20171225
REJOICING IN CHRIST OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR
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First reading
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Isaiah 9:1-7 ©
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The people that walked in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow
a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater,
you have made their joy increase;
they rejoice in your presence
as men rejoice at harvest time,
as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.
For the yoke that was weighing on him,
the bar across his shoulders,
the rod of his oppressor,
these you break as on the day of Midian.
For all the footgear of battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
is burnt,
and consumed by fire.
For there is 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.
From this time onwards and for ever,
the jealous love of the Lord of Hosts will do this.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 95(96):1-3,11-13 ©
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Today a saviour has been born to us: he is
Christ the Lord.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Today a saviour has been born to us: he is
Christ the Lord.
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Today a saviour has been born to us: he is
Christ the Lord.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,
let the sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
Today a saviour has been born to us: he is
Christ the Lord.
With justice he will rule the world,
he will judge the peoples with his truth.
Today a saviour has been born to us: he is
Christ the Lord.
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Second reading
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Titus 2:11-14 ©
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God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible
for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up
everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be
self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world,
while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the
Appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus. He sacrificed
himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a
people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do
good.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Lk2:10-11
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I bring you news of great joy:
today a saviour has been born to us, Christ the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 2:1-14 ©
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Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to
be taken. This census – the first – took place while Quirinius was
governor of Syria, and everyone went to his own town to be registered. So
Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and travelled up to Judaea,
to the town of David called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line,
in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with
child. While they were there the time came for her to have her child, 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 at the inn.
In the
countryside close by there were shepherds who lived in the fields and took it
in turns to watch their flocks during the night. The angel of the Lord appeared
to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but
the angel said, ‘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. And here is a sign for you: you will find a
baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly with the
angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing:
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace to men who enjoy his favour.’
25 DECEMBER, 2017, Monday, Christmas Day
REJOICING IN CHRIST OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISAIAH 9:1-7; PS 96:1-3,11-13; TITUS 2:11-14; LUKE 2:1-14 ]
Why do
Christians rejoice on this day? What are we celebrating? There are many
reasons but the real reason is given by the angel. “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.” Indeed, the real cause of the Church’s rejoicing is because a
Saviour has been born to us. Christ is our hope, joy and life.
Hence, the
depth of our rejoicing is dependent on whether we regard Jesus as our Saviour
and our Lord. The presumption is that we need a savior and He is none other than
the Son of God. If you do not need a savior, then there is no real
reason to rejoice. The birth of Christ would just another social
event. Christmas for the world is merely a social celebration, a time to
make merry with others mainly because it is coming to the end of the year as
well. Others do it out of respect and consideration for their Christian
friends. Most do it for the goodwill that the celebration of
Christmas promotes. Such motives even if they are not Christian are not
all that bad because they do promote unity and love among men, which is also an
objective of Christ’s coming.
Beyond that,
there is no reason for non-Christians to celebrate. Certainly, they are
not rejoicing because of the birth of Christ. It is understandable as
Christ does not mean much to them. For people without faith,
a savior is not needed as there is no sin because everything is relative.
For them there is no objective truth in what they do. At any rate, they
do not believe there is hell or heaven. They believe that when they die,
they will just return to the earth. Life ends on this earth forever.
In fact, the
world wants to deny the universal impact of Christ’s coming into the world. It is even difficult
for the world to admit that the birth of Christ has changed the whole course of
history. We know that the demarcation of the history of the world was
seen in terms of B.C. Before Christ and A.D. that is In the Year of Our
Lord. But because of secularism and the desire to eliminate the
superiority of Christ from the world, it is more fashionable to use the
Gregorian Calendar as BCE (Before Christian Era) and CE (Christian Era).
Indeed, there is a denial of the importance of Christ such that even when the
world celebrates Christmas, they will not greet us “Merry Christmas” but
“Season’s Greetings” instead. Why do we need to greet each other on
Winter when we do not wish each other during the other seasons of the
year! The truth remains that the world wants to wipe out Jesus from our
history! But we have no problems wishing others “Happy Deepavali”,
“Selamat Hari Raya Adil Fitri” or “Happy Vesak Day”.
As
Christians, the cause of our rejoicing is that Christ is our Savior; not just
ours but the savior of humanity. He is not even just one
among many other earthly saviors, as some religions might concede Him to be one
of the many messengers of God, or even a spark of the Eternal light. For
us He is the unique and only Son of God. He is the fulfillment
of the prophecy of Isaiah, “For there is 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.” He is the image of God. Only
someone who is God could be given such lofty titles.
As God is the
King of Israel and the universe, the Messiah is therefore the King of Kings. “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
psalmist says, “With justice, he will rule the world, he will judge the peoples
with his truth.” The mission of Christ therefore was to establish the
Kingdom of God, the reign of His Father through His words and deeds. His
message is about the rule of God’s love which is that of mercy and compassion,
justice and peace. Accordingly, the Lord was born at Bethlehem as
prophesied by the prophet Micah which confirms Jesus as belonging to the House
of David.
But how is
Jesus our Saviour and our King? What does He deliver us from? He brings us
light in darkness. “The people that walked in darkness has seen a
great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has
shone.” Today, many of us are walking in darkness. Many do not know
the meaning and purpose of life. They just live from day to day, like an
animal; sleep, eat, work and enjoy. That is why their lives are
joyless. Life for most people, is making money, having luxuries and being
famous. But all these worldly pursuits, even if we can obtain them, will
not bring us life. How then can we live in the light?
Firstly,
Jesus shows us that the way to live is to live for others. This is what St Paul
wrote in the letter to Titus. “God’s grace has been revealed, and it has
made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we
have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our
worldly ambitions.” Jesus came as a servant. He was born in a cave,
unlike earthly kings who are born in palaces. He had no ambition except
to do the will of His Father. His life is one of self-emptying even
unto death. He came especially for the weak, the sick, the wounded and the
poor. The Good News of salvation was announced first to the poor
shepherds in the fields, people who were despised by society. Yet, they
were the ones who were actually supplying the lambs to the Temple for
worship. Jesus identified Himself as the shepherd and the lamb.
Indeed,
Christmas celebrates the giving love of God. He emptied Himself by becoming a man
like us. The almighty God came as a child to show us His love. He
did not come in His majesty, otherwise we might be overwhelmed by Him, fearing
Him instead of loving Him. He was unlike the earthly kings who ruled by
might and power. He came as a baby, innocent and vulnerable so that we are
attracted to Him by love, not by submitting to him in fear. “And here is
a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in
a manger.” God wants to draw closer to us in love and through love. That
is why the life of Jesus was one of humble service, living amongst men, eating
and journeying with them in joy, sorrow, weakness and in pain. This is
why at Christmas we give gifts to each other, in imitation of the giving of God
of His life to us in His Son Jesus. Through sharing out gifts with the
poor and our loved ones, we offer our lives to them and together we celebrate
love and joy.
Secondly,
Christ not only showed us the way to live, but He wants to liberate us from our
bondages and our sins. “For the yoke that was weighing on him, the barb across his
shoulders, the rod of his oppressor, these you break as on the day of
Midian.” What was the yoke of the Israelites? It was their enemies,
their oppressors within and without. Today our yoke is our sins of
selfishness, pride, greed, envy, lust, especially unforgiveness, anger and
revenge. It is our sins that destroy the peace in us and our unity with
our fellowmen.
Jesus
delivers us from our sins through His death on the cross. “He sacrificed
himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a
people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do
good.” He shows that our sins are forgiven through His forgiveness at the
cross. Through His death, He reveals to us the mercy and compassion of
God. We too can be set free, if we share in the forgiveness of our Lord
by relying on His compassion and in turn set others free who have offended
us. God is always forgiving and therefore we should not be afraid of
Him. By His death on the cross, we cling to His love and mercy and using
the mercy we received, we change ourselves. Through Christ, we do not
have to be burdened by our past. We are called to forgive ourselves and
to move on. Through His death and resurrection, He pours forth the
Spirit of love into our hearts, making us adopted sons and daughters of God.
Thirdly,
Jesus shows us how to live for a higher purpose in life. There are many good
people who live for others but Jesus shows us that the world that is awaiting
us is eternal life with God our Father. It is not enough to live for this
world because this world is passing. But we do not live in hopelessness
and despair. By His death and resurrection, Jesus shows us the life that
is ahead of us. What we do in this life is but a foretaste of the life
that is to come. St Paul urges us to be “self-restrained and live good
and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope
for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great
God and saviour Christ Jesus.” The celebration of the first coming of
Christ is oriented towards the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time when
He will hand over the kingdom back to His Father and God will be all in
all. (Cf 1 Cor 15:24-28)
So as
Christians if we were to celebrate Christmas truly, then we must acknowledge
that Christ is our King and our saviour and our Lord. He is the Way, the
Truth and the Life. We must allow Him to rule our hearts and
minds. We must follow Him in a life of self-giving and humble
service to our fellowmen. In this way, we establish His kingdom of
justice, truth, mercy and love as an anticipation of the final kingdom that is
to come at the end of time. So as the angel said, “Do not be afraid!”, we
are no longer afraid of our past, because He has forgiven us of our sins.
We are no longer afraid of the future, because we know the future is in God’s
hands and He is our Future. We only need to live fully in the present, by
living a righteous life based on the gospel of love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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