Bài Thánh Vịnh đáp ca mời gọi chúng ta hát một lên bài ca mới để chúc tụng Thiên Chúa. Chúng ta hát một bài ca mới vì "Thiên Chúa đã tỏ ra cho thiên hạ bết ơn Cứu rỗi của Ngài”, không phải chi qua những lời của các tiên tri bây giờ, cũng không phải là qua nhiều lời hứa của Thiên Chúa qua Cựu Ước, nhưng là việc Người Con trẻ đã được sinh ra cho chúng ta trong hang tối Belem. Trong sự kiện mới tuyệt vời này Thiên Chúa đã nhớ đến Chân lý và tình yêu của Ngài.
Qua Cựu Ước chung ta có thể được tóm tắt là bời vì Thiên Chúa vẫn còn nhớ lai những lời giao ức, nhưng dân Israe thì dã quên, Thiên Chúa nhớ lại, không phải vì tội lỗi của chúng ta, nhưng vì lời Hứa của Ngài, Chân lý, Sự Thật và Tình Yêu của Ngài. Con Người ở Do Thái rất dễ dàng quên đi Thiên Chúa và lời Giao Ước với Thên Chúa và họ đã lạm dụng những hồng ân tặng tuyệt vời của Thiên Chúa, cho dù là ơn sủng là được tạo thành, và những ân sủng của lòng Thương xót sự tha thứ của Thiên Chúa. Điều gì là sự thật thì tất cả là sự thật: chúng ta thường hay lãng phí những tài năng và ân sủng mà Thiên Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta.
Với hồng ân của Chúa Giêsu, thì đó là hồng ân của sự khôn ngoan. Hồng ân của sự khôn ngoan thì hướng dẫn cho chúng ta phải hành động liên tục hơn trong sự hiệp nhất với Chúa Giêsu để xây dựng Nước Thiên Chúa trên trần gian. Bằng những ân sủng và hồng ân của Chúa Giêsu và nhờ Đức Giêsu, Thiên Chúa vẫn tiếp tục tạo dựng nên chúng ta theo và giống như hình ảnh riêng của Ngài. Ngài vẫn luôn liên tục nuôi dưỡng và yêu thương chúng ta trong chân lý vĩnh cửu của Ngài và tình yêu ấy đã trở thành xác phàm trong Chúa Giêsu.
The Old Testament can be summed up as God remembering and Israel forgetting. God remembers, not our sin but his Covenant, his truth and his love. Mankind, in Israel, so easily forgets and so abuses God's great gifts, whether the gift of creation, the gift of forgiveness and mercy.
What is true of all is true of each: we too often squander our talents.
With the gift of Jesus, there comes the gift of wisdom. This gift of wisdom guides us to act more constantly in union with Jesus to build the Kingdom of God on earth. By the gift of Jesus and through Jesus, God continually forms us in his own image and likeness. He constantly fosters and cherishes us with his eternal truth and love which became flesh in Jesus
Lord God, may we always remember Your truth and Your love. Continually re-create us in Your image and likeness and make us each day more Christlike.
While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6–7 (Gospel from Mass During the Night)
A loving mother and father who experience the birth of their first child receive insight into the sacredness and beauty of this scene. Though great mystery surrounds Jesus’ conception within the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, she was truly His mother, and He was truly her Son. Saint Joseph, knowing he was not this Child’s biological father, made a profound act of faith by accepting that fatherly responsibility, as instructed in a dream by an angel of the Lord. Because of his faith and God-given mission, Joseph’s commitment to being the father of the Son of God was one that only a most loving and devoted father would make.
As we celebrate Christmas Day, we are reminded of the humility with which our Lord chose to enter the world. Jesus was born in a place where animals dwelt because Mary and Joseph were away from their home to register for the Roman census. At first glance, one might conclude that the physical environment, most likely a cave, was unfortunate. However, we can be certain that this humble and poor setting was part of God’s divine plan, adding to the glory of that night. Christ, in His humility, chose this setting to reveal to us the true greatness of love.
The poverty and humility of the cave and the manger—a feeding trough for animals—helped point to the sacredness of Jesus’ birth. No glamor, no fancy or comfortable setting, only love. Pure love. The love in the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the devotion of Saint Joseph, and the Incarnate presence of the Son of God were everything needed to make that night glorious.
One lesson we can learn from the Nativity of the Lord is that the beauty, peacefulness, and contentment of our lives are not dependent upon how much money or how many material possessions we have, but rather on the purity of our love. The Holy Family’s hearts were perfectly fulfilled, not because of their surroundings, but because of their intimate union with God in the person of Jesus Christ.
The presence of the Son of God in that place of poverty sheds light on the true riches we crave. The true treasures we seek are found not in wealth, comfort, or possessions, but in the love and grace of God. The Holy Family’s witness reveals to us that when we place our hearts in God’s hands, we will be filled with all we need.
Reflect today on that most sacred, simple, and humble scene. As you do, try to imagine how humanly fulfilling that experience was for the Holy Family. Jesus was wrapped tightly in swaddling clothing, and He was adored with the greatest affection of His mother and foster father. Mary and Joseph’s hearts contained all that was necessary for profound gratitude and fulfillment. If you struggle with being fulfilled, learn a lesson from the Holy Family and seek to imitate Mary and Joseph so that your love for our Incarnate Lord fills you with all you need.
My Incarnate Lord, Your divine nature, united to Your human nature, transformed that humble cave near Bethlehem into a tabernacle filled with the most powerful bonds of pure love. Please draw me into that sacred scene and help me to share in the love in the Immaculate Heart of Your mother, as well as the human devotion of Your foster father, Joseph. May I find contentment and total fulfillment in life by seeing You and loving You in every way that You come to me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have made this most sacred night radiant with the splendor of the true light. Grant that we who have come to know the mysteries of the light of your Son on earth, may also delight in the gladness of the heavenly light.
1. The Son of God: Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth begins with a reference to Caesar Augustus, who reigned as Emperor of Rome from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. During his reign, Augustus took three censuses of the Roman citizens in his empire, one at the beginning in 27 B.C., one in the middle in 8 B.C., and one at the end in A.D. 14. Since a census could take a decade or more to complete, Luke seems to be referring to the general policy established by Augustus to enroll the empire. The enrollment that Luke refers to in the context of Jesus’ birth was likely a loyalty oath in 3/2 B.C. or a phase of one of the censuses for tax purposes. If it were the loyalty oath, then it was connected to the empire-wide enrollment when Augustus was given the title “Father of my Country” in the 13th year of his consulship (2 B.C.). As the adopted son of Julius Caesar, Augustus also referred to himself as the “son of a god,” and had himself hailed as a “god” and “savior” who established peace and whose birth brought “good news.” Luke knows all of this and narrates the birth of Jesus in such a way as to show that the real “good news” is the birth of Jesus in a small village. Jesus, not Augustus, is the true “Son of God” (Luke 1:35) and “Savior” who ushers in the era of God’s peace (Luke 2:14) (see Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 61).
The Nativity of the Lord—Christmas: Reflection II
When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. Luke 2:15–16 (Gospel from Mass at Dawn)
The fact that God first invited humble shepherds to see Him and adore Him speaks volumes. Many people struggle with their self-image. They see their faults, compare themselves to others, and often dislike what they see. The only thing that matters, however, is what God sees when He looks at us. God doesn’t judge by societal norms or popular opinions. He sees His sons and daughters and deeply desires to draw us to Himself, just as He did with the shepherds.
Imagine the shepherds of that time. They might have been good and decent people, working to make a living for themselves and their families. They were likely uneducated, poorly groomed, and looked down upon by the larger Jewish community. Their work made it challenging to adhere to the strict legal practices as interpreted by the scribes and Pharisees, but this did not diminish their faith in God’s eyes. Their low social status led many to see them as untrustworthy, so much so that their testimony was not normally accepted in Jewish legal proceedings.
Despite this, their responsibilities were essential to Jewish life. The wool they gathered was necessary for clothing. The sheep they raised were central to Jewish worship and provided an important source of food for the wider community. Simply put, their work was essential, but they were not afforded the dignity that they deserved.
That all changed when God chose a group of them as the first to hear of the birth of the Savior of the World—directly from angels no less! God saw them much differently than the way social norms had labeled them. God saw in them the people He came to redeem and paid no attention to erroneous opinions.
As we celebrate Christmas Day, we are invited to see ourselves in these shepherds. We are invited to see them as God sees them, through the eyes of the angels who were sent to bring them this joyful news. We must see God’s desire for their love and worship as His desire for our love and worship. Seeing ourselves in this way, with this invitation and dignity, will help to shatter any poor self-image we struggle with, enabling us to embrace our true dignity and image as adorers of Christ.
Reflect today on whether you see yourself and others through God’s eyes or through the lens of disordered opinions. A good self-image is not one that elevates us above others, nor is it one that devalues us for erroneous reasons. A good self-image is a true image, God’s image of us, and His gaze is one that draws us to love Him and adore Him with great care and devotion.
My humble Lord, You were born in a place where animals lived and laid in a manger. These humble surroundings enabled You to draw the humble and rejects from society to Yourself, inviting their love and adoration. As they came, You revealed their dignity, and they discovered Your love. Please draw me, as You drew these shepherds, to Your humble presence and reveal Your love to me, that I may see myself and others through Your divine eyes. Jesus, I trust in You.
"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us"
As you know our Vietnamese are very much influenced with Confucius and Buddhist. And I remember a story when I was a freshman in college. There is a student asked a Christian professor how Confucius and Buddha would differ from Christ. He responded with a story:
“A woman fell into a deep hole with mud, she is trying as hard as she might to get out of the deep hole, but she could not climb out
- Confucius looked in. He told her, "Poor woman, if you had paid attention to me, you would not have fallen in there in the first place." Then he walked away.
- Buddha approached. He too spotted the woman. He said to himself, "If she can just manage to get out of that hole, I can give her genuine help." Then He continued his journey.
- Along came Jesus. He spotted the woman. He was moved with pity. He jumped into the hole immediately to assist her out.
This story illustrates the Incarnation. We gather here to celebrate the concern of God for each of us.
In today’s Gospel, We may wonder, why does John the Evangelist begin his Gospel with a description of the Word of God and the creation of the universe and humankind?
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. We can find it in the Psalm 33, 147 like. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made” (Psalm 33:6). Or “He sends forth his commands to the earth; his word runs swiftly” (Psalm 147:15).
In the book of Jeremiah chapter 23 wrote “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces” (Jeremiah 23:29)?
In the Book of Wisdom chapter 9 also addressed God as the one who “made all things by your word” (Wisdom 9:1). God’s word is also equated with his wisdom like in the book of proverbs was written “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth” (Proverbs 3:19).
Both “word” and “wisdom” are seen as one and the same. In chapter 18 Book of Wisdom wrote:
“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” (Wisdom 18:14-16).
The Word of God took human form and lived on earth. Many have seen His glory, His glory as of a Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. Through Jesus, we receive grace after grace. At first came the Law into the world through Moses.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, 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. [Col. 1:9, 2:9] Those who know Jesus, they also know the Father for they are One.
The mystery of Christmas tells us that through Jesus, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit came into the world as One in bodily form. As we have heard during Advent, the Holy Spirit came upon the Blessed Virgin Mary at her moment of conception.
Jesus Himself told the people repeatedly that He was One with the Father, that the Father was in Him, and that those who have seen Him, have seen the Father. Through Jesus, the invisible Heavenly Father took physical form. Through Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwelled until Jesus commended His Spirit into the hands of the Father. [Lk. 23:46] Baby Jesus came into the world for each and every one of us, so that we may be saved.
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).
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.
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 Peter 1:4).
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 children.
Let’s give thanks to the Father for sending His only begotten Son to redeem us and to share with us His glory. And let us always be thankful to Jesus for manifesting to us the goodness and love of God.
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