Cause of our Joy

THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

First Reading: Is 52:7-10

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm  98:1-6

Second Reading: Heb 1:1-6

Gospel: Jn 1:1-18

Theme: Humanity, History, Holy

Today is the culmination of all our advent preparation as we now enter the Christmas season. We have waited so many days in anticipation of this Christmas day that the reason for this season will be born, and that is Our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us intensify our love and joy this Christmas by recalling what Our Lord did for us through His incarnation. Thus, Jesus became man to save humanity, renew our history, and bring us into holiness.

 

First, Jesus became a man in order to save humanity. The name "Jesus" referred to a divine presence who delivers and saves. He is the cause of our joy this day as He delivers us and saves us from the corruption of evil. God does not need us; rather, we need God, and so He gave us His Son to redeem and save us. We need God, and we have to allow Him to enter our hearts to internalize the saving acts He has done. Because it expects us to have an experience of the fullness of life and life without end, this reality of the Incarnation brings us joy not only for ourselves but also for those we love.

 

Second, Jesus became a man to renew our history. The coming of Jesus into the world changed the timeline of our history, and He renewed it with His presence and love. God's becoming one of us in all aspects except sin is a mystery that no one can fathom. The story of His redeeming actions became the baseline of history, that even the secular year was Christianized by dividing it into two, the year before Christ and the year after Christ. The history of salvation became our history, and our story of life is His story. Throughout history, the presence of God has been the foundation of renewal.

 

Third, Jesus became a man to bring us into holiness. The incarnation gives us the hope of seeing the Father's face, as St. Athanasius puts it, "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." By seeing the Father's face, it enables us to share in the divine nature of God, who is the source of all holiness and goodness. It helps us realize that, even though we are weak and frail, Our Lord's example of self-emptying and giving of himself inspires us to follow in his footsteps. This hope of salvation sustains our joy this Christmas day as we remember the goodness of the Lord and what He has done for us.

 

Thus, Jesus became man to save humanity, renew our history, and bring us into holiness. This great mystery of the incarnation moves us to contemplate this wonderful saving action of God in order for us to experience joy in our lives to come. Let us open the doors of our hearts as we receive the Lord in the Eucharist and be illuminated by the intensity of joy He wants to share with us this Christmas day, for the greatest gift we will ever receive is His presence in the midst of us. Let us recall what the Lord has done to us in the mysteries and stories of life. Let us rejoice and be glad that Jesus, our Emmanuel, has come.