December 25

December 25, Nativity of the Lord - Mass during the Day

Reading I
Is 52:7-10

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings glad tidings,
announcing peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,
"Your God is King!"

Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,
together they shout for joy,
for they see directly, before their eyes,
the LORD restoring Zion.
Break out together in song,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the LORD comforts his people,
he redeems Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations;
all the ends of the earth will behold
the salvation of our God.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6.

(3c) All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.

All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

Reading II
Heb 1:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways
to our ancestors through the prophets;
in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son,
whom he made heir of all things
and through whom he created the universe,
who is the refulgence of his glory,
the very imprint of his being,
and who sustains all things by his mighty word.
When he had accomplished purification from sins,
he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say:
"You are my son; this day I have begotten you"?
Or again:
"I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me"?
And again, when he leads the firstborn into the world, he says:
"Let all the angels of God worship him."

Gospel
Jn 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14

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 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
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man's decision
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father's only Son,
full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out, saying,
"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.

or

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 not overcome it.
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
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man's decision
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father's only Son,
full of grace and truth.

COMMENTARY
The prophet Isaiah speaks about the Messenger of Salvation. It is a joyful shout repeated by the watchmen guarding the ruined walls of Jerusalem, and the people witness "the Lord restoring Zion". It is a thanksgiving hymn in response to the messenger.

For the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, God's speaking through his Son is primarily the revelation of his saving purpose in respect to the human race through the coming of Jesus and the eternal redemption achieved through his death and exaltation. "Christ is God's last word to the world; revelation in him is complete, final and homogeneous" (Moffatt, Hebrews 2).

In the beginning . . . the Word was with God: This recalls Gen 1:1 as well as traditions of Wisdom with God at the creation. The light shone in darkness: probably pointing to the darkness of unbelief. A man sent from God: the first of a series of passages on the role of John the Baptist - he is not the messiah but a witness. His own did not receive him: rejection of the Logos/light upon coming to its own place and its own people recalls the rejection of Wisdom in 1 Enoch 42:2. the Word became flesh: this goes beyond the OT images of divine glory and Wisdom dwelling with Israel.

REFLECTION
Only Joseph and Mary and the humble beasts of burden that shared the stable with them on that wonderful night witnessed his birth; yet the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ marks the greatest moment in history. No other moment has had such great impact on humanity. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us": this is the great mystery of the incarnation and why we celebrate Christmas - that God so loved his creation that to save it from its own destruction he offered himself. God, in the person of Jesus takes upon himself our own broken humanity, he becomes one with us. By humbling himself he will be exalted. This "King of kings" unites heaven and earth through the "poverty" of his birth, which ironically becomes the greatest gift to all mankind.

From the moment of his birth, God's plan for salvation is revealed. The message of this great moment is given first to those who were considered the lowest among society - the shepherds, the outcast, and sinners, those whom society had discarded. Yet to these humble men and women God chose to reveal himself first and later in life associate himself with them again when he called himself the "Good Shepherd". How great is God that to him, his creation is worth more than all the universe, and a repentant sinner is the reason for the gift of the incarnation.

Biblical Sources

New American Bible; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Seitz, C. (ed.) "Reading and Preaching the Book of Isaiah"; John J. Collins, The Collegeville Bible Commentary; Moffatt, J., "A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews"; Barrett, C.K., "The Gospel according to John"; Brown, Raymond E., "The Community of the Beloved Disciple"; Brown, Raymond E., S.S., "Introduction to the New Testament"; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (ed.) "The New Jerome Biblical Commentary".

Reflection

Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa