CHRISTMAS EVE - VIGIL MASS
READINGS: Isaiah 62:1-5 Acts 13:16-17, 22-25 Matthew 1:1-25
Isaiah is a prophet that comes in a few different flavors. What that means is that there are three major sections to this book, and only one was actually written by Isaiah. The first part of the book speaks of the coming of a new king to save Israel. The second part talks about how God will send an Anointed One to save His people. The third part admonishes the Israelites upon their return from exile so that they will again find favor with God. In this particular reading, Isaiah speaks of his own desire to see Israel restored to its former glory. It's a warning to the enemies of God's people, and a rekindling of the promise God has made to that holy nation. Note Isaiah's use of matrimonial metaphors here: a reinforcement of the idea that Israel is a holy nation that God has consecrated as His own.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents the beginning of a speech Paul gives in a synagogue to potential Jewish converts. This discourse is known as the "kerygma", which derives from the Greek word meaning "to preach" or "proclaim." Because he is speaking to Jews after the death of Christ, it's his job to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to His people. Paul very deliberately traces Jesus' bloodlines back to Saul and David. This is as much to validate Jesus' legitimacy as the Messiah as it is a warning to his listeners: Saul and David were both beloved and blessed by God, but both fell out of His favor through sin.
Matthew's Gospel follows the same train of thought as Luke's Acts of the Apostles before him. Many Catholics in particular find the genealogy here monotonous and boring, but the if we look beyond the hard-to-pronounce names, there's a ton of symbolism to everything Matthew writes here.
Firstly, it's important to trace Jesus' bloodlines back to Abraham--and specifically David-- because it proves once again that Jesus is the living promise of God's covenant to Israel. Secondly, we can note that a few women's names are sprinkled in here. Not only is it odd for a genealogy of the time to mention women at all, but each of the women mentioned has a questionable past. Tamar posed as a prostitute. Rehab is referred to as a "harlot" in the Old Testament. Ruth was a foreigner. Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, committed adultery. Finally, there is Mary who--though sinless--conceived outside the bonds of marriage. This is most likely to show that God works through all people, not just those considered "holy" in the eyes of the leaders of the faith. Finally, there is the emphasis on the number of generations between Abraham and David, David and the Babylonian exile, and the exile to Jesus. In each case, Matthew maintains that there are fourteen generations separating each milestone. Fourteen, of course, is the symbolic number of the name of David. It's actually a little white lie, since Matthew deliberately skips a few generations to make this happen, but there's a method to his madness. There were no superlatives to explain this, so much in the same way that we say, "Holy, holy, holy," to describe something that is the "holiest," Matthew is using three sets of the sacred number to show that Jesus is the "holiest" of Abraham's descendants and the living promise of God.
Finally, there is the account of Jesus' birth, which is so well known it would be redundant to simply recite here. But a few things stand out. The story mentions that Joseph was a "righteous man." To the Jewish people, this would be contradictory, since a righteous man would have Mary killed upon finding out she was pregnant and unwed. Instead, Matthew establishes a new form of "righteousness" by showing Joseph's compassion; something Jesus would expand upon during His ministry. Continuing his efforts to draw parallels between the Old and New Testament, Joseph receives his vision from the Angel in a dream much as his namesake in the Old Testament received visions in dreams. Finally, Matthew quotes the Old Testament again to reaffirm that Jesus is the promised Savior proclaimed by the prophets.
CHRISTMAS EVE - MASS DURING THE NIGHT
READINGS: Isaiah 9:1-6 Titus 2:11-14 Luke 2:1-14
Isaiah's book shows a gradual change in understanding of how God would redeem his people. At the start, Isaiah is looking for a very literal ruler to replace the unfaithful rulers of Israel. Each ruler was believed to be holy and anointed by God, but their infidelity was a mark against their people. Eventually, Isaiah realized that it was not a literal ruler God would provide, but an Anointed One who would renew His covenant with Israel. Isaiah reminds his readers of the great things God has done for them, and promises them more blessings from the One to come.
This letter claims to have been written by Paul, but was most likely written by a disciple of his to Titus: a pagan convert who became the leader of the church in Crete. Most of the book serves as instructions for Christian leaders as well as how followers should conduct themselves in the community and family. This particular reading encourages us to remove everything that separates us from God as we celebrate Jesus' birth and look forward to His second coming.
Again, Luke's Gospel is a familiar one. He begins by naming the rulers of the time. This does a few things. Firstly, it establishes the time in which the story takes place. Second, it provides historical accuracy, so we know this is not fiction. Third, it demonstrates that it was the law that ruled when Jesus was born, not God (unlike much of the Old Testament). And finally, it shows that this baby, who would be born in a tiny village on the fringes of the Roman Empire, would change the world.
Everything written here emphasizes the poverty of the Holy Family. The trek to Bethlehem, the birth in a stable, the lying in a manger: it all points to the idea that God chose to come into this world in "the form of a slave," as Paul would later put it, not as a king or someone of stately reputation. Finally, there are the shepherds. The importance here is to remember that shepherds of this time were considered untrustworthy and unclean. And yet, they are the first to hear of the birth of this Messiah, and the first to make their way to Him. Again, this shows that in this new age, even those considered to be the least among the people would be loved by God. It also speaks something of what Jesus was to become: the Good Shepherd to gather God's people back into the fold.
CHRISTMAS DAY - MASS AT DAWN
READINGS: Isaiah 62:11-12 Titus 3:4-7 Luke 2:15-20
We've been following Isaiah for a while, now, so it's easy to rope this in with the rest of his writings. But there is one big difference here: the tense. Specifically, Isaiah is no longer talking about some promise for the future, but a promise that is actively being fulfilled now. Granted, this is taken out of context for the purpose of our Christmas celebration, but it's important to realize that long-awaited Messiah is not something we should be speaking about at a distance, but someone we should recognize as alive and active in our hearts and in the hearts of those we encounter every day.
Paul takes this a little deeper, noting that Jesus came into this world through God's own mercy, and not because we necessarily earned it. It's only by God's love for us that He sends us His Son for our own benefit, that we might turn away from sin and live in a new Light. It's not that we are being awarded for our good behavior. Quite the contrary. Jesus was God's last-ditch effort to get through to us after we'd strayed so far from Him.
Luke's Gospel continues the story of the shepherds as they seek out and pay homage to the baby Jesus. Again, remember that these are not people you'd be accustomed to seeing at the feet of "royalty", but they are the first to greet this new King. Moreover, they tell Mary what the Angels proclaimed to them in the fields. Everyone likes to fall in love with this line about Mary "reflecting on [these things] in her heart," but imagine for a moment what it must have felt like to be in her shoes. She receives a child through the Holy Spirit, and is probably judged by the community for getting pregnant outside of wedlock. An angel tells her that this child will be the very incarnation of God among the people. Okay, assuming that wasn't enough to freak you out, now you have these vagabonds running in out of nowhere to gape at your freshly born babe and telling you that he will be the Savior of the world.
Call me cynical, but I don't think Mary's "reflections" were as peaceful as we'd like to believe they were. There was probably much fear and trepidation in them for herself, her husband, and her son. No kingdom is one without sacrifice.
CHRISTMAS DAY - MASS DURING THE DAY
READINGS: Isaiah 52:7-10 Hebrews 1:1-6 John 1:1-18
The last readings for Christmas start with a poem of joy and thanksgiving from Isaiah for the great things God has done, and will do, for His people. It's important to note that Isaiah's not talking about God sending another prophet to help Israel, but that He Himself will save, as discussed in previous reflections. This carries new meaning since we now know that God comes to us in the form of Jesus, who is the literal fulfillment of this promise.
There are three parts to the second reading. The first points to Israel's rejection of the Old Testament prophets, which would result in God sending us Jesus as a purported better means of communication. Whereas the prophets may not have found the right way to get through to their people, Jesus would be the living embodiment of God to give us a model to follow. Second, it points to Jesus as God incarnate, not as God speaking through another anointed prophet. Both of these first sections establish the humanity of Jesus, which apparently led to some debating whether he could truly be the divine Son of God. Which leads to the third part, where the writer (again, most likely not Paul) insists that Jesus, despite being human, is seated at God's right hand in heaven. Since angels are spiritual beings, it was often wondered how a human could be held in higher esteem than something ethereal. This is accomplished by remind the reader that God Himself confirmed Jesus as His own Son, and that this places him far above any angel or other spiritual being. In this way, we know that Jesus is both human and divine.
Finally, to cap off our Christmas Day celebrations, we have the opening to the Gospel of John, which is possibly the most poetic and most confusing of any of the opening Gospel passages. In its simplest form, the Gospel points to Jesus as the pre-existing Word of God. Unlike the other Gospels, which tell of Christ's birth from a human standpoint, this Gospel establishes Christ's divinity before He is even born. Note that John uses the same words at the beginning of his book that are used in Genesis: "In the beginning." In this way, John is both acknowledging the history of the Jewish faith and establishing something new. After naming Christ as the "Word," John speaks of the world rejecting "him". It's easy to think that he is alluding the Crucifixion, but that's not necessarily the case. John names Jesus as "the Word," and in this case, the Word is wisdom. If we follow that assumption, we can see that John is referring again to the rejection of the prophets of the Old Testament, which would prompt God to come to us Himself in the form of Jesus.
The other thing John does is sanctify humanity in his Gospel. Whereas the prophets constantly condemn humanity, John assures us that "the light of the human race" is holy, "and the darkness cannot overcome it." In Genesis, we are told that man was created in God's image, but here that creation comes full circle as now God comes to us in our image. The recounting of John the Baptist is brief, and differs slightly from the earlier Gospels of this season. Rather than call to repentance, John the Baptist is instead exclusively proclaiming the coming Messiah. Finally, John again confirms Jesus' humanity and Old Testament roots by naming Him the Son of God. In the Old Testament, a "Son of God" might have been a hero, a prophet, or a king chosen by God. In this reading, however, it is used to quite literally describe Jesus as the Christ: the only begotten Son of God.
WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US: The readings from the prophets are clear: God will never abandon us. He makes His promise to us every day that we are never alone. Even when we try to keep God at a distance, He is here among us in the faces of those who love us and the people we encounter. When we receive gifts from others this season, be they physical or immaterial, we are receiving a blessing from God in our lives. In that way, we are the living descendants of the people of Israel. We are offered the same warnings, but we are also offered to reap the same spiritual reward for our faithfulness to Him.
The epistles emphasize that Jesus' message is for everyone. From Jewish Synagogues, to Titus, to people of foreign nations and pagan beliefs, we are encouraged to bring Christ to others by the love we show to those we meet.
Finally, the Gospels remind us that Jesus is alive and His love works through us every day. The Jews were asked to recognize Christ as the promised Messiah, and we are called to recognize Christ in everyone we encounter, and to remember that others should see Christ in us. We are all the sons and daughters of God. We carry the light of Christ in us. We were chosen in Baptism and Confirmed in HIs love. Now we are invited to lead others to that same Nativity so that they may see in us the same pure love that first shone in the eyes of a baby on that silent, holy night.
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