And the Word Became Flesh Christmas Day - Mass during the Day
Isaiah 52:7-10 Hebrews 1:1-6John 1:1-5, 9-14
Second reading from Hebrews
Brothers and sisters: In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets. In these last days He has spoken to us through his Son whom He has made heir of all things and through whom He first created the universe. This Son is the reflection of God’s glory. He is the exact likeness of the Father’s being. He sustains all things by his powerful word. When He had cleansed us from our sins, He took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. The Son was made greater than all the angels, just as the name which God gave Him is greater than theirs. For God never said to any of his angels, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.[1]” Or again, “I will be his Father, and He shall be my Son.” And again, when He leads his firstborn into the world He says, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.[2]”
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.
The Prologue of St. 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. 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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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The 3 Masses of Christmas
The 3 Masses of Christmas
Christmas is the only day which has three different Masses assigned it: Mass at Midnight, Mass at Dawn, and Mass during the Day. Each has its own scripture readings. The gospel for the Mass at Midnight relates that an angel of the Lord announced to shepherds watching their sheep that a Savior has been born to them in the city of David, and that there they would find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. (Lk 2:1-14) That gospel (which is story-telling at its best) perks up the ears of the child in us. The midnight tradition seems to be an interpretation of a passage from the Book of Wisdom: “While all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of her course, thy Almighty Word, O Lord, came down from thy royal throne in heaven.” (Wis. 18:14-15)
The gospel for the Mass at Dawn continues the story-telling, as it has the shepherds rushing off to Bethlehem, finding the baby lying in a manger, and then returning to their flocks, praising God for all that they had heard and seen. (Lk 2:15-20)
The gospel for the Mass During the Day is the prologue from the gospel of St. John -- that evangelist whose symbol is an eagle, because he soars, as he proclaims that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh.” (Jn 1:1, 14) Because he soars like an eagle, John’s gospel is more attuned to the mind of a theologian than to the ears of a child.
The gospel for the Mass at Dawn continues the story-telling, as it has the shepherds rushing off to Bethlehem, finding the baby lying in a manger, and then returning to their flocks, praising God for all that they had heard and seen. (Lk 2:15-20)
The gospel for the Mass During the Day is the prologue from the gospel of St. John -- that evangelist whose symbol is an eagle, because he soars, as he proclaims that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh.” (Jn 1:1, 14) Because he soars like an eagle, John’s gospel is more attuned to the mind of a theologian than to the ears of a child.
Verbalism—too much stock in words
The soaring Eagle’s profound prologue lays an axe to verbalism. That’s a tendency in us to put too much stock in words. Verbalism is making people live and die by words, as the Inquisitors did when they burned St. Joan d’Arc at the stake for not having the right words for their theological questions.
Less drastic, verbalism is filling the Sunday liturgy with a steady flow of words -- with three scripture readings, a responsorial psalm, a Gloria, a Credo, an Agnus Dei and an Our Father. That might satisfy our need to always be doing something, but it drowns out the silence (so prized by Quakers) in which the voice of God can be heard.
More annoying, verbalism is the doctrinaire approach to the great issues of life -- like abortion, celibacy, ordination, homosexuality, capital punishment, and human sexuality. The solutions to the complex issues of life lay not so much in the words of our mouths as in the deep recesses of the human heart. The doctrinaire approach assumes that preaching the gospel means speaking words; Mother Teresa of Calcutta preached the gospel all her life, and really never spoke a word.
The soaring Eagle’s prologue lays an axe to our verbalism. The Word of God now is no longer a word (or a plethora of words). In the Incarnation the Word became flesh – became an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Less drastic, verbalism is filling the Sunday liturgy with a steady flow of words -- with three scripture readings, a responsorial psalm, a Gloria, a Credo, an Agnus Dei and an Our Father. That might satisfy our need to always be doing something, but it drowns out the silence (so prized by Quakers) in which the voice of God can be heard.
More annoying, verbalism is the doctrinaire approach to the great issues of life -- like abortion, celibacy, ordination, homosexuality, capital punishment, and human sexuality. The solutions to the complex issues of life lay not so much in the words of our mouths as in the deep recesses of the human heart. The doctrinaire approach assumes that preaching the gospel means speaking words; Mother Teresa of Calcutta preached the gospel all her life, and really never spoke a word.
The soaring Eagle’s prologue lays an axe to our verbalism. The Word of God now is no longer a word (or a plethora of words). In the Incarnation the Word became flesh – became an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
The Word became flesh in Father Damien
Fr. Damien de Veuster (1840 -1889), a Belgian priest of Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, ministered to lepers on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. Slandered by a Protestant minister, Rev. Hyde, Damien was defended by Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote an impassioned defense of Damien in 1905. After sixteen years caring for the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the lepers, he eventually contracted leprosy and died. That gained him the title of “Martyr of Charity.” On October 11, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI canonized Fr. Damien in the presence of Belgian King Albert II.
The Word of God says, “There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15: 13) That Word became flesh in this “Martyr of Charity.”
The Word became flesh in Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910 –1997), Nobel Peace Prize winner, and founder of the Missionaries of Charity, ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying in the streets of Calcutta. That gained her the title “Saint of the Gutter.” Though praised by many individuals, governments and organizations, Mother Teresa had to face all kinds of criticisms -- like proselytizing helpless people, baptizing the dying, extolling the `spiritual goodness’ of poverty, and opaquely spending donated money. Despite those who chose to be negative, Pope John Paul II canonized the “Gutter Saint” on October 19, 2003. In 2010 on the 100th anniversary of her birth on August 26, 1910, she was honored around the world, and her work was praised by the President of India.
The Word of God says, “I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you took care of me.” (Mt. 25:35-36) That Word became flesh in this “Saint of the Gutter.”
The Word became flesh in Father Mychal Judge
Franciscan Fr. Mychal Judge, (1933-2001) was a compassionate champion of the needy and forgotten of New York City, and a beloved chaplain of the N.Y. City Fire Department. Every Christmas Eve, he’d walk up Ninth Avenue, in his brown habit and sandals, carrying a baby doll wrapped in a towel, to a shelter for abused and homeless women. There he’d place the doll on a table which served as the altar for Mass, and he’d ask the women, “Where do you think baby Jesus would want to be tonight, and then he’d answer his own question: “Right here with you, celebrating his birthday.” The story of his incredible selfless life and heroic death in the line of duty as chaplain of the fire department was one of the first to come out of the horrendous 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.The Word of God says, “There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15: 13) That Word became flesh in Fr. Mychal Judge.
The Word became flesh in Frank Daly
On the feast of jolly old St. Nick, Dec. 6, 1984, in Milwaukee, WI, the bus was full of high-school kids going home. It was only 10 above zero, and a tattered and torn woman entered. She was pregnant, and what’s more, she had no shoes on her feet! 10 above zero and no shoes on her feet! The kids were making fun of her. When the bus pulled up to 124th and Bluemound Road, one of the kids, 14-year-old Frank Daly, stepped up to the front to get off. He had his tennis shoes in his hands, and his feet were bare! And he said to the woman, “Here, M’am, you need them more than I do!!” That remarkable story hit the front page of the Milwaukee Journal for December 8. 1984. The following morning, Sunday, December 9, the story went forth by UPI to bless the entire nation with a wonder-filled Christmas story.
The Word of God says, “I was hungry and you fed me. I was sick and you took care of me. I was naked and you clothed me.” (Mt 25:35-36) That Word became flesh in a young kid named Frank Daly.
The Word of God says, “I was hungry and you fed me. I was sick and you took care of me. I was naked and you clothed me.” (Mt 25:35-36) That Word became flesh in a young kid named Frank Daly.
Conclusion
Christmas people
Christmas isn’t the time to be preaching `truth.’ That simply tends to put the followers of the Prince of Peace at odds with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and anyone else who has a religious truth other than ours. Christmas isn’t even the time to be preaching `morality.’ That tends to fill us with Pharisaic self-righteousness which gives “thanks for not being like the rest of men.” Christmas is the time to do what Christmas does best: tell stories -- wonderful stories about Fr. Damien, Mother Teresa, Fr. Judge, Frank Daly, etc. They weren’t preachers of truth or morality. They were great Christmas people whose lives gave flesh to the Word of God. And they inspire us to do the same.
