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The solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
Isaiah 9:1-6
Psalm 96:1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14
Summary
God loved the world so much that he sent his Beloved Son, Jesus, to live
among us as both fully human and fully divine, so that the joy of life everlast-
ing would overcome suffering and death.
Reflection
For most of us, there is nothing that delights the soul and the heart more
than a newborn baby. We are touched to the core by a baby’s innocence,
vulnerability and breathtaking beauty. When we hold a baby, we are holding
a life that has all of its potential waiting to unfold in the future---perhaps she
will grow up to be the President of the United States or perhaps he will dis-
cover the cure for cancer. The possibilities are endless. Babies are a sign of
all that is good about the human experience, and they are a symbol of hope
for the future.
The joy of Christmas is focused on a very special baby, Jesus. In the
human-
ity
of the baby Jesus, we encounter the wonder and awe of the gift of new
life with all the possibilities that God has given to each of us. In the
divinity
of the baby Jesus, we are reminded that when we inevitably fall short of
reaching those possibilities, when we stumble and fall in our lives, when we
experience injustice and pain, the love of God is there to sustain us and
transform our suffering into hope, and death into eternal life.
Above all, Christmas is about hope. Patricia Datchuk Sanchez, the spiritual
writer, speaks of how hope is trust that is open
minded. She writes: “Hope is willing to give
up control over our future so that God is free
to define our life.” As we celebrate the birth
of the Baby Jesus, may this Christmas season
be a time when we remember to surrender our
lives anew in the eternal hope of the God who