Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
(Christmas) - DURING THE DAY
Lectionary: 16
Lectionary: 16
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings glad tidings,
announcing peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,
"Your God is King!"
Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,
together they shout for joy,
for they see directly, before their eyes,
the LORD restoring Zion.
Break out together in song,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the LORD comforts his people,
he redeems Jerusalem.
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.
are the feet of him who brings glad tidings,
announcing peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,
"Your God is King!"
Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,
together they shout for joy,
for they see directly, before their eyes,
the LORD restoring Zion.
Break out together in song,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the LORD comforts his people,
he redeems Jerusalem.
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.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6.
R. (3c) All the ends of the earth have seen the
saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Reading 2 Heb
1:1-6
Brothers and sisters:
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,
who is the refulgence of his glory,
the very imprint of his being,
and who sustains all things by his mighty word.
When he had accomplished purification from sins,
he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say:
You are my son; this day I have begotten you?
Or again:
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me?
And again, when he leads the firstborn into the world, he says:
Let all the angels of God worship him.
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,
who is the refulgence of his glory,
the very imprint of his being,
and who sustains all things by his mighty word.
When he had accomplished purification from sins,
he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say:
You are my son; this day I have begotten you?
Or again:
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me?
And again, when he leads the firstborn into the world, he says:
Let all the angels of God worship him.
Gospel Jn
1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man's decision
but of God.
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 testified to him and cried out, saying,
"This was he of whom I said,
'The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.'"
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.
No one has ever seen God.
The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side,
has revealed him.
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man's decision
but of God.
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 testified to him and cried out, saying,
"This was he of whom I said,
'The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.'"
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.
No one has ever seen God.
The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side,
has revealed him.
Or Jn 1:1-5,
9-14
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man's decision
but of God.
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.
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man's decision
but of God.
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.
www.usccb.org
Meditation: "The Word became flesh and dwelt
among us"
Why does John the Evangelist begin his
gospel with a description of the Word of God which began the creation of the
universe and humankind in the first book of Genesis? 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. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made”
(Psalm 33:6). “He sends forth his commands to the earth; his word runs swiftly”
(Psalm 147:15). “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer
which breaks the rock in pieces” (Jeremiah 23:29)? The writer of the Book of
Wisdom addresses God as the one who “made all things by your word” (Wisdom
9:1). God’s word is also equated with his wisdom. “The Lord by wisdom founded
the earth” (Proverbs 3:19).The Book of Wisdom describes “wisdom” as God’s
eternal, creative, and illuminating power. Both “word” and “wisdom” are seen as
one and the same. “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” (Book of Wisdom
18:14-16).
John describes Jesus as God’s creative,
life-giving and light-giving word that has come to earth in human form. “God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus is the wisdom and power of
God which created the world and sustains it who assumed a human nature in order
to accomplish our salvation in it. Jesus became truly man while remaining truly
God. “What he was, he remained, and what he was not he assumed” (from an early
church antiphon for morning prayer). Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God who,
without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother. From the time
of the Apostles the Christian faith has insisted on the incarnation of God’s
Son “who has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2)
.
Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great early church fathers (330-395 AD) wrote: Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?
.
Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great early church fathers (330-395 AD) wrote: Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?
Christians never cease proclaiming anew
the wonder of the Incarnation. The
Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it.
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).
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). God's purpose for us,
even from the beginning of his creation, is that we would be fully united with
Him. 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
sons and daughters. Do you thank the Father for sending his only begotten Son
to redeem you and to share with you his glory?
"Almighty
God and Father of light, your eternal Word leaped down from heaven in the
silent watches of the night. Open our hearts to receive his life and increase
our vision with the rising of dawn, that our lives may be filled with his glory
and his peace.”
www.dailyscripture.net
 Flesh, Glory, Grace |
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Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
(Christmas)
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(Note:
Since there are four different liturgies on this day, we selected the Gospel
from the Mass during the day)
John 1:1-18
In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him
nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was
the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it. A man named John was sent from God. He came for
testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He
was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which
enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the
world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what
was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did
accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in
his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by
a man´s decision but of God. 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 testified to him and cried out, saying, "This
is he of whom I said, ´The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.´" 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. No one has ever seen God. The only Son,
God, who is at the Father´s side, has revealed him.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for
this Christmas day. I believe that you became a little child to redeem me and
show me the Father’s love. I love you. Your birth shows the depth of your
love for me. I choose to recommit myself today to be a Christian in love with
you.
Petition: Lord, help me to grow in wonder at your
love.
1. Flesh: “And the Word became flesh and made his
dwelling among us.” For most families, Christmas is a day of special
closeness. We take time to be with each other. We also know that God is
close. He is that “someone” who unites us in love. Today, in astonished
silence, we contemplate the Christ Child. Amid all the excitement and emotion
of our Christmas day we cannot help but stop in amazement: My God lets me put
my arms around him. Here is an amazing mystery of closeness. Here is where
all human closeness finds its greatest expression. It is God’s initiative. He
became flesh. He lives among us. Do I let myself draw close to Christ? Do I
allow him to love me? Do I allow myself to love him?
2. Glory: “And we saw his glory.” For John, the glory
of God that shines in the face of Christ is the glory of love. Jesus glories
in being able to love — in being able to love us. What an amazing God we
have! He defies our reason. His Christmas glory lies in making himself so
humble that he becomes a tiny child dependent on our love. His glory will
later consist in embracing his cross and dying out of love for us. Do I
appreciate this glorious love? Am I ready to enter into its mystery? Am I
ready to make my heart today shine with this glory of God’s love?
3. Grace: “…Full of grace and truth.” The grace spoken
of here is the Father’s loving glance. Jesus brings the Father’s loving
glance to our world, to our lives. He transforms our world into the very
place where the Father finds his Son. The Father is pleased; Christ lives
among us. This is the grace that is Christ: God’s initiative of love. Grace
is a gift. It does not depend on me. I simply have to receive it. I simply
have to appreciate it, as John did. Do I appreciate Christ? Do I try to make
my life a gift like his was?
Conversation with Christ: Jesus, thank you for
this Christmas day. I know it may be busy, but I also know it is very
beautiful. It is beautiful because you are here, Lord. Thank you for being
here this Christmas day. I want to love you as Mary did. I want to bring your
grace and glory to those around me.
Resolution: Today I will strive to show special joy and
goodness in my relations with others, especially with my family. I will look
for an extra way to make each of them happy today.
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www.regnumchristi.com
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25
SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (CHRISTMAS)
JOHN 1:1-18
(Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-6)
KEY VERSE: "It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known" (v 18).
READING: John did not record the nativity of our Lord in his gospel. Instead, he began his gospel with a mystical hymn to Christ (compare Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:6-11; and 1 Timothy 3:16, an early creed). John takes us back to the "beginning" (Gn 1:1), to the preexistent Christ, the eternal Word (Greek, Logos). The Word of God was expressed in the creation of the universe, in divine wisdom, in the law revealed on Sinai, and in the word spoken through the prophets. Now God's Word was manifested in the Incarnation of Christ. In his flesh, Jesus embodied and revealed God's Word; he was divine wisdom personified. Through Christ's creative word all things were brought to life (Jn 1:3). He was thegreat liberator, like Moses, who set men and women free from the restraints of sin (8:32). He was the divine "light" that cast out darkness by the light of truth (12:46). John the Baptist was the herald of God's Word. He came to testify to its truth so that all who believed in Christ might find life through him. Jesus came into our world so that we can come into his world.
REFLECTING: How can I share the gift of Jesus on this Christmas day?
PRAYING: Thank you Heavenly Father for revealing your Word through your Son, Jesus.
SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (CHRISTMAS)
JOHN 1:1-18
(Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-6)
KEY VERSE: "It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known" (v 18).
READING: John did not record the nativity of our Lord in his gospel. Instead, he began his gospel with a mystical hymn to Christ (compare Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:6-11; and 1 Timothy 3:16, an early creed). John takes us back to the "beginning" (Gn 1:1), to the preexistent Christ, the eternal Word (Greek, Logos). The Word of God was expressed in the creation of the universe, in divine wisdom, in the law revealed on Sinai, and in the word spoken through the prophets. Now God's Word was manifested in the Incarnation of Christ. In his flesh, Jesus embodied and revealed God's Word; he was divine wisdom personified. Through Christ's creative word all things were brought to life (Jn 1:3). He was thegreat liberator, like Moses, who set men and women free from the restraints of sin (8:32). He was the divine "light" that cast out darkness by the light of truth (12:46). John the Baptist was the herald of God's Word. He came to testify to its truth so that all who believed in Christ might find life through him. Jesus came into our world so that we can come into his world.
REFLECTING: How can I share the gift of Jesus on this Christmas day?
PRAYING: Thank you Heavenly Father for revealing your Word through your Son, Jesus.
THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS
The Octave of Christmas last for eight days (octave means eight) beginning with Christmas day and ending after the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (January 1). The "O Antiphons" for the Octave of Christmas were first used by the Church in the 8th and 9th centuries. They are based on various titles used for the Christ and are scripturally-based short prayers used from the 17th to the 23rd of December. In these "O Antiphons" the Church expresses her deep longing for the coming of the Messiah. The Advent hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is based on the "O Antiphons" and was written sometime during the 9th Century.
The Octave of Christmas last for eight days (octave means eight) beginning with Christmas day and ending after the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (January 1). The "O Antiphons" for the Octave of Christmas were first used by the Church in the 8th and 9th centuries. They are based on various titles used for the Christ and are scripturally-based short prayers used from the 17th to the 23rd of December. In these "O Antiphons" the Church expresses her deep longing for the coming of the Messiah. The Advent hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is based on the "O Antiphons" and was written sometime during the 9th Century.
www.daily-word-of-life.com
St. Eugenia
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| St.Eugenia |
There
definitely was a Roman martyr named Eugenia but the rest of her story is a
romantic fictitious legend. According to it she was the daughter of Duke Philip
of Alexandria, governor of Egypt during the reign of Emporer Valerian. She fled
her father's house dressed in men's clothing and was baptized by Helenus,
bishop of Heliopolis, who sent her to an abbey of which she later became abbot.
Accused of adultery by a woman she had cured of a sickness and whose advances
she had resisted, she was hailed before a judge to answer the charges; the
judge was her father. Exonerated when she revealed she was a woman and his
daughter, she converted him to Christianity (he later became a bishop and was
beheaded for his faith). Eugenia converted many others, including her mother,
Claudia, and suffered martyrdom by sword for her faith in Rome, where she had
gone with her mother. Her feast day is December 25th.
www.catholic.org
LECTIO: THE BIRTH OF
THE LORD
Lectio:
Tuesday,
December 25, 2012 - 19
The Prologue of
John’s Gospel
John 1:1-18
John 1:1-18
1. OPENING PRAYER
In the darkness of a
starless night,
a night of no sense,
you, the Word of life,
like lightning in the storm of forgetfulness,
entered within the bounds of doubt
under cover of the limits of precariousness
to hide the light.
Words made of silence and of the ordinary,
your human words, heralds of the secrets of the Most High:
like hooks cast into the waters of death
to find man once more, immersed in his anxious follies,
and reclaim him, plundered, through the attractive radiance of
forgiveness.
To you, Ocean of Peace and shadow of eternal Glory,
I render thanks:
Calm waters on my shore that awaits the wave, I wish to seek you!
And may the friendship of the brothers protect me
when night falls on my desire for you. Amen.
a night of no sense,
you, the Word of life,
like lightning in the storm of forgetfulness,
entered within the bounds of doubt
under cover of the limits of precariousness
to hide the light.
Words made of silence and of the ordinary,
your human words, heralds of the secrets of the Most High:
like hooks cast into the waters of death
to find man once more, immersed in his anxious follies,
and reclaim him, plundered, through the attractive radiance of
forgiveness.
To you, Ocean of Peace and shadow of eternal Glory,
I render thanks:
Calm waters on my shore that awaits the wave, I wish to seek you!
And may the friendship of the brothers protect me
when night falls on my desire for you. Amen.
2. READING
a) The text:
1 In the beginning was
the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the
beginning. 3 Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into
being except through him. 4 What has come into being in him was life, life that
was the light of men; 5 and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower
it. 6 A man came, sent by God. His name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to
bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him. 8 He was
not the light, he was to bear witness to the light. 9 The Word was the real
light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world. 10 He was in
the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognise
him. 11 He came to his own and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to
those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who
believed in his name 13 who were born not from human stock or human desire or
human will but from God himself. 14 The Word became flesh, he lived among us,
and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the
Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John witnesses to him. He proclaims: 'This
is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because
he existed before me.' 16 Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received
-- one gift replacing another, 17 for the Law was given through Moses, grace
and truth have come through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; it is
the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
b) A moment of silence:
Allow the voice of the Word echo within us.
3. MEDITATION
a) Some question for
reflection:
- God who is light has chosen to dispel the
darkness of man by making himself darkness. Man is born blind (cfr Jn 9:1-41):
blindness is his condition of creature. The symbolical gesture of Jesus in
gathering mud to spread over the eyes of the man born blind in John, signifies
the newness of the incarnation: it is a gesture of new creation. The blind man
whose eyes are still covered with the mud of creation is asked to make not an
act of faith but one of obedience: to go to the pool of Siloe, which means
“sent”. The one “sent” is Jesus. Are we able
to obey the Word, which comes to us every day?
- The blind man in the Gospel of John is poor: he has no pretence and asks for nothing. We often live in daily blindness, resigned that we do not deserve better horizons. Can we see ourselves as having nothing so that the gift of God may be ours too, a gift of the redemption of the flesh, but above all a gift of light and faith?
- «The law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known» (Jn 1:17-18). The knowledge of what happens in the story of our lives leads us to get out of the blindness of presumption and to contemplate the light that shines on the face of the Son of God. Our eyes, flooded with light, become open to events. When shall we be able to see God in our midst?
- The blind man in the Gospel of John is poor: he has no pretence and asks for nothing. We often live in daily blindness, resigned that we do not deserve better horizons. Can we see ourselves as having nothing so that the gift of God may be ours too, a gift of the redemption of the flesh, but above all a gift of light and faith?
- «The law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known» (Jn 1:17-18). The knowledge of what happens in the story of our lives leads us to get out of the blindness of presumption and to contemplate the light that shines on the face of the Son of God. Our eyes, flooded with light, become open to events. When shall we be able to see God in our midst?
b) A key to the
reading:
John was someone who was able to see the light
shining, who saw, heard and touched the light. In the beginning was the Word:
constantly turned towards the love of the Father, the Word became the Father’s
true explanation, his only exegesis (Jn 1:18), the revelation of his love. In
the logos was life and life was light, but the darkness did not welcome the
light. In the OT the revelation of the Word is the revelation of light: to this
corresponds the fullness of grace, the grace of grace, given to us in Jesus,
the revelation of God’s unlimited love (Jn 1:4-5, 16). The whole witness of the
OT is a witness of light: from Abraham to John the Baptist, God sends witnesses
to his light. John the Baptist is the last of these: he announces the light
that is to come into the world and recognises in Jesus the long awaited light
(Jn 1:6-8;15).
Dabar IHWH is God’s communication with man, which took place with all those whom God has called and to whom the word of the Lord came (cfr Is 55: 10-11). As Augustine says: The Word of God is the true light.
The word comes from the mouth of God, but it keeps its full force, and it is a person who creates and sustains the world. This word that creates and saves is identified with the Torah, which for Israel is the divine revelation in its totality, with Wisdom: The law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of Yahweh fromJerusalem (Is 2:3).
The memra (aramaic) is the concept used by John to go from the dabar to thelogos: in the targum the memra has a creating function, but above all a revealing function that is expressed particularly through the image of light. In the Targum Neophiti, the famous poem of the four nights on Ex 12:42 it is written: «The first night was when IHWH revealed himself above the world to create it: the world was desert and empty and darkness covered the face of the abyss. And the memra of IHWH was the light that shone». In the Targum Jerushalaim manuscript 110 says: «With his word IHWH shone and shed light».
The midrash stresses that the law was before the world, it was life, it was light:«The words of the Torah are light for the world» (Midrash Dt Rabba 7.3). Only daughter of God, the Torah was written with black fire in the white flame and sits on God’s knees while God sits on his throne of glory (cfr Midrash on Psalm 90:3).
The logos-light becomes present in the world. All is life in him: the Word takes the place of the Torah. The signs are transcendent, and more than a substitution we see a fulfilment. If for the Jew the Torah is God’s daughter, John shows that she is the logos that from the beginning is with God, is God. This logos becomes flesh: man, frail, limited, finite, placing his glory in the flesh. He put down his tent,skené, among us, he became the shekinah of God among us, and he showed his glory, the overwhelming presence of God to men. The glory that dwelt in the tent of the exodus (Ex 40:34-38), that dwelt in the temple (1 Kings 8: 10), now dwells in the flesh of the Son of God. This is indeed an epiphany. The shekinah is made visible, because the shekinah is Christ, place of the presence and of the divine glory. There is one who has seen the glory of God: the only Son full of grace and truth; he comes to reveal to us the face of the Father, the only one who can do this because he has his existence in the bosom of the Father. From this fullness of life comes the new creation. Moses gave the law. Christ gives grace and truth, love and fidelity. In the Son we can contemplate God without dying because whoever sees the Son sees also the Father: Jesus is the exegesis, the narration of the divine life.
And the place of revelation is his flesh. This is why John says at the time of fulfilment: “We have seen his glory” (Jn 1: 14), when at the “time of glorification” there is only darkness. The light is hidden when it gives its life for love of men, love to the very end, without restriction, respecting the freedom of man to crucify the Author of life. God is glorified at the moment of the passion: a love completed, definitive, unlimited, a love shown even to its extremist consequences. This is the mystery of the light that becomes a way in the darkness, because love likes the darkness of the night when life becomes more intimate and one’s words die to live in the breath of the words of the person loved, the light is in the love that gives light to that hour of expropriation, the hour when one loses oneself to find oneself again in the embrace of life.
Dabar IHWH is God’s communication with man, which took place with all those whom God has called and to whom the word of the Lord came (cfr Is 55: 10-11). As Augustine says: The Word of God is the true light.
The word comes from the mouth of God, but it keeps its full force, and it is a person who creates and sustains the world. This word that creates and saves is identified with the Torah, which for Israel is the divine revelation in its totality, with Wisdom: The law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of Yahweh fromJerusalem (Is 2:3).
The memra (aramaic) is the concept used by John to go from the dabar to thelogos: in the targum the memra has a creating function, but above all a revealing function that is expressed particularly through the image of light. In the Targum Neophiti, the famous poem of the four nights on Ex 12:42 it is written: «The first night was when IHWH revealed himself above the world to create it: the world was desert and empty and darkness covered the face of the abyss. And the memra of IHWH was the light that shone». In the Targum Jerushalaim manuscript 110 says: «With his word IHWH shone and shed light».
The midrash stresses that the law was before the world, it was life, it was light:«The words of the Torah are light for the world» (Midrash Dt Rabba 7.3). Only daughter of God, the Torah was written with black fire in the white flame and sits on God’s knees while God sits on his throne of glory (cfr Midrash on Psalm 90:3).
The logos-light becomes present in the world. All is life in him: the Word takes the place of the Torah. The signs are transcendent, and more than a substitution we see a fulfilment. If for the Jew the Torah is God’s daughter, John shows that she is the logos that from the beginning is with God, is God. This logos becomes flesh: man, frail, limited, finite, placing his glory in the flesh. He put down his tent,skené, among us, he became the shekinah of God among us, and he showed his glory, the overwhelming presence of God to men. The glory that dwelt in the tent of the exodus (Ex 40:34-38), that dwelt in the temple (1 Kings 8: 10), now dwells in the flesh of the Son of God. This is indeed an epiphany. The shekinah is made visible, because the shekinah is Christ, place of the presence and of the divine glory. There is one who has seen the glory of God: the only Son full of grace and truth; he comes to reveal to us the face of the Father, the only one who can do this because he has his existence in the bosom of the Father. From this fullness of life comes the new creation. Moses gave the law. Christ gives grace and truth, love and fidelity. In the Son we can contemplate God without dying because whoever sees the Son sees also the Father: Jesus is the exegesis, the narration of the divine life.
And the place of revelation is his flesh. This is why John says at the time of fulfilment: “We have seen his glory” (Jn 1: 14), when at the “time of glorification” there is only darkness. The light is hidden when it gives its life for love of men, love to the very end, without restriction, respecting the freedom of man to crucify the Author of life. God is glorified at the moment of the passion: a love completed, definitive, unlimited, a love shown even to its extremist consequences. This is the mystery of the light that becomes a way in the darkness, because love likes the darkness of the night when life becomes more intimate and one’s words die to live in the breath of the words of the person loved, the light is in the love that gives light to that hour of expropriation, the hour when one loses oneself to find oneself again in the embrace of life.
4. PRAYER
Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and
distress,
put on the beauty of God's glory for evermore,
wrap the cloak of God's saving justice around you,
put the diadem of the Eternal One's glory on your head,
for God means to show your splendour
to every nation under heaven,
and the name God gives you for evermore will be,
'Peace-through-Justice, and Glory-through-Devotion'.
Arise, Jerusalem,
stand on the heights and turn your eyes to the east:
see your children reassembled from west
and east at the Holy One's command,
rejoicing because God has remembered.
Though they left you on foot driven by enemies,
now God brings them back to you,
carried gloriously, like a royal throne.
For God has decreed the flattening of each high mountain,
of the everlasting hills,
the filling of the valleys to make the ground level
so that Israel can walk safely in God's glory.
And the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade for Israel,
at God's command;
for God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory,
with the mercy and saving justice which come from him.
Baruc 5,1-9
put on the beauty of God's glory for evermore,
wrap the cloak of God's saving justice around you,
put the diadem of the Eternal One's glory on your head,
for God means to show your splendour
to every nation under heaven,
and the name God gives you for evermore will be,
'Peace-through-Justice, and Glory-through-Devotion'.
Arise, Jerusalem,
stand on the heights and turn your eyes to the east:
see your children reassembled from west
and east at the Holy One's command,
rejoicing because God has remembered.
Though they left you on foot driven by enemies,
now God brings them back to you,
carried gloriously, like a royal throne.
For God has decreed the flattening of each high mountain,
of the everlasting hills,
the filling of the valleys to make the ground level
so that Israel can walk safely in God's glory.
And the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade for Israel,
at God's command;
for God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory,
with the mercy and saving justice which come from him.
Baruc 5,1-9
5. CONTEMPLATION
Father of light, I come to you with my whole
being. After going through times of goodness and times of slipping into evil I
finally understand, because of my experience, that alone I only exist in shadow
and darkness. Without your light I cannot see anything. Indeed, you are the
source of life; you, Sun of justice, who opens my eyes, you the way that leads
to the Father. Today you have come among us, eternal Word, as light that goes
on crossing the pages of history to offer humankind the gifts of grace and joy
in the desert of famine and emptiness: the bread and wine of your holy Name,
which at the hour of the cross will become visible signs of consummated love,
give us birth with you from that fertile side that is the Church, the cradle of
your life for us. Like Mary, we wish to stay by your side to learn to be
like her, full of grace from the Most High. And when our tents will welcome the
cloud of the Spirit in the radiance of one more word, we shall understand the
Glory of your Face and we shall bless in an adoring silence without any further
hesitation the Beauty of being one with you, living Word of God.
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