Sunday:       Christmas Mass during the Day
Date:         December 25, 2001
Year:         A
The readings: [Is. 52:7-10; Heb. 1:1-6; Jn. 1:1-18]
The message:  All things came into being through Him.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  2011

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"All things came into being through Him." [Jn. 1:3] All thing had their beginning through the Lord Jesus who's birthday we are celebrating today on this beautiful Feast of Christmas Day.

Today's First Reading from the Book of Isaiah [Is. 52:7-10] stated, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'" [Is. 52:7] These words echo similar words that are found in the same book of the Scriptures, "Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Juday, "Here is your God!" [Is. 40:9]

These passages tell us that when the coming of the Messiah was announced, the messenger ran along the mountain ridges while shouting the good news to those below, "peace, salvation, your God is coming to reign!"

Along the ruined walls of Jerusalem, the watchmen heard the cry of the messenger. They raised up their voices and sang with joy when they heard that the Lord was coming to Jerusalem. So vivid was the coming of the Lord in their minds that they could literally visualize the Lord restoring the city before their eyes. [Is. 62:6- 7]

The arrival of the Lord is a call for all to rejoice. It echoes the words that are found in the Book of Zephaniah. "Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst." [Zeph. 3:14-15, 17]

As biblical history teaches us, Jesus triumphantly entered the holy city [Mt. 21:1-11; Mk. 11:1-11; Lk. 19:28-40; Jn. 12:12-19] to fulfill the prophecies that the Lord would be in the midst of His people in Jerusalem. Furthermore, while appearing to His disciples for 40 days after His glorious Resurrection, "He ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father." [Acts 1:4] "When the day of Pentecost had come," "all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." [Acts 2:1, 4] Following these wonders, in Jerusalem, our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church had its birth.

Today's Second Reading from The Letter to the Hebrews [Heb. 1:1-6] reveals to us the relationship between Jesus and the Heavenly Father.

Throughout the days of the Old Testament, God the Father spoke in many and various ways to mankind through the prophets. [Heb. 1:1] When this reference is made to the prophets, it is not only limited to the prophets who have an Old Testament Book bearing their names. During the history of God's people, there were many other great prophets, Abraham [Gn. 20:7], Moses [Dt. 18:18], Nathan [2 Sam. 7:2] and Elijah [1 Kgs. 18:22]

The Second Reading continues, "In these last days God has spoken to us through His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also created the worlds." [Heb. 1:2] The words "In these last days" are a reference to the last days of the Old Testament. In those last days that ended with the coming of Jesus on earth in human form, God the Father would no longer continue to speak to His people as Yahweh. His Divine communication would now be manifested through the Lord Jesus who is the "one Mediator between God and humankind." [1 Tim. 2:5]

Over and above this, as much as it was possible for the human mind to perceive it, God was about to reveal Himself through Jesus. As Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." [Jn. 14:9] Jesus "was the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and He sustains all things by his powerful word." [Heb. 1:3]

Jesus died on the Holy Cross for our salvation, that each and everyone of us may be saved. When He had made the perfect sacrifice, the "purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." [Heb. 1:3; Ps. 110:1; Acts 2:34-36; Rom. 8:34; 1 Pet. 3:22] To sit on the right hand of the Father is symbolic of saying, "The work is completed!" or "The saving work of the Lord Jesus has made our peace with the Father!"

Over and above having sat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Jesus had become "as much superior to angels as the Name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs." [Heb. 1:4] The Name of Jesus is far superior to that of the angels. Jesus is not an angel. He is the High Priest who performs His Divine work from the Heavenly sanctuary.

The Name Jesus is eternal. It belonged to Jesus prior to the incarnation of God. It belonged to Jesus prior to His exaltation. In the Gospel of John, we read two times that Jesus, as One God, shared His Name with the Father. [Jn. 17:11-12] The exaltation of Jesus included the addition of the word "Lord" to the Name of "Jesus." "Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." [Phil. 2:9-11]

What proof is there that Jesus is above all the angels? God never said to any of the angels, "You are my Son: today I have begotten you." or "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son." [Heb. 1:5]

When God brought the firstborn into the world, He said, "Let all God's angels worship Him." [Heb. 1:6] Why is Jesus called the firstborn? It is because He is the "first fruits" [1 Cor. 15:20] of many to follow in the world to come, the world that will be subject to Him and not to the angels.

During today's Reading from the Gospel of John, [Jn. 1:1-18] we heard that "In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." [Jn. 1:1] The Holy Catholic Church teaches us that Jesus was truly the creative Word of God who existed prior to the beginning of time. As God, Jesus is eternal, having no beginning and no end.

When studying the meaning of the "Word" of God in the Old Testament, it is learned that it means "Divine utterance." In those days, the "Word" represented "God's manifestation of Himself." The Divine manifestation of God was seen in creation, in deeds of power and grace and in prophecy.

The first few verses of the Gospel of John reveal to us that Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is the ultimate and complete revelation of God to mankind. Jesus "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Him all things in Heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers - all things have been created through Him and for Him. He Himself is before all things, and in Him allthings hold together. He is the Head of the Body, the Church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in Heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross." [Col. 1:15-20; Jn. 1:3; Heb. 1:1-4]

Jesus "was in the beginning with God." [Jn. 1:2] There never existed a time when Jesus as the Word of God was not with God. "What has come into being in (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of all people." [Jn. 1:3-4] What is life? Is it the animation that is found in human beings, in the animals, in the birds, the fish and the trees? No, it is not! When it is said that "the life was the light of all people," it is meant that the life that human beings receive from the Word is the sharing in the being of God Himself. This Divine gift kindles the seed of supernatural life in humans so that they may share in the Divine life of the Holy Trinity.

The sharing in the life of God enlightens the minds of the believers. In the Light of Christ, the believers come to perceive Divine revelations with knowledge, understanding and wisdom.

When the light shines in the darkness, the darkness does not overcome it. [Jn. 1:5] Those who share in the life of the Word, persecution cannot take away this blessing. Nor can suffering, torture or emprisonment. While man may destroy the physical body, he cannot kill the spiritual life of the soul that is deeply rooted in Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify to the Light so that all may believe in Jesus. He Himself was not the Light. John the Baptist was the forerunner of God's Kingdom, preparing the way for the arrival of the Messiah. What John the Baptist was doing is parallel to what we were called to do when we received the Sacrament of Confirmation. We have been called to preach and defend our faith in Jesus Christ, be it in the religious life, in marriage, as children, and even as elders. Our work never ends! There are no holidays for those who do the work of the Lord God.

Jesus "was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him." [Jn. 1:10] What does it mean that the world did not know Jesus? Not to know Jesus means to fail to have a daily personal relationship with Him! It means to look at Baby Jesus in the manger and to be indifferent. It means to look at Jesus crucified on the Holy Cross and to be indifferent. It means to lack the appreciation that Jesus came into the world to save us from our sins.

Those who know Jesus, those who believe in His Most Holy Name, those who appreciate what He has done for them, He gave the power to become children of God. Our personal commitment, our living faith in the Word, moves the grace of God to bless us with a new birth so we may qualify for the inheritance of the eternal Kingdom that awaits the righteous. Our new birth is not of flesh, but of the Spirit, [Jn. 3:6] of "the seed of God." [1 Jn. 3:9]

"The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth." [Jn. 1:14] Jesus took on the exact human nature as we have. He became one with us in everything "except sin." [Heb. 4:15] He lived among us in the same manner as God dwelled with the Israelites in the days of the Old Testament, in the Sanctuary [Ex. 25:8] and in the land. [Numb. 35:34]

"From the fullness of Jesus we have all received, grace upon grace." [Jn. 1:16] We cannot measure in human terms the endless graces that we have received from Jesus. He has blessed us with the Church that enriches our spiritual lives through the Sacraments. His Word has drawn us into His mystical Body, qualifying us for the adoption of God's children. While we are still sinners, weak and unworthy of such grace, He enables us to share in His Divine life. All these things have come into being through Jesus. Indeed, "All things came into being through Him."

Let us be thankful to our Lord Jesus forever, especially today as we continue with the celebration of the mystery of the Holy Mass.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'

Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion.

Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." [Is. 52:7-10]

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Second Reading...

"Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.

He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God every say, 'You are my Son: today I have begotten you'? Or again, 'I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.'" [Heb. 1:1-6]

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Gospel Reading...

"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 into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he 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 into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, 'This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.' From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known." [Jn. 1:1-18]

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