Word to the Wise
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 - Christmas: Mass at Midnight - ABC
[Isa 9:1-6; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14,]For a child is born to us, a son is given us. [Isaiah] "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place which the Lord has made known to us." [Luke] 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. [John]
On Christmas Day, beginning at MIdnight, of course, three different sets of scripture are presented to us (and to the preacher)! The three Masses are entitled: Mass During the Night, Mass at Dawn, and Mass During the Day. It is as if the meaning of the nativity of the Lord gradually develops liturgically during the day. The quotation from Isaiah is from Mass During the Night, Luke from Mass at Dawn, and John from Mass During the Day. The words from the Gospel According to John truly sum up the meaning of the whole day. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us!"
The PREFACE I for the celebration of the Eucharist today reminds us: For in the mystery of the Word made flesh a new light of your glory has shone upon the eyes of our mind, so that, as we recognize in him God made visible, we may be caught up through him in love of things invisible. This was the experience of the shepherds and the Magi. Heaven touches earth in the form of a child in a manger! A star and angels may announce the great event, but both shepherds and Magi have to go and see for themselves. The eyes of their minds are opened to understand the transcendent yet earthly significance of a child in a manger!
The nativity scene may be packed away tomorrow (regrettably) but the significance remains. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us! We celebrate this every day not only at Eucharist but in the way we "incarnate" this event for others. We become the star and the angel revealing to the eyes of the minds of others the meaning of this one Child in a manger. AMEN
[Note to the Beloved Congregation. May the Word made flesh become real to the eyes of your minds today and every day. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, but most importantly: CHRIST IS BORN! ALLELUIA!]