Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 25, 2021 - Christmas: Mass during the Day - ABC
[Isa 52:7-10; Heb 1:1-6; John 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14,3]The Lord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations: all the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God. [Isaiah] In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days he has spoken to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe....[Hebrews] 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, full of grace and truth....From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [John]
Christmas has many faces! There is the face of the "holiday culture" which pays faint acknowledgment to the faith dimension and to the one whose birth gave rise to this season. Instead, it gives emphasis to what Christmas does for the "Economy!" Then there are the "faces" of the three different congregations that sometimes weary pastors face, from the "Children's Mass" in late afternoon of Christmas Eve, then Midnight Mass (which may or may not begin at Midnight) and Christmas Morning (sometimes with parishioners carrying or wearing gifts just opened!)
Each of the three liturgies has its own set of scriptures. (Mass During the Night, Mass at Dawn, Mass During the Day). The first of them speaks to the event of Jesus' birth, the second to the visit of the shepherds, the third to the immense theological significance of the event. It is this third one that I will be celebrating today here at St. Elizabeth University Parish at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX!
The focus on the nativity scene and on the gift-giving aspect of Christmas can overshadow the significance of God becoming human and dwelling in our midst, as the Gospel of John testifies. Grace and truth have been revealed to us through the one whom the Letter to the Hebrews says "created the universe!" As Isaiah says, "All the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God!" These are big thoughts to be thought on Christmas morning between opening gifts and further family gatherings to celebrate. But we are bearers of those big thoughts through our baptism. One way to express this is in saying first to one another, "Christ is Born!" and then saying "Merry Christmas!" It might startle a few folks, but the message contains those "big thoughts" that accomplish our salvation. It is significant to every place on earth. To each and every one of my Beloved Congregation I say today, CHRIST IS BORN! MERRY CHRISTMAS! AMEN!
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