December 24, 2025
Wednesday of the Fourth Week
of Advent
Mass in the
Morning
Lectionary: 200
Reading
1
2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
When King David
was settled in his palace,
and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
“Here I am living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God dwells in a tent!”
Nathan answered the king,
“Go, do whatever you have in mind,
for the LORD is with you.”
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?
“‘It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.’”
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (2) For
ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the rock, my savior.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.”
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
O Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Zechariah his
father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
for he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hand of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122425.cfm
Commentary on 2
Samuel 7:1-5,8-11,16
The reading from the Second Book of Samuel speaks of David’s
concern to build a fitting house for the Lord. David has just settled into his
new palace and it is becoming a source of embarrassment to him that, while he
lives in such comfort, the Lord—whose presence is represented by the “ark of
God” (Ark of the Covenant)—is still housed in a tent, as it was during the long
years of wandering in the desert. This was the case from the time the Law was
given on Mount Sinai up to the present situation, where David now rules as king
in Jerusalem.
When David tells the prophet Nathan about this, the prophet
seems to agree:
Go, do all that you have in mind, for the Lord is with
you.
Nathan seems to have made this statement on his own
initiative, because:
…that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go
and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a
house to live in?”
The Lord then goes on to say (not part of today’s reading):
I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up
the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a
tent and a tabernacle. (2 Sam 7:6)
What is more, the Lord never once complained about this
arrangement; he never once was heard to say:
Why have you not built me a house of cedar? (2
Sam 7:7)
There is some conjecture that here we have an echo of an
opinion that was opposed to having a temple, which seemed to make Israel follow
the religious practice of some of its hostile enemies, especially the
Canaanites. And, of course, with the death of Jesus, the Temple came to an end
for his followers, and the Lord’s presence was henceforth found in his people.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s
Spirit dwells in you?….For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1
Cor 3:16-17)
The new and enduring temple is the Christian community,
which is the Body of the Risen Christ, his visible presence on earth.
But the Lord goes on to say that David had been taken “from
the pasture” (where he was a shepherd boy) and made prince over his people
Israel. God has been with David and his people, has protected them from their
enemies, and will make David’s name great. It is a new development in the
people’s relationship with Yahweh. From Moses’ time, Israel was a people of
twelve tribes. Now it will be a nation organised in their own land, with a
central and stable authority—David and his successor kings.
In due course, the Lord will give his people a house where
he will dwell. It will not be built by David, but by his offspring,
specifically, his son Solomon. Eventually a magnificent temple will be built,
one of the wonders of the ancient world. It would be rebuilt even more
magnificently by Herod the Great and, in fact, the construction was not yet
finished in the lifetime of Jesus.
Today’s passage ends with the words:
Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever
before me; your throne shall be established forever.
The key to understanding the whole of this passage (and
there are verses omitted in our reading) is to be aware of the meanings given
to the word ‘house’. It refers to the palace that David has built for himself,
the temple that Solomon will build and the dynasty which David will inaugurate.
David will not be the one to build a house for the Lord in the sense of a
temple building, but he will lay the foundations for a different kind of house,
the House of David, the dynasty and long line of kings who will come after
him—some of them good men and others utter scoundrels. Nor, in fact, did
David’s dynasty last for ever. It fell in the year 587 BC, probably after these
words were written.
Nevertheless, in the New Testament the line of David is seen
reaching down to Jesus, who in the Gospel is often referred to as “Son of
David”. And the Gospel for today is the Benedictus, the hymn of
praise sung by Zechariah after the birth and circumcision of his son, John the
Baptist. There we read:
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people
and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his child David… (Luke 1:68-69)
The implication of this passage for us in today’s Mass is
that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the new temple where God lives. We call her
the new ‘Ark of the Covenant’. She is a fitting place, a place of perfection
without any trace of sin or evil. But later on, Paul will remind Christians
that each one of them too is now a temple of God, of the Spirit of Jesus. In
the New Covenant there is no longer any temple building, but “you are God’s
temple”, a temple of which each one is a constitutive part.
And so we could well remember that what pleases God is not
so much the beautiful churches we build for him, but the spiritual temple he
wants us to build in people themselves. Once again, we ask the Prince of Peace
to come and take up his abode in each one of us and let us radiate that peace
to all we meet.
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Commentary on Luke
1:67-79
The Gospel is the great Benedictus hymn
(meaning ‘Blessed’ from its opening word in Latin), which is sung or said every
day in the Divine Office at the end of Morning Prayer or Lauds.
Luke puts it into the mouth of Zechariah, the husband of
Elizabeth and father of the newly born John the Baptist. Because he doubted the
word of the angel, Zechariah had been struck dumb, but when—at the circumcision
of his son—he confirmed that the boy’s name would be John, he recovered his
speech and broke out into this song of praise.
God is praised and blessed because:
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his child David…
This is a clear reference to Jesus.
Zechariah thanks God for having—in the person of
Jesus—visited his people “and redeemed them”, just as he had promised through
the mouths of the prophets down the ages:
…he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies…
Our ‘enemies’ are not those to whom we are hostile, for
there should be no such people. Rather, they are those who wish us harm, simply
because of our adherence to the vision of life that Jesus has given us.
What was the purpose of this deliverance? Was it so that we
could gloat over the defeat of those who wish us harm? No, it was that we:
…might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.
There is enough there already for us to reflect on with deep
gratitude.
But Zechariah goes on to speak of his newly-born son:
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most
High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways…
That will be John’s special role, to prepare the people for
the coming of Jesus our Saviour. He will do that by giving:
…his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
This will be a salvation that will come through Jesus giving
his people the experience of being reconciled and reunited with their God.
It is clear that what is said by Zechariah of his son John
applies very much to us also. For it is our calling to “go before the Lord to
prepare his ways” for others.
All this will happen because of:
…the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us…
That “dawn” of course, is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus.
Jesus will give light:
…to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death…
That surely includes all of us in some way. In the
brightness of that light, he will:
…guide our feet into the way of peace.
The realisation of that peace and harmony in each one, in
every community and throughout every society, is a sign that the Kingdom has
come.
We all realise how much that peace is needed in our world,
in our own society, in our own communities, in our homes and in our own selves.
May the Prince of Peace come and dwell among us this Christmas.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/a1224g/
Wednesday, December
24, 2025
4th Week of
Advent
Opening Prayer
Lord, loving and mighty God, you
fulfilled your promise to save us when Jesus, your Son, became one of us. We
are no longer in the dark, for you let your light shine on us. Bring us your
salvation now, set us really free from our sins, let us become fully human with
Jesus and go with him in your way of peace and love.
Let him be our strength, our constant
companion on the road, that through him and growing in his humanity, we may be
your beloved sons and daughters. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading – Luke 1: 67-79
Zechariah, father of John, was
filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited his people, he has set them free, and he has established for
us a saving power in the House of his servant David, just as he proclaimed, by
the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times, that he would save us from
our enemies and from the hands of all those who hate us, and show faithful love
to our ancestors, and so keep in mind his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to
our father Abraham, that he would grant us, free from fear, to be delivered
from the hands of our enemies, to serve him in holiness and uprightness in his
presence, all our days.
And you, little child, you shall be called Prophet of the Most
High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare a way for him, to give his
people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of
the faithful love of our God in which the rising Sun has come from on high to
visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow dark as
death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Reflection
•
The Canticle of Zechariah is one of the many
canticles of the community of the first Christians which we find dispersed in
the writings of the New Testament: in the Gospels (Lk 1: 46-55; Lk 2: 14; 2:
29-32), in the Letters of Saint Paul (1 Co 13: 1-13; Eph 1: 3-14; 2: 14-18;
Phil 2: 6-11; Col 1: 15-20) and in the Book of
Revelation
(1: 7; 4: 8; 11: 17-18; 12: 10-12; 15: 3-4; 18: 1 up to 19: 8). These Canticles
give us an idea of how faith and the weekly liturgy were lived during those
first times. They make us guess that the liturgy was, at the same, a
celebration of the mystery, profession of faith, animation of hope and
catechesis.
•
Here in the Canticle of Zechariah, the members
of those first Christian communities, almost all of them Jewish, sang the joy
of having been visited by the goodness of God which, in Jesus, the promises are
fulfilled. The Canticle has a beautiful structure, well elaborated. It seems
like a slow climbing which leads the faithful toward the height of the
mountain, from where they observe the road that they have travelled since the
time of Abraham (Lk 1: 6873), they experience the beginning of the fulfilment of
the promises (Lk 1: 7475) and from there they look ahead, they foresee the road
that the child John will have to travel up to the time of the birth of Jesus:
the sun of Justice who comes to prepare, for all, the way of Peace (Lk 76-79).
•
Zechariah begins praising God because he has
visited and redeemed his people (Lk 1: 68) he has established for us a saving
power in the House of his servant David (Lk 1: 69), just as he promised by the
mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times (Lk 1: 70). And he describes in
what this powerful salvation consists: that he would save us from our enemies
and from the hands of those who hate us (Lk 1: 71). This salvation is the
result, not of our own effort, but rather of the merciful goodness of God who
remembered his holy Covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham, our father (Lk
1: 72). God is faithful. This is the foundation of our security.
•
Continuing Zechariah describes in what the oath
of God sworn to Abraham consists: it is the hope that “freed from the hands of
the enemies we can serve him, without fear, in holiness and uprightness, in his
presence, all our days.” This is the great desire of all the people of all
times: to live in peace, without fear, serving God and neighbor, in holiness
and uprightness, all our days of our life. This is the height of the mountain,
the point of arrival, which rose up in the horizon with the birth of John (Lk
1: 73-75).
•
Now the attention of the Canticle is addressed
toward John, the new born child. He will be a prophet of the Most High, because
he will go before the Lord to prepare him the way, to give to his people the
knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins (Lk 1: 76-77).
Here we have a clear reference to the messianic prophecy which said: “There
will be no further need for everyone to teach neighbor or brother, saying,
‘Learn to know Yahweh. No, they will all know me, from the least to the
greatest, Yahweh declares, since I will forgive their guilt and never more call
their sin to mind” (Jer 31: 34). In the Bible “to know” is synonymous of “to
experience.” Forgiveness and reconciliation make us experience the presence of
God.
•
All this will be the fruit of the merciful
action of the heart of God and will be realized fully with the coming of Jesus:
The rising Sun has come from on high to give light to those who live in
darkness and the dark shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of
Peace (Lk 1: 78-79).
•
Sometimes it is good to read the Canticle as if
it were the first time, in such a way as to be able to discover in it all the
novelty of the Good News of God.
•
Have you experienced, sometimes, the goodness of
God? Have you experienced sometimes, the pardon of God?
Concluding Prayer
I shall sing the faithful love of Yahweh
forever, from age to age my lips shall declare your constancy, for you have
said: love is built to last forever, you have fixed your constancy firm in the
heavens. (Ps 89: [1]-2)
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