him go into the promised land because he didn’t give God glory." What is this glory that this feast shows forth. God is infinite. And He needed to manifest His glory. Not for us or any need in that sense. But because love likes to give itself away. And so God had to find a way to do this. And so he found a way in which his love would surpass any deserving return. And so precisely because mankind was in sin, and precisely because he couldn’t help himself out of this misery, God did good to us while we were yet sinners. Paul says in a number of places, to show that God’s love is greater, infinitely greater, than man’s sinfulness, and therefore give us a hint the glory of God’s sheer goodness. 

        Therefore, theses truths of why God became man are the foundation for our life as monks because we are a people of praise. We gather four times a day together and once privately to give praise to God. We give praise especially in the morning at Lauds, and especially we focus on thanksgiving at Vespers. What’s the quality? What’s the shape? What’s the real graspableness of this praise and thanksgiving? Is it generic? "Oh yes, I remember my courses. I was taught that God is good. So we better get up today and praise Him." "Oh yes, God came, He died on the cross and therefore let’s acknowledge it and give Him praise due His great sacrifice." If, as we said last night, if the fall undercut man’s consciousness of the presence of God and we are affected by it then also we are affected in our appreciation, our openness to this great work of redemption and therefore our praise is feeble and weak. If we really claim that today what Jesus did by becoming a human being in the flesh made it possible and real that each of us is a child of God and if we really appreciate the fact that we are a child of God, then shouldn’t we be dancing and happy? That I’m a child in the kingdom. That God is indeed my Father. Where should that praise come from? From a text book? Because scripture says so? Or because I have some taste, some experience that I am a child of God. But it’s true, I am a child of God. Take any example you want. Look at Paul before he was converted. He was killing people, in the name of God. Sounds like the Al-Quida. God touched his life. When God touched his life he turned 180 degrees and he says, "it’s not I who lives, but Christ lives in me." 

        I remember the story of Corey Tenboom and when she was giving these talks after the concentration camps, in these different parishes, and talking about experiences about how God was present in the concentration camps and so on. One day as she was giving the talks at the end the people came up congratulating her. She saw this camp Commandant coming up and all of a sudden there rose in her all the resentment, hated, and anger at him. So she cried out, "Lord, help me." The Lord is usually very strange. Just as he put his hand out to her, she was able to forgive him. She experienced the grace of God’s forgiveness for him. Our praise , our adoration have to be based upon getting in touch with the actual transforming power that our faith proclaims. So we sense that we are children of God. That we can say in the morning, "praise to the God who saves me." And give concrete examples of where this has happened. If you read the life the diary of Sr. Faustina Kowalska, you will see that after she made vows she says things like, "I feel like I am a child of God." "I feel that I belong to God." And if we read the book of Revelation’s, chapter 21 God is manifested in all things so there is no light in the city of God, because God is the light of everyone. Then since we’re on the way to that, then there should be greater graces and moments that says, "Lord, I know this is your light, I thank you." "Lord, you gave me the power to forgive that person, Lord you gave me the guidance in this situation, Lord you provided this in this situation." So that our praise is authentic, it’s real, it’s contemporary. Because salvation is not something that will happen, or did happen, it’s happening for those who believe.