Is 52:7-10.
Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6.
Heb 1:1-6.
Jn 1:1-18 Full Readings
Unto Us a Child is Born
Happy and Merry Christmas Brethren. Today is the day that the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it, for our Saviour Jesus Christ is born; the Lord has remembered his people and has raised a king amidst us who will rule in righteousness and justice and the light of the world. Let us Rejoice and celebrate.
Over these past weeks of Advent we have prepared our hearts to encounter Jesus in his manger, and that moment has arrived. We bring to the infant Jesus the gifts of our weaknesses and strengths, our efforts and failures, our self-offerings, and even our sinfulness. We are confident that Jesus receives it all, and loves us. “Jesus is born for humanity searching for freedom and peace. He is born for everyone burdened by sin, in need of salvation, and yearning for hope” (St. John Paul II). It is good news for as we see in the first reading, a time to rejoice in the Lord for what he has done to us. All the ends of the earth have seen his salvation and the Lord has comforted us for he has come to us in human form.
Heaven and earth are united today, for Christ is born! Today God has come upon earth, and humankind has gone up to heaven. Today, for the sake of humankind, the invisible one is seen in the flesh. Therefore let us glorify him and cry aloud: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace bestowed by your coming, Savior: glory to you! Today in Bethlehem, I hear the angels: glory to God in the highest! Glory to him whose good pleasure it was that there be peace on earth! The Virgin is now more spacious than the heavens. Light has shone on those in darkness, exalting the lowly who sing like the angels: Glory to God in the highest! Beholding him [Adam] who was in God's image and likeness fallen through transgression, Jesus bowed the heavens and came down, without change taking up his dwelling in a virgin womb, that he might refashion Adam fallen in corruption, and crying out: glory to your epiphany, my Savior and my God! [Stichera (hymn) of the Nativity of the Lord].
Who is this child who is born? John Baptist prophesied that the one coming after him is great, he is the light of the world. In the second reading, we see that this child is truly the Son of God. God used to speak through the prophets but now he has come to us in his Son Jesus Christ. He is higher than the Angels and is a begotten Son of God. How blessed are we that God's Son has come to us in this humble state. He is the full revelation of God and whoever has seen and known him has seen and known God. This is the cause for our joy because God is no longer alien to us, he is among us, he is Emmanuel.
He is truly man and truly God. John describes Jesus as God's creative, life-giving and light-giving word that has come to earth in human form. "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Jesus is the wisdom and power of God which created the world and sustains it who assumed human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. Jesus became truly man while remaining truly God. "What he was, he remained, and what he was not he assumed" (from an early church antiphon for morning prayer). Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother. From the time of the Apostles the Christian faith has insisted on the incarnation of God's Son "who has come in the flesh" (1 John 4:2).
Christians never cease proclaiming anew the wonder of the Incarnation. The Son of God assumed human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. The Son of God ...worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things except sin (Gaudium et Spes).
Why was it necessary for the Word of God to become flesh? We needed a saviour who could reconcile us with God. Throughout the ages Christians have professed the ancient Nicene Creed: "He became man for our sake and for the sake of our salvation." The eternal Word became flesh for us so he could offer his life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world through the shedding of his blood on the cross. The Word became flesh to show us the infinite love and tender mercy of God for us sinners.
Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great early church fathers (330-395 AD) wrote about why Jesus came here on earth: Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Saviour; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in such a miserable and unhappy state?
The Gospel also clearly shows that the child who is born is God, he is the Word who was there from the beginning through whom all life came forth, was with God and is God. How blessed are we to have God in our midst. He came to his own but his own did not accept him but those who accepted him were made children of God.
Brethren, through Jesus Christ we become children of God. However, we become children of God only if we accept and welcome Jesus to be born in our lives. Advent was the time to prepare for welcoming him into our lives. Let us all welcome Christ in our hearts, in our families, and in all what we do. Let him, the King of glory, rule our lives and guide every step we take so that we may never lose the way to God. He wants to dwell with us and among us and save us from all that lures us behind and stops us from receiving the graces and the truth that he brings. Have you received the Child Jesus in your life? Let him be born in your heart and let him take control.
In our day and age, Christmas has become very secular in many parts of the world. Few people take time on Christmas to truly pray and worship God for all that He has done. Few people continually proclaim that glorious message of the Incarnation to family and friends during this most solemn celebration. How about you? Are you able to be a true “prophet” of the Most High God this Christmas? Has the Holy Spirit overshadowed you and filled you with the grace needed to point others to this glorious reason for our celebration?
Reflect today on the wonderful gift for us of baby Jesus today. Celebrate, jubilate but above all take time to pray, praise and worship God for the whole world has seen his salvation through the birth of Jesus Christ today. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Let us Pray
Almighty Father, we thank you for the gift of your Son, born today. As we celebrate and jubilate on this day, may you keep this joy with us forever so that at his return, we are found with the same joy and be taken to reign with you eternally. Amen
Merry Christmas to You and be blessed.
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