The Word became flesh

 Scripture readings for Christmas Day can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/122516-day.cfm

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…

Since the beginning of December everyone has been busy preparing for the coming of Christmas. Christmas shopping, Christmas decorations, Christmas parties, Christmas music on the radio since Thanksgiving. Santa Clause at the end of the Thanksgiving Day parade! All of this is good, but does it really point to the true meaning of Christmas? In all this hustle and bustle that we've been dealing with for the past month are we really centering our selves on the birth of Christ? Are we truly preparing ourselves for what Christmas really is?

What we should have been remembering and celebrating during all this past month of preparation is the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago. Today we are celebrating the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us.

We can learn from the Old Testament prophets what the true meaning of Christmas is. They were waiting for the coming of the Messiah for centuries. During today's First Reading from the Book of Isaiah, he continues to proclaim that God was coming into the world through Jesus. Isaiah says, “All the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God.” Jesus is that salvation that Isaiah was talking about.

In our second reading from Hebrews we are reminded that in the Old Testament God spoke to the people in many and various ways through the prophets. But, when Baby Jesus was born, things changed. Now, God was going to speak to us through His beloved Son. For it is Jesus, through whom all things were created, that God had appointed as Lord and Savior for all people.

We see in Jesus a reflection of the glory of God. Jesus is the very imprint of God's very being. Jesus told his disciples that whoever sees Him, sees the Father.

Jesus, the Son of God, sustains all things by His powerful Word. When He had made the perfect human sacrifice on the cross as the Lamb of God for the remission of the sins of the world, He sat down at the right hand of the Father. His work on earth as Jesus in physical form was completed. Now, in conjunction with the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is ruling over His spiritual Kingdom in Heaven and on earth.

Baby Jesus came into the world for each and everyone of us, so that we may be saved. Through Jesus, our living faith that is manifested through the Sacraments of the Catholic Church leads us towards the Light of God and the truth as our assurance of salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Let us never forget this! From the time we rise in the morning to the time we go to bed at night, let us always be thankful to Jesus for manifesting to us the goodness and love of God.

On this Christmas Day let us forget all the hustle and bustle of the past month in preparation for this day. Let us remember that it is the presence of Christ born of the Virgin Mary that we celebrate! Let us, like John the Baptist, point out to others in our lives that Jesus ranks ahead of us, and He should be the center of who we are and what we do. Jesus is the reason for the season!

Today we celebrate that a Child was born for us. As you look at Baby Jesus in the manger, always remember that the fullness of God dwelled in Him. In Jesus was the fullness of the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Those who know Jesus also know the Father for they are One.

Let us, with the angels from on high, say to those in our lives on this Christmas Day, “We proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”

Merry Christmas!

Third Sunday of Advent

Scripture readings for the Third Sunday of Advent can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/121116.cfm

Today, the Third Sunday of Advent, is known as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is Latin for the word Rejoice. So, today is Rejoice Sunday. We are rejoicing the coming closer of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. This is also the time of the year that a lot of us grow a little impatient. We see long lines at stores, a lot of traffic clogging up the streets making it hard to get around, yearly Christmas parties that we may not really want to be at, but feel obligated to be at. All of this can lead to frustration. The key on this Gaudete Sunday with all this hustle and bustle is to be patient because we know the Lord is near and we can rejoice at His birth.

Some years ago, a magazine article stated that there are more family fights at Christmastime than at any other time of year. I think it's because people have an unrealistic expectations of Christmas, and often because these expectations are not fulfilled, tension arises, and then fuses blow leading to family fights. As someone once told me, "Learning patience takes a lot of patience." Maybe as we reflect on who Jesus is  and what type of Messiah He chose to be, we can learn to patiently allow Him to lead us to a deeper appreciation of the season - frustrations and all.

As we rejoice this Gaudete Sunday because the Lord is now very near, we continue to prepare for Christmas by looking at the Lord's birth as the birth of the Messiah. While his disciples and John the Baptist himself awaited the Messiah, they came to realize that Jesus is that Messiah. So too, we realize that the infant born on Christmas is the Messiah. But what kind of Messiah do we have? Matthew tells us that the very presence of Jesus and His concern for the poor are true signs of the arrival of the Messiah.

Herein lies a message for us as well. Look around and see the presence of God despite the difficulty you are in.

Look around you  and see the blind seeing again, the lame walking, the deaf hearing, and the dead being raised to life.

Remember the last line of the message Jesus sent back to John in prison, "Happy the one who does not loose faith in me." In other words, when our hopes are dashed, let us turn to Jesus.

Once we allow Jesus to expand and explode our expectations of Him as Messiah, then we also allow Jesus to expand and explode our expectations of ourselves and others.

Jesus does not sell us short, so why should you sell yourself short?  We must make the transition that John and his disciples made with new and expanded vision. Here we learn that Jesus was the true Messiah. Jesus also wants to expand and explode our understanding of Him as Messiah.

Jesus is answering John and saying, Yes indeed, I am the Messiah for all, especially the poor. I'm not going to be the military leader that you expect. The Messiah is for everyone, especially for the week, the poor, and the needy.

If we are going to be a follower of Jesus Christ in Matthew's Gospel, we have to accept the Messiah on His terms. And his terms are that He's going to be the Messiah for the weak, for the poor, the lonely, and the disabled.

We have to remember that Jesus is Messiah for the rich and powerful also. His very way of coming challenges such people to realize  that they, too, are really poor in God's sight.

If you are going to accept Jesus Christ, then who you are accepting is the Messiah.

As we receive the Eucharist this week, let us remember that God is coming to save us. We must be filled with joy, and must patiently prepare ourselves for his arrival by repenting and turning ourselves around. Our Advent is both a nostalgic event and one which also looks forward to the future glory. We need to experience the healing and the wholeness which Jesus can bring into our lives. When we do this patiently, we can truly welcome Him at Christmas as the Messiah. Rejoice!