First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm: Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6 (3c)
Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-6
Gospel: John 1:1-18
Christmas Day has finally arrived! Jesus has come! The long period of anticipation, longing and
waiting is over!
There are four sets of readings for Christmas for the Vigil and
the Night Masses on Christmas Eve and for the Dawn and the Day Masses on
Christmas Day. I have been meditating on
the fourth or Day reading.
The first three readings proclaim the greatness, celebration,
praise and joy of second person of the Trinity (the Son) and announce His
arrival as a completed work, past tense, even though at the time the first two
readings (the first reading and the psalm) were penned the future event they
prophesy about had not occurred. Even
the second reading from New Testament looks back (from our human time-based perspective)
to the first person of the Trinity’s (the Father’s) celebration of the
begetting of His Son and His entrance into the world, commanding all of the
angels of God to worship His Son.
Isaiah reveals the coming second person of the Trinity as
none other than our God, our King, our Restorer, our Comforter, our Redeemer,
the bared Holy Arm of God and our Savior.
The Psalmist proclaims Him as God’s victorious Right Hand,
His Holy Arm, His revealed Salvation and Justice.
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims Him to be God’s
Word, God’s Son, the Heir of all things, God’s creative agent through whom He
created the universe. He is the radiance
(refulgence) of is Glory, the Very Imprint of His Being, the Sustainer of all
things by His mighty word, the Purifier from sins, the Right Hand of the
Majesty on High, far superior to and worthy of the worship of all the angels of
God. Wow!
In these first three readings, all peoples, lands and
nations and angels are expected to and commanded to rejoice, praise, sing and
worship over this coming King who has come and been revealed as one of us human
beings, starting out as a newborn babe lying in a stable manger in Bethlehem of
Judea because there was no room for Him at the inn. His birth is attended by the angels, lowly
shepherds and his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph.
The Apostle John in the Gospel reveals the greatness of God’s
eternal Word made flesh and of the proclamation of His coming by His faithful
herald John the Baptist. But John also
records the condition of the world into which He comes and its reception of
Him. The world is in darkness and does
not know its Creator and His own people, the people of the Promise, largely did
not accept Him.
But to those few who did and who do accept Him He gives
power to become children of God.
His coming has had a great and lasting impact on the world
in the 2,000 years since His first coming.
About a third of the world’s population claims to be Christ followers
but how many of us have really accepted and are accepting Him as our Savior and
our King? How many of us this day are
more consumed with the trappings of Christmas (presents, food, family
traditions, etc) than with our King who this day is supposed to celebrate? Is Jesus an abstraction to us or a real
person who leads us, talks with us, walks with us, rejoices and cries with us, changes
us and saves us as we wander on our journey through this world that is not our
home?
If we let Him in today, we can do today together and He can
guide all of our interactions with the people we come in contact with. He can increase His light and His love in the world
through us. Come, Lord Jesus, make it so!
Merry Christmas to all!
Merry Christmas to all!
