- 詳細內容
- 作者 小火慢燉
- 分類: English Gospel
- 點擊數: 19
"Christ has come and God's kingdom is at hand!"
The Lord of heaven and God of all creation has come to earth and
Do not be afraid, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
In the city of David a savior has been born for you, who is Christ and Lord.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
*** 1st Reading ***
Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful
On the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news,
who herald peace and happiness, who proclaim salvation and announce to Zion: "Your God is King!"
Together your watchmen raise their voices in praise and song;
they see Yahweh face to face returning to Zion. Break into shouts of joy, O ruins of Jerusalem,
for Yahweh consoles his people and redeems Jerusalem.
Yahweh has bared his holy arm in the eyes of the nations; all the ends of the earth, in alarm, will witness God's salvation.
Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6 All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
*** 2nd Reading ***
Hebrews 1:1-6
God has spoken, in the past, to our ancestors, through the prophets in many different ways,
although never completely; but, in our times, he has spoken definitively to us, through his Son.
He is the one God appointed heir of all things, since, through him,
he unfolded the stages of the world. He is the radiance of God’s glory, and bears the stamp of God’s hidden being,
so that his powerful word upholds the universe. And after taking away sin, he took his place,
at the right hand of the divine Majesty, in heaven. So he is now far superior to angels,
just as the name he received sets him apart from them. To what angel did God say: You are my son,
I have begotten you today? And to what angel did he promise:
I shall be a father to him and he will be a son to me?
On sending his Firstborn to the world, God says: Let all the angels adore him.
*** Gospel ***
John 1:1-18
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 nothing came to be.
Whatever has come to be, found life in him; life, which for human beings, was also light,
light that shines in darkness, light that darkness could not overcome.
A man came, sent by God; his name was John. He came to bear witness,
as a witness to introduce the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light,
but a witness to introduce the Light; for the Light was coming into the world, the true Light that enlightens everyone.
He was in the world, and through him the world was made, the very world that did not know him.
He came to his own, yet his own people did not receive him; but to all who received him,
he empowers to become children of God, for they believe in his name. These are born,
but not by seed, or carnal desire, nor by the will of man: they are born of God.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen his glory,
the glory of the only Son of the Father: fullness of truth and lovingkindness.
John bore witness to him openly, saying, "This is the one who comes after me, but he is already ahead of me,
for he was before me." From his fullness we have all received, favor upon favor.
For God had given us the law through Moses, but Truth and Loving-kindness came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God, but God-the-only-Son made him known: the one, who is in and with the Father.
Gospel Reflection :
"The birth of our savior."
It's Christmas! Our journey of faith continues. We ponder on the mystery of the Incarnation.
Today's pericope is the beautiful semi-poetic Prologue of John's Gospel.
It speaks of the Logos or the Word. This Logos became flesh and pitched his tent among us (cf. Jn. 1:14),
In John's Gospel, Jesus is the one who came from God and the one who is returning to God.
In this whole dynamic process, moving from God to God, Jesus is bringing all of us back to God (cf. Jn 12:32).
Furthermore, the pitching of his tent among us must also be taken dynamically.
Thus, the Word became flesh and "pitched his tent among us." The Logos, who became flesh, is always in a dynamic movement.
The Logos is moving toward the fulness of life (cf. Jn 10:10).
Life in its fullness is what God originally intends for his entire creation, both for humanity and the natural world. Until now,
God continues to build his dwelling place among us. Now then,
with the Logos coming into the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, we have a leader to guide us back to Father.
It is with God alone that we can experience life in its fullness.