|
Seasonal greetings to our family in Jesus, we wish you all a blessed, holy and joyful Christmas. On Christmas Day we celebrate the most important event in the history of our world: God becomes man, takes on our human flesh and offers to us the opportunity to become children of God, to share in His divine life in a supernatural way. “To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave the power to become children of God.” (John 1:12) It is here that Jesus is given the title Emmanuel, meaning “God with us”. St John opens his Gospel with the following words: “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 were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) These words clearly proclaim the divinity of Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God. It is from this that we are given another of Jesus’ titles, as He becomes “The Word Made Flesh.”
St John then moves quickly on to another theme: “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world” (John 1:9) Jesus becomes the “Light of the World” and through this light comes “grace and truth” (v:17). The image of light is found frequently throughout the Old Testament to designate the Messiah: the prophet Isaiah predicts a great light will shine for all those who walk in darkness (Isaiah 9:2). He tells us that a Son is given to us and that the government will be upon His shoulders, he also gives us some names by which Jesus will be known: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father” and “Prince of Peace”.
The prophet David also tells us: “The Lord is my Light and my Salvation” (Ps 27:1). And again “For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light do we see light.” (Ps 36:9) In the New Testament we see Zechariah; (Father of John the Baptist) who when filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:67) spoke of his child, John, being a prophet of the Most High (v:76). He then goes on to speak of how God will “give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (v:79). When the prophet Simeon takes the child Jesus in his arms at the time of purification he reveals that Jesus is a “light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:25-32)
Finally, Jesus Himself tells us “I am the light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). It is thought that He said this during the feast of the Tabernacles See (John 7:2). It was the custom of the Jews on the first night of the feast to fill the court of the women with the bright light of huge lamps which lit up the sky. This was a reminder to them of the bright cloud of God’s presence which guided the Israelites through the wilderness during the Exodus (Ex 13:21). Jesus was telling the people that He is the “Light” which they must now follow to be saved, not, as of old, from the bondage of slavery, when God led His people out of Egypt, but under the New Covenant that God had promised His people, that they should be freed from the bondage of sin that is in the world.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us give thanks to Jesus this Christmas, for not only have we come to know that He is The Light of the World, but we have opened our hearts to Him to let that light permeate our inner being. We have received His grace, and our souls have been nourished with His Word, and so that light lives within our hearts to radiate to the whole world.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 5:16)
|
