"The Nativity," Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni), ca. 1406–10; Metropolitan Museum of Art/Open Access
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Homily for the Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas) – December 25, 2022
Readings:
For the Vigil: Is 62:1–5; Ps 89:4–5, 16–17, 27, 29; Acts 13:16–17, 22–25; Mt 1:1–25
For the Day: Is 52:7–10; Ps 98:1, 2–3, 3–4, 5–6; Heb 1:1–6; Jn 1:1–18
By Fr. Kenneth M. Dos Santos, MIC
“Jesus, Redeemer of all, Who is before the origin of light, equal to the glory of the Father, the Supreme Father sends forth. You are the light and splendor of the Father, You are the perennial hope of all; attend the entreaties which Your servants pour out through the earth.
“Remember, O Author of things, because once from our flesh holy things came from the womb of the virgin; by being born, You have assumed human form. The day now at hand declares this, the day hastening through the course of time, [declares] that alone from the bosom of the Father, You came for the salvation of the world. The stars, the earth, the sea; everything which is under the heavens, greet this Author of a new salvation with a new song. And we, to whom He conducted a blessed wave of sacred blood, release a tribute of praise for the day of Your birth. Jesus, born of the virgin, to You be glory, with the Father and the kind Spirit unto everlasting ages.”1
On this Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, we ponder these words of the Latin hymn Jesu Redemptor Omnium. Specifically, that Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, is One with the Father before the origin of all created light and that He is sent by the Supreme Father that He take on flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the beginning
This reality is reflected today within the Prologue of the Gospel of John: “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.”2
The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of creation and God’s providence in paragraph 280:
“Creation is the foundation of ‘all God’s saving plans,’ the ‘beginning of the history of salvation’ (cf. GCD 51) that culminates in Christ. Conversely, the mystery of Christ casts conclusive light on the mystery of creation and reveals the end for which ‘in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth:’ from the beginning, God envisaged the glory of the new creation in Christ” (cf. Gen 1:1; Rom 8:18–23).3
In this regard, we know that the Book of the Prophet Isaiah offers us a beautiful image as Isaiah prophesies concerning a people who dwell in the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali. Although this people walked in a land of darkness and gloom, they have witnessed a great light.
Prince of Peace
Isaiah uses the analogy of light to speak about God Who is all light and all truth Himself. And, if there be any doubt about whom Isaiah is speaking, this is completely dispelled from our minds and hearts, as we read a few verses later: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’”4 Isaiah is inspired by the Holy Spirit to write about the Only Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, approximately seven hundred years before Christ took on flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Thus, we should not be surprised that St. John the Apostle and Evangelist also makes a connection between this light, and what he has seen as a follower of Christ. With his own eyes he has seen the light of the world, Jesus Christ, the One Who enables the blind to receive their sight, the lame to walk, lepers to be cleansed, and the deaf to hear.
But do we really possess a clear concept of what it is to encounter someone who is completely without sin, someone who is purity itself? We have met many people over the course of our lives, and no doubt a few have exhibited true holiness; yet not one of them was perfectly sinless. And, if we look to creation and the analogy of light Isaiah invokes, we have a magnificent concept to begin speaking about God. However, we must acknowledge the ways in which this analogy fails to grasp the reality of God, how created light is not seen by our eyes perfectly, how it can be refracted and diminished through particles in the air, or through certain materials such as plastic or glass, so that our eyes fail to receive the fullness of light the source emits.
Outside of time
Unlike the material world, Jesus is fully God and fully Man; He is One with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He exists outside of time; He is Divine and cannot be corrupted or diminished by this world. Christ is completely without corruption, and it is He Who willingly takes on flesh, not for His Own sake, but rather, for our sake. Christ, Who owed no debt for sin, out of love and mercy submitted His body to pain, suffering, and death, for us.
This is the very core of love and mercy. He, Who is God Himself, took on flesh in the womb of a humble Virgin and is born in a simple stable. God’s providence allows for these humble beginnings. Jesus was not born into a rich and powerful family. The Son of God was not born of this Virgin that He serve Himself. He was not seeking riches, nor looking to secure for Himself any earthly power over others. Instead, Jesus desires always to humble Himself, to serve and heal others. To have mercy on those most in need.
Thus, let us ponder with great joy these words of St. Gregory Nazianzen:
“Christ is born, glorify Him. Christ from heaven, go out to meet Him. Christ on earth; be exalted. Sing unto the Lord all the whole earth; and that I may join both in one word, Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, for Him Who is of heaven and then of earth. Christ in the flesh, rejoice with trembling and with joy; with trembling because of your sins, with joy because of your hope. Christ of a Virgin; O you Matrons live as Virgins, that you may be Mothers of Christ. Who does not worship Him That is from the beginning? Who does not glorify Him That is the Last?
“II. Again the darkness is past; again, Light is made; again, Egypt is punished with darkness; again, Israel is enlightened by a pillar (cf. Ex. 14:20). The people that sat in the darkness of ignorance, let it see the Great Light of full knowledge (cf. Is. 9:6). Old things are passed away, behold all things have become new (cf. 1 Cor. 5:17). The letter gives way, the Spirit comes to the front. The shadows flee away, the Truth comes in upon them. Melchizedek is concluded. He that was without Mother becomes without Father (without Mother of His former state, without Father of His second). The laws of nature are upset; the world above must be filled. Christ commands it, let us not set ourselves against Him. O clap your hands together all you people, because unto us a Child is born, and a Son given unto us, Whose Government is upon His shoulder (for with the Cross it is raised up), and His Name is called The Angel of the Great Counsel of the Father (cf. Is 9:6). Let John cry, Prepare the way of the Lord (cf. Mat. 3:3): I too will cry the power of this Day. He Who is not carnal is Incarnate; the Son of God becomes the Son of Man, Jesus Christ the Same yesterday, and today, and forever (cf. Heb. 13:8). Let the Jews be offended, let the Greeks deride (cf. 1 Cor. 1:23); let heretics talk till their tongues ache. Then shall they believe, when they see Him ascending up into heaven; and if not then, yet when they see Him coming out of heaven and sitting as Judge.
“III. Of these on a future occasion; for the present the Festival is the Theophany or Birth-day, for it is called both, two titles being given to the one thing. For God was manifested to man by birth. On the one hand Being, and eternally Being, of the Eternal Being, above cause and word, for there was no word before The Word; and on the other hand for our sakes also Becoming, that He Who gives us our being might also give us our Well-being, or rather might restore us by His Incarnation, when we had by wickedness fallen from wellbeing. The name Theophany is given to it in reference to the Manifestation, and that of Birthday in respect of His Birth.
“IV. This is our present Festival; it is this which we are celebrating today, the Coming of God to Man, that we might go forth, or rather (for this is the more proper expression) that we might go back to God — that putting off the old man, we might put on the New; and that as we died in Adam, so we might live in Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 15:22), being born with Christ and crucified with Him and buried with Him and rising with Him (cf. Col. 2:11). For I must undergo the beautiful conversion, and as the painful succeeded the more blissful, so must the more blissful come out of the painful. For where sin abounded Grace did much more abound (cf. Rom. 5:20); and if a taste condemned us, how much more does the Passion of Christ justify us? Therefore, let us keep the Feast, not after the manner of a heathen festival, but after a godly sort; not after the way of the world, but in a fashion above the world; not as our own but as belonging to Him Who is ours, or rather as our Master’s; not as of weakness, but as of healing; not as of creation, but of re-creation.”5
Father Kenneth M. Dos Santos, MIC, is Provincial Secretary for the Marian Fathers. This homily was first published in Homiletic & Pastoral Review.
Notes
1. Jesu Redemptor Omnium. Arranged by Oreste Ravanello. English Literal Translation. Christopher Perrin. 2008.
2.Jn. 1:1–9, Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1986, Saint Joseph edition of the New American Bible (Hereafter cited as NAB).
3. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 280.
4. Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain). The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, Translated from the Original Tongues, Being the Version Set Forth A.D. 1611, Old and New Testaments Revised A.D. 1881–1885 and A.D. 1901 (Apocrypha Revised A.D. 1894), Compared with the Most Ancient Authorities and Revised A.D. 1952 (Apocrypha Revised A.D. 1957). Catholic ed. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1994., Is. 9:6.
5. St. Gregory Nazianzen. Oration 38. On the Theophany or Nativity of Christ.
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