1 John 2:18-21 Psalm 96:1-2, 11-13 John 1:1-18 December 31, 2014 7th Day Within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (CHRISTMAS) The Word was made flesh, he lived among us (Jn 1:14) Why does John the Evangelist begin his Gospel with a description of the Word of God which began the creation of the universe and humankind in the first book of Genesis? The word of God was a common expression among the Jews. God’s word in the Old Testament is an active, creative, and dynamic word. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made (Ps 33:6). He sends forth his commands to the earth; his word runs swiftly (Ps 147:15). Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces (Jer 23:29)? The writer of the Book of Wisdom addresses God as the one who made all things by your word (Wis 9:1). God’s word is also equated with his wisdom. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth (Prov 3:19). The Book of Wisdom describes wisdom as Gods eternal, creative, and illuminating power. Both word and wisdom are seen as one and the same. For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne, into the midst of the land that was doomed, a stern warrior carrying the sharp sword of your authentic command (Wis 18:14-16). John describes Jesus as Gods creative, life-giving and light-giving word that has come to earth in human form. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16). Jesus is the wisdom and power of God which created the world and sustains it, who assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. Jesus became truly man while remaining truly God. What he was, he remained, and what he was not he assumed (from an early church antiphon for morning prayer). Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother. From the time of the Apostles the Christian faith has insisted on the incarnation of Gods Son who has come in the flesh (1 Jn 4:2). Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great early church fathers (330-395 AD) wrote: Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state? Christians never cease proclaiming anew the wonder of the Incarnation. The Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. The Son of God ...worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things except sin (Gaudium et Spes). If we are going to behold the glory of God we will do it through Jesus Christ. Jesus became the partaker of our humanity so we could be partakers of his divinity (2 Pet 1:4). Gods purpose for us, even from the beginning of his creation, is that we would be fully united with Him. When Jesus comes God is made known as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By our being united in Jesus, God becomes our Father and we become his sons and daughters. Do you thank the Father for sending his only begotten Son to redeem you and to share with you his glory? From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace. (Jn 1:16) This end of the civil year affords an opportunity for the faithful to reflect on “the mystery of time”, which passes quickly and inexorably. Such should give rise to a dual feeling: of penance and sorrow for the lost occasions of grace; and of thanks to God for the graces and blessings He has given during the past year. Lord, I thank you for this year. I thank you for all the little things you have done for me. I thank you for giving me parking places when I needed them and for finding my keys when I misplaced them. I thank you for all the times of laughter and happiness I have had this year. I thank you just as much for the times of pain and suffering - even though they did not come from you - because they moved me to turn to you for consolation and comfort. I thank you, Lord, for my family and the friends you have placed in my life. Help me love them more. Show me how I can be a better servant to them. Show me how to draw my loved ones who have gone astray back to you. I thank you also for all the times when you brought me back to you. All too often, I have done what I wanted to do. Not often enough did I do what you were calling me to do. Yet you are always there, reaching out to me and calling my name. When I do repent, I feel you pouring your mercy on me and forgiving my sins. Thank you, Lord, for giving me the Bread of Life. I become what I eat. I see my development as a person influenced by what I eat. I see my desire for you increase because of what I eat. I see my love for others grow because of what I eat. I see a power at work in me, and I know it is not of me. I know it is you abiding in me. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me! I thank you for the Church, which never gives up on me. Of course, we are a Church of sinners who make mistakes and hurt each other. But we are also a Church of saints - the gathering of “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own” (1 Pet 2:9). Lord, may your Church, of which you are the head, be blessed by you, be drawn closer to you, and be more loving toward everyone! “Almighty God and Father of light, your eternal Word leaped down from heaven in the silent watches of the night. Open our hearts to receive his life and increase our vision with the rising of dawn, that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace. And, thank you, Jesus, for being with me this year. Please draw me closer in the year to come.” Amen.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 07:47:04 +0000
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