20161225 THE GRACE OF
GOD REVEALED IN THE INCARNATION TRANSFORMS US
Isaiah
9:1-7
1 The people that
walked in darkness have seen a great light; on the inhabitants of a country in
shadow dark as death light has blazed forth.
2 You have enlarged
the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as people
rejoice at harvest time, as they exult when they are dividing the spoils.
3 For the yoke that
weighed on it, the bar across its shoulders, the rod of its oppressor, these
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
4 For all the
footgear clanking over the ground and all the clothing rolled in blood, will
be burnt, will
be food for the flames.
5 For a son has been
born for us, a son has been given to us, and dominion has been laid on his
shoulders; and this is the name he has been given, 'Wonder-Counsellor,
Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace'
6 to extend his
dominion in boundless peace, over the throne
of David and over his kingdom to make it secure and sustain it in fair
judgement and integrity. From this time
onwards and for ever, the jealous love of Yahweh
Sabaoth
will
do this.
Psalms
95:1-3, 11-13
1 Come, let us cry
out with joy to Yahweh, acclaim the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come into
his presence with thanksgiving, acclaim him with music.
3
For Yahweh
is a great God, a king greater than all the gods.
Titus
2:11-14
11 You see, God's grace
has been revealed to save the whole human race;
12 it has taught us
that we should give up everything contrary to true religion
and all our worldly passions; we must be self-restrained and live upright and
religious lives in this present world,
13 waiting in hope
for the blessing
which will
come with the appearing of the glory
of our great God
and Saviour Christ
Jesus.
14
He offered himself for us in order to ransom us from all our faults and to
purify a people to be his very own and eager to do good.
Luke
2:1-14
1 Now it happened
that at this time
Caesar Augustus
issued a decree
that a census
should be made of the whole inhabited world.
2 This census
-- the first -- took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria,
3 and everyone went
to be registered, each to his own town.
4 So Joseph
set out from the town of Nazareth
in Galilee
for Judaea, to David's town called Bethlehem, since he was of David's House and
line,
5 in order to be
registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
6 Now it happened
that, while they were there, the time
came for her to have her child,
7 and she gave birth
to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in
a manger because there was no room for them in the living-space.
8 In the countryside
close by there were shepherds out in the fields keeping guard over their sheep
during the watches of the night.
9 An angel
of the Lord
stood over them and the glory
of the Lord
shone round them. They were terrified,
10 but the angel
said, 'Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be
shared by the whole people.
11 Today in the town
of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
12 And here is a sign
for you: you will
find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying
in a manger.'
13 And all at once
with the angel
there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God
with the words:
14
Glory to God
in the highest heaven, and on earth peace for those he favours.
THE GRACE OF GOD
REVEALED IN THE INCARNATION TRANSFORMS US
“The people that
walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep
shadow a light has shone.” This is such wonderful news for all of
us. We too are struggling like the Israelites in exile. We feel
hopeless and discouraged. Nothing seems to be going well. Our projects do
not seem to take off. We are stuck in situations where there is no
solution in sight. We are trapped in relationships that we cannot get
out. Our marriage is not working well in spite of all attempts to repair it.
Our relationship with our in-laws and children or siblings do not seem to be
getting any better. We are worried about our financial situation, the
prospect of losing our job, our health and medical bills, our studies and
exams, or looking after our elderly ones or the sick and home-bound loved
ones. Others find their work so stressful because of politics, injustices
and discrimination in the office. Finally, others are confused as to what
it means to live an authentic life. In all these different ways, we are
living in darkness and in the shadow of death. Even on the eve of
Christmas, our hearts are heavy and deep within us, we feel sad and
disheartened. We cannot feel the joy and peace of Christmas. What is
there to celebrate?
What hope is there for us? Can we see
some light at the end of the tunnel? Christ is the light of the
World. The little light that appeared as a star in the sky has become the
radiant light of God’s glory. St Paul says, “We are waiting in hope
for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great
God and savior.” Christmas is the celebration of light. Christ is the
light for humanity. He is the one that lights up the darkness around us,
symbolizing the beginning of new life and hope.
How is Jesus the light, that is, the
revelation of divine grace? St Paul wrote, “God’s grace has been
revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human
race.” The grace of God refers to His mercy and love for us.
The wonderful message of Christmas is that “a child born for us, a son given to
us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him:
Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. Wide is his
dominion in a peace that has no end, for the throne of David and for his royal
power, which he establishes and makes secure in justice and
integrity.” The coming of the Messiah fulfills this revelation of
God’s grace for us.
In the first place, Jesus is the light of
hope for us because Christmas celebrates the Emmanuel, the presence of God
among men. It is an unbelievable and amazing claim that God has become
man. The almighty God has taken flesh upon Himself. In assuming our
humanity, God is now one with us. As scripture tells us, He is like us in
all things but sin (Heb 4:15).
Because He knows our weaknesses and our temptations, our pains and our
struggles we can therefore “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:15f) So
we can no longer say that God is far away from us. As such, we are not
alone in our struggles and in our pains. The Son of God who took our sins
and infirmities in His body is identified with us. He empathizes with us.
Secondly, Jesus is our Light and Hope because
He is the Wonder-Counsellor. He is the One who reveals to us the
mysteries of God. Jesus said, “All things have been delivered to me by my
Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father
except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Mt 11:27) Jesus is
the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father,
but by me.” (Jn 14:6)
So if we want to find meaning in life,
Christ is the answer to every mystery and riddle of life. He is the
authentic and perfect man for all to model after. The birth of Christ is
meant to enlighten us, to give us the light of hope and life, but provided we
are ready to be purified so that we “could be his very own and would have no
ambition except to do good.” He reveals to us that life is meant to be
lived for God and for others. We find meaning in life only when we become
like Him, a life-giver to others through our acts of love, mercy and compassion
for those who are suffering and for sinners as well. He reveals to us
that love and life triumph in the end over hatred and death. If we have
lost our direction and meaning in life, we must come to Him in prayer and
contemplate on how our Lord lived and died for us. His entire life
reveals to us the meaning of life, suffering, death and our final destiny.
Thirdly, Jesus is our light and hope
because He reveals to us the Eternal Father as the mighty-God. Very often
people misunderstand the power of God. They say that God is omnipotent
and He can do whatever He likes. This is true but not quite
accurate. He is almighty more in love and mercy. He does not
use power like us to control people’s life and dominate them. He uses His
almighty power to allow us to be free to choose and to love. God is almighty in
love, mercy and compassion. The power of God in Christ is shown in
weakness. This is especially so in the incarnation. At Christmas,
we see Jesus the King of Kings being born in a manager, in a stable. He
came to live amongst us, not showing forth His glory but in His human weakness
in the form of a little baby. Most of all, the power of God in human
lowliness is seen in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.
Fourthly, Jesus is the light of the world
because He is the Prince of Peace. Peace is made “secure in
justice and integrity”, says the prophet. Many of us cannot find peace in
this world because we are not living a life of justice and integrity. We
are living sinful and evil lives. We are cheating, slandering and
depriving others of their rights and dignity. We ill-treat our workers
and fail to show them respect and appreciation. We must never forget that
workers are human beings and they need rest as well. Conversely, workers
sometimes do not earn an honest living by doing their work properly. At home,
we are irresponsible towards our family members. We make use of our
friends and colleagues to get what we want. Often, we lack
integrity. When that happens, it means we are not at peace within, which
is then manifested in our actions towards our fellowmen.
Thus, peace must come from God first and
foremost. If we find that we are evil and divisive, it is because there
is no peace in our hearts. If we want to restore peace and reconciliation
in the world, the primary reconciliation is with God. Only God can give
us that inner peace in our hearts. When that union with God is broken,
man lives only for himself and makes himself the source of everything. He
becomes insecure, selfish and self-centered. This can be seen throughout
the history of salvation, from Adam and Eve to Cain and Abel, to the Tower of
Babel, throughout the era of Moses and the prophets. For that reason,
Christ is our peace. In Christ, we come to know that peace comes from
forgiveness, mercy and love. He has come to reconcile us with God so that we
can be reconciled within ourselves and among ourselves. In Jesus, we see the
mercy and love of God the Father. Peace begins with God and then with us
before it can be given to others. Hence, the song, “Let there be peace on
earth but let it begin with me!”
Today, as we celebrate Christmas, when we
reflect on Christ as the grace of God revealed to us, we are called to
transform our lives accordingly to be like Christ. He has “taught us that
what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all
our worldly ambitions.” St Paul urges us that “we must be self-restrained
and live good and religious lives here in this present world.” Indeed, in
vain is our Christmas celebration if we do not seek to live the life of love
and service in humility, doing good by extending His love to others. We
too must sacrifice our lives for our fellowmen. To celebrate Christmas
without changing our lives is to miss the whole point of our celebration.
So let us in celebrating the coming of
the light of Christ into the world, radiate His love and presence like the
angels. We are called to be that little light of Christ that shines in
all that we say and do. We are to give hope and encouragement to the
world; a hope that is founded in God and in His mercy and love. With the
angel, we must also tell the world, “Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news
of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of
David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
This message must first be proclaimed to
the poor, materially or spiritually poor, for the first announcement went to
the shepherds who were considered the outcasts of society. Let us go
forward and share this good news about Jesus who is the revelation of God, the
revelation of God’s grace and mercy by our own lives of love, mercy, compassion
and forgiveness. This would be the best gift we can give to Jesus at this
Christmas and to our brothers and sisters, more than all the material gifts we
can give. How sad are those who celebrate Christmas simply by indulging
themselves, forgetting that the joy of Christmas is in giving like Jesus and
loving those who are suffering because of poverty or sickness or abandonment or
loneliness. Their Christmas cannot last beyond the material
celebration. But for those who have the spirit of Christ in their hearts,
the joy of Christmas extends beyond Christmas day to the rest of the year.
Written by The Most
Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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