Luke 2:1-20 cf. John 1:1-18
God the Father had planned this even before the
time, even before He began the Creation, to send His only begotten Son, who
pre-existed with Him, by electing Mary to be the mother of His Son, thus,
making her the Immaculate Conception. And, this was indicated when Adam and Eve
sinned, upon being tempted by Satan (Genesis 3:15). And, this was further
prophesized in later years (i.e. Isaiah 7:14, 9:1-10; 60:1-9; 2 Samuel 7:5-16;
Micah 5:1-4a; Luke 1:67-79).
Now, the fullness of time for this plan of eons ago
has come. Following the first two joyful mysteries of the Holy Rosary,
Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) and Visitation (Luke 1:39-56), the arrival of the
incarnated Christ through the birth out of Mary’s womb (Luke 2:1-20) is also
reflected in the third joyful mystery of the Holy Rosary, followed by
Presentation (Luke 2:22-38) in the fourth joyful mystery.
Though historically, the birth of the incarnated
Christ already took place about 2,000 years ago, when Caesar Augustus reigned
the Roman Empire, in the town of Bethlehem, as described in Luke 2:1-20, today,
we must let it happen in the very hearts of ours, wherever we may be on this
earth. For this, we have been working diligently, as called by John the
Baptist, who is the voice crying out in the wilderness in Isaiah 40:3-5
(Matthew 3:2-3//Mark 1:1-5//Luke 3:1-14; John 1:23), making our hearts filled
with peace and purity, removing sins by penance and emotional ups and downs.
This is how we have been working to make the straight way of the Christ to come
into our hearts on this day.
Luke reminds us that Mary was not able to give birth
to Christ in an idealistic environment, because the world did not see him in
Mary. So, they could not provide her with a room in the inn (Luke 2:7).
Nevertheless, Mary was able to give a safe birth to
the incarnated Christ, as it has been prophesized, because, as Angel Gabriel
said at the Annunciation, Mary was assured of the protection of God’s power
(Luke 1:35). So, even the birth of Christ could have been compromised by, say,
infection, it took place safely.
Also, let us remember, it took place in Bethlehem.
It is not just David’s home town assure of Christ’s Davidic background but it
is also to suggest that this incarnated Christ is meant to serve us as the
Living Bread of Life (John 6:51), namely, to offer his whole body as our food
for eternal life (John 6:54), as Bethlehem literally means the city of bread.
This was also further affirmed with the fact that the incarnated Christ was
placed in a feeding trough, called manger (Luke 2:7, 12). But, this manger was
not really to place food for animals in the stable, where Mary gave birth to
Christ, but to feed us with the Body of Christ, as the Sacrament of the Holy
Eucharist, which Christ instituted at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26-29//Mark
14:22-25//Luke 22:14-20), reflected in the fifth luminous mystery of the Holy
Rosary, as well!
And, who were the very first witness of this birth arrival of the incarnated Christ?
The shepherds!
Why?
Because the angel told them about it?
Yes, the angel announced to the shepherd, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to
you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For today in the city
of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will
be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and
lying in a manger”(Luke 2:10-12).
But, it had to be the shepherd to be announced?
Remember, who stayed awake during that dark hour of
the day, before the daybreak, when the incarnated Christ was born?
The shepherds!
While the whole town was asleep, these shepherds were keeping their
night watch to make sure their sheep were safe during the night (Luke 2:8).
Remember, when we began our Advent journey to
prepare for this moment?
We were repeatedly reminded to stay vigilant and to
stay awake (Matthew 24:37-44 (A); Mark 13;33-37(B); Luke 21:25-28, 34-36) on
the First Sunday of Advent, as to echo our need to be vigilantly prepared for
the coming of Christ like the wise virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) and as David
disciplined himself to stay vigilant for God to finds His permanent place
(Psalm 132:1-10).
Also, given Zechariah’s prophesy in his Benedictus,
the coming of the incarnated Christ is the daybreak from the heaven above (Luke
1:78), echoing the prophetic vision in Isaiah 60:1-9 and Psalm 130:6.
That is why we have Midnight Mass, for which we read
Luke 2:1-14, and Dawn Mass, for which we read Luke 2:1-15, keeping our eyes
open, keeping the Sanctuary open, so that we, too, can witness the arrival of
the incarnated Christ, with his mother, Mary, and her husband, Joseph, as the
shepherd did.
Upon the angel’s announcement of the birth of Christ
in Bethlehem to the shepherds, a multitude of heavenly hosts with the angel
praised God in their hymn:
Gloria
in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis – Glory to God in
the highest and on earth peace to people of good will (those on whom God’s
favor rests).
Luke 2:14
Then, the shepherds said to one another:
Let
us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which te Lord
has made known to us (Luke 2:15) and came to witness the
incarnated Christ, making his theophany, as he was lying in a manger, as told
by the angel (Luke 2:16).
And, that’s not all. What is important to us here is
the fact that those shepherd, who have witnessed the incarnated Christ at his
birth from Mary did keep what they witnessed to themselves but went out to
testify. Remember, to witness (μάρτυς –
martus) must lead to testify (συνεπιμαρτυρέω - sunepimartureo), because testifying is
meant to bring people together based on what is witnessed (σύν/sun – together + ἐπιμαρτυρέω/epimartureo
– to witness to fit (to bring people together)), as “martuero” is from “martus”
and relating to the word, “martyr”). So, the shepherds went out to testify what
they witnessed in the barn in the town of Bethlehem, the birth of the
incarnated Christ, as to bring people together, as prophesized in Isaiah60:5-9.
So, started by the shepherd, the testimonies to the incarnated Christ have been
spread through the world, reflecting, Psalm 98:3; Isaiah 11:12; 45:22;
62:11-12. Later, Christ himself, after
his death and resurrection, just before his return to the Father, has commended
us to do so, making disciples of all nations to make us apostolic, which means
“being sent out to give testimony to our witness to Christ”(Matthew 28:19), as
affirmed in Acts 1:8 so that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to go to all
the ends of the earth to give our testimony, upon Pentecost. So, this is also
echoed in these words to conclude Mass, “Ite,
missa est”- Mass is now ended, go in peace (You are now dismissed, so go in
peace to give witness – to proclaim the Good News of your witness to Christ).
An important lesson from the shepherds at the
Nativity is that we cannot keep the joy of witnessing the incarnated Christ
arriving in our hearts to ourselves. We shall waste no time in going out to
give our testimony! If not but just staying up in our cozy homes all the time,
though we are happy, we are not experiencing authentic Christmas.
Remember, the Christmas Gospel, Luke 2:1-20,
describes nothing comfortable in our sense, as this world of materialism and
consumerism define as comfort and happiness. The incarnated Christ arrived in
the abject poverty when those who are in material wealth were sleeping
comfortably in their homes. The shepherds, who stayed awake that dark hour and
witnessed the incarnated Christ first, were considered rather as “marginalized”. Attending smelly sheep as a shepherd was not
a job for those who are of wealth and privilege. And, his mother was not
allowed to have a nice room to give him birth.
The incarnated Christ came to this world not really
as a welcomed being.
Where is that red carpet, then?
How come he was not given birth in a room in the
palace in Jerusalem, then, but in a smelly animal stable outside the inn?
Let us remember and reflect that God sent His only
begotten beloved Son as the incarnated Christ to us in poverty and
marginalization. And, this theme runs throughout his ministry and his
eschatological teaching in Matthew 25:31-46.
So, in this Christmas today, where are the
poor…where are the least among Christ’s brothers and sisters? Or, are you too
preoccupied with what you get for yourself or too comfortable with your wealth
to even think of such a thing, falling sleepy as you have had a lot of drinks
and eaten more than you need? If that is your Christmas, then, actually, there
is no Christ with you. It is just your own show to please yourself and perhaps,
your own family and relatives. And this is how true Christmas has been lost in
this world of materialism and consumerism and relativism.
Can we really recover real Christmas today?
We can spend this day, reflecting what it means to have the
incarnated Christ to dwell among us, as Mary did (Luke 2:19), or already
starting to give witness with glorifying and praising God, as the shepherd did
(Luke 2:17-18, 20). There are both contemplation, as Mary did, and action, as
the shepherd did.
Merry Christmas! And let us ponder what it means to
have true Merry Christmas and why it has to be merry….and let us also share
this merriment by giving our testimony to the joyful arrival and reception of
Christ in our hearts!
All the above reflection from Luke 2:1-20 can be
further reflected in juxtaposition to John 1:1-18, which is the Gospel Reading
for Christmas Daytime Mass.
No comments:
Post a Comment