Jesus Is Born, Emmanuel – God Among Us
(Mass During the Day)
Introduction
When God wanted to show himself as he is in a way we could understand, he became human, one of us, appearing with the face of a child. He showed himself in all our fragility, as if saying: Do you see now that I am near to you, that I am with you not to overpower you but with the face of peace and love and trust? Let us welcome with joy the Lord who comes to live among us and to join us on the journey of life. Now we can become more like God.
1 Reading Isaiah 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
R.(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.
R. 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.
R. 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.
R. 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.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
2 Reading Hebrews 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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A holy day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, and adore the Lord.
For today a great light has come upon the earth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel John 1:1-18
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 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.
Commentary
Christmas! The great feast of the amazing grace of God’s love for humanity! The Word that is God becomes a helpless, defenseless human baby! God, who is perfection personified, whom the universe cannot contain, becomes a finite, localized, and fragile child. God who is life is born as a mortal. All this, out of God’s love for us, His desire to redeem us! On this Feast of all feasts, let us listen to the great mystic, Meister Eckhart:
“Here in time we celebrate the eternal birth that God the Father bore and still bears constantly in eternity, and which is also now born in time, in human nature. St. Augustine says that this birth is happening continually. We should ask ourselves: If it doesn’t happen in me, what good is that birth after all? What ultimately matters is that God’s birth should happen in me.” May Christ’s birth—a Merry Christmas—happen in you and me!
Blessing
Our hearts can sing tonight with joy
of God’s love for us, his people.
With Mary we can sing her song of thanksgiving:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has done great things for us.”
Yes, we remember on Christmas
that his Son Jesus has become one of us.
He is here as our companion in life.
He lifts up the wounded,
and he shows us in himself
that God loves us very deeply
and will never abandon us.
With joy we receive the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace and again,
a holy, happy Christmas to all of you. R/ Thanks be to God.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!