Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz - Episode 123139: 12/25/25 Waiting Well: Worth the Wait

Episode Date: December 24, 2025

Homily from The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) What if all I received was HIM this Christmas? We have waited for Jesus—and now that He is here, true gratitude is shown by living fully in the gift of His presence and love. Mass Readings from December 25, 2025:Isaiah 52:7-10 Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6Hebrews 1:1-6 John 1:1-18

Welcome to Sunday homilies with me, Father Mike Schmitz. I hope today's homily inspires and motivates you, and I also hope that it leaves you hungry for the one who gave everything to feed you. If you want to get this in other Sunday Mass resources sent straight to your inbox, sign up at ascensionpress.com slash Sunday, or by texting Sunday to 33777. You can also follow or subscribe on your podcast app for weekly notifications. God bless. The Lord be with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John, chapter 1, verse 1 through 18. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him, nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has to be. not overcome it. A man named John was sent from God.

He came for testimony to testify to the light so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own,

but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him, him. He gave power to become children of God. To those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation, not by, nor by human choice, nor by a man's decision, but of God. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. John testified to him, crying out, this was he of whom I said, the one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.

From his fullness, we have all received grace in place of grace because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only son, God, who is at the father's side, has revealed him, the gospel of the Lord.

We should have a seat. So I'm sure we've all had that experience of, you know, we've been waiting this whole, this whole advent, we've been trying to wait well. But I imagine we had this experience where the things that we waited for were kind of disappointing or maybe massively disappointing. I was just thinking, I was asking some of the people before Mass of just kind of kind of like, are there any like TV shows, any, any movies or any kind of sequels that were like, you were so excited for this thing to come out. And it was definitely absolutely like not worth the wait. And there were a number of things that were brought out,

you know, TV shows that were just like, okay, here's the finale. And the finale is the most, the largest letdown you ever possibly could imagine or even the sequel. You're going to wrap up this story and we're going to now we're finally going to know. I mean, there was this TV show back in the day. I don't know if you remember this at all called Pretty Little Liars. I'm not a watcher of this so pretty little liars. But the whole thing was, who is A, the letter A, right? The A is the person who's I think they're murdering people. So this is kind of a dark thing to talk about on Christmas Day. But at the end of I think season one or two, like, oh, we found out who A is. And then season three is like, oh, that was the right person. Here's another person. I'm like, oh my gosh, this is not

worth it. This is not worth the wait. There are things that we wait for, we anticipate, that we even try to wait well for, and we realize it's not worth it. You know, this entire, again, this entire season, this entire season of Advent, we've been talking about waiting well. And in fact, we've been talking about practical strategies or basically practical wisdom for waiting in general so that we know that waiting is not being passive, waiting is being engaged with this moment, with this life. We know that that waiting is not giving in to worry, but waiting is waiting with trust.

We know that waiting is not just being in a rush or being in a hurry, but being patient. And that we can actually, instead of complaining, we can praise God and find joy in waiting. We also know that we sometimes don't get what we wait for, but we can still rejoice. These are all general wisdom when it comes to practical wisdom, when it comes to waiting.

But we have to ask the question, what have we been waiting for here? Like, what is the point of Advent? What are we waiting for? We're not just waiting for the next step or the next thing or for, you know, the finale to be resolved. We're waiting for someone in particular. The whole point of Advent is Jesus.

Well, the whole point of life is Jesus. I mean, but this whole time of waiting has been waiting for that promised Messiah, right? Waiting for the Redeemer, waiting for the Savior, waiting for God himself. Yeah, the gospel today. and the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. The question we have is, is that worth the wait?

Like, is what God has done? Is that worth the weight? Because think about this. From the beginning of the story, from the actually very first story, here's Genesis chapter 1 and 2, chapter 3, everything falls apart. But in the midst of Genesis chapter 3, Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, God promises, he promises that there is going to be one who crushes the head of the serpent. there is going to be one who restores all things. And then the whole rest of the story is people waiting from Abraham to Isaac, to Jacob,

to the judges, to the kings, to the divided kingdom, to the civil war, to exile, through the whole entire story all the way to Jesus. Is that worth the wait? I was thinking about, you know, this, think of right now Christmas Day. I think a lot of us, we get really excited. I'm glad we're glad we made it to today. We'm glad we made it to December 24th yesterday, 25th. right now because we're excited about things. I mean, we, there are all the things we love about

Christmas. We all the things, all the fun, all the excitement, all the presents. I was reflecting on this as we got closer and closer to this day. What if we took away all those extra things? Like, what if this season right now, we didn't, we took away the songs and took away the movies? What if we took away the decorations? What if we took away the smells and the foods and the presents? What if we took away the fact that we get together, come together, the people? What if all those things that we love about this season, what if we took them all away and all we had was him? Honestly, what if all we had on December 25th is just a Holy Day of Obligation?

What if that's what it was? We're told the church says, okay, we need to come and celebrate the fact that we have Jesus. It's Holy Day of Obligation. again, no songs, no decorations, no smells, no food, no special anything, just a holy day of obligation on December 25th where we just celebrate the fact that we have him, would that be worth the wait? I think it may be, but maybe not for all of us. I think one of the reasons why is because many of us have never had to wait for him. I was thinking about parents recently and just how many parents wait for and pray for children.

And maybe even they get more than one. Same thing when it comes to your family. Maybe you have more than one friend or you have more than one sibling, more than one child. I was thinking about that because the reality is you only get one mom. You only get one dad. And I personally am coming up on the third anniversary of my mom's death. in February and I always had her, you know.

I always had this incredible blessing in my life. My mom was always there. I never ever had to wait for her. I always just had her. And I think because I always had her, I just, I mean, people told me, like, you know, be grateful for your mom. Of course I'm grateful for my mom. But I kind of missed it, right?

I always had her until I didn't. And this is the truth about all of our parents. always have your dad until you don't. Like that was the one you got. That was the one mom I got. That's the one dad you got. And there's not going to be another one. It's kind of like what David says, right?

David, at the death of his newborn son, he says, I will go to him, but he will not come back to me. I think sometimes we have the same perspective when it comes to Jesus. If you're raised as a Christian, no, there's never been a time when I haven't known him. There's never been a time when I didn't have him. I've never had, I've always had Jesus, I've never had to wait for him. But what if you did?

What if there was a time in your life where you might not get him? Would he be worth the wait? This happened to me last February. Last February, we were putting on a Valentine's Day retreat weekend. I'm not sure if I shared this before, but putting on a Valentine's retreat weekend out in California. And the retreat wrapped up on Saturday. And I needed to get back, I need to get to the airport in time to get back in time for Mass on campus here on Sunday. And so, you know, I looked at Google and Google told me that it would

take me like roughly an hour and 15 minutes to get from the hotel to the airport. And then I talked to the front desk and I said, no, no, no, it's going to be like two and a half hours to get from here to the airport. And I'm like, you're not as smart as Google. I'm going to trust Google. And I was wrong. I was dumb. Because I got it. So I lolly gagged, right? I kind of just talk to people and stuff. And I was like, oh, I'll go now because whatever. Get in my car, type in Google. Well, Google caught up to the front desk guy and said, actually, it's going to take two and a half hours. You know that little thing on your Google Maps that says when you're going to arrive? Yeah, I was sitting in the parking lot still and said I would arrive as my plane was boarding.

So I was like, oh my gosh, here we go. I spent the next two and a half hours because it was right. Google was wrong. Next two to half hours in the most anxious, stress-ridden drive of my life. I alternated between like saying, okay, God, I thank you. I praise you to like hitting the seat next to me. Just like in this under like panic calling and saying, are there alternate flights? Okay, maybe I can take like an overnight flight multi-destination, kind of an airport stop

in order to get to Mass. No priests were available in town. All of this chaos. All this. So I'd get there. And a rental car. Why'd have rental car? Because I had to drop off the rental car.

Ask the guy, do I need my keys? He's like, no, just throw him in there. Take off. Where do I go? Where's the tram? It says that way. So I'm running. I'm racing up these stairs.

Get to the tram. Wait. Okay, I have to wait. Tram's going to come. Get on the tram. Nine stops. It was nine stops between where I got on in the rental place to the terminal. It's like, okay.

once again, once again, alternating between like, Lord, your will be done to like, oh my gosh, what's happening? Finally get to the terminal race. I get to TSA. How was that guy? I was completely that guy who was like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my plane's taken off. I'm sorry, you know, Minnesotan. I'm so sorry, sorry, my planes taken off.

Got through. People got out of the way. They're very, very nice. And ran, it ran the whole way all the way to the gate. And I kept thinking, I should stop. I should walk. I know, you cannot stop and walk. You have to get there.

I got to the gate as they were saying, this is the final call. We're closing the doors. And I was like, oh my gosh. on the jetway. And you guys, I was so overwhelmed with relief. I was so overwhelmed with joy. I was so over on my gratitude, I sat down on the plane. And I'm not a talker on the plane. Like, I'm not here to visit with anybody. But the guy next to me, like, hey, how are you doing? Like, let me tell you a story. Like, I am, the whole saga. And then I'm just so grateful. Praise the Lord. Because the thing is this, for the next number of weeks, like truly, even now,

almost a year later, I think about that. And I am like this, this sense of gratitude. The sense of thankfulness just bubbles up. Why? Because I look back in that and think, if only one thing was different, I would have missed that flight. If I were to waited just a little longer, would have missed the flight.

One more red light, I would have missed it. If only one thing was changed. If I didn't, if the guy said, actually you need to sign something for a rental car before you go, I would have missed the flight. If I would have got to the tram and saw it taken off

and had to wait for the next one, I would have missed the flight. If people that hadn't got out of my way, I would have missed the flight. If I didn't run, I would have missed the flight. If only one thing was different, I would have missed it. So again, I just, once it, every day, every moment I thought of this,

I just thought, oh my gosh, that was my one chance. And I made it. This is Christmas. Here is Jesus. He's our one chance. Even one thing was different. We would be lost. If Abraham hadn't been faithful,

If Isaac hadn't been faithful, if Jacob hadn't been faithful, if Ruth hadn't been faithful, if Naomi, her mother-in-law, hadn't been faithful, if Deborah hadn't been that faithful judge, if Mary, our mom, hadn't been faithful. If one thing was different, we wouldn't have him, but we have him. And so we're grateful because he's worth the wait. You know, that's the proper response, right? The proper response to this moment is gratitude. to be here to do what we're doing, to be praying.

The proper response to this gift is thankfulness. Here at Mass, and of course, like every moment, every movement, every minute we think of this, is just to be thankful. I also know this, though. We also know that the best way to thank someone for a gift is not just to say thank you. The best way to thank someone for a gift is to actually use the gift. I don't think about all the people who will receive presents today. They can take the present from their parent and say,

well, thank you very much. and then put it away or give it away. But the best way to thank someone is to use the gift. The gift that you might not have gotten, but here it is. What's the gift? We have access to the Father. Because of Jesus, we have complete access to the Father's heart. Because of Jesus, we have new life in the Holy Spirit.

Because of Jesus, because of this gift, we can live a life of power and of love and of self-control. Because of this gift, we have the opportunity to live the relationship. And this is the last thing. I think you've waited well. And I think that he's been worth the wait. But what now? Just a little over a week ago, a friend of mine got married to her husband. And this is a gift. This marriage, this vocation is a gift that not only has she been praying for for years, but she's been committed. demanding me to pray for her for years.

And so she finally has, the gift she'd been waiting for. So she has gratitude and he has gratitude. But even more than that, what are they called to do? They're called to use the gift. What does that mean? They're called to live the relationship. It's not just about, okay, got married on such and such a date.

It's okay, now I get to live this. And then the joy, the challenge, the invitation of every single day is How can I live this relationship, this relationship that I waited for this relationship, I prayed for this relationship that I longed for? How do I live this relationship in a way that recognizes the depth of the gift? So that's what she and her husband are doing now in week two of being married, is asking that question, how do I now live the reality of this gift?

And that's what we get to do here on Christmas Day. We have longed for him. we've prayed for him we've waited for him and now we have him the best way to thank God for the gift of his son is to use the gift the gift

the best way to live now is to live that relationship because we have waited well and he is worth the wait Thank you.