1st Reading Isaiah 52: 7-10
Psalm 98: 1.2-3ab. 3cd-4. 5-6 (R. 3cd)
R:// "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God"
2nd Reading Hebrews 1: 1-6
Gospel John 1: 1-18
WALK IN THE LIGHT
Merry Christmas!
This is the Day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Today is the day we prepared for, and we are grateful to God for enabling us to see the light of this joyful day. May the Lord fill our lives with Peace and Goodness as we celebrate this day of joy.
We have as our first reading Isaiah 52: 7-10. This is part of the second part of the book of Isaiah, called "Deutero-Isaiah (Chaps. 40-55), and we are heading towards the end of this second part. Again, we are reading from the core of chapter 52. The message of Deutero-Isaiah is simply consolation; consolation for exiles, the suffering, and the oppressed. One who consoles finds an avenue for hope. He sees light in the dark. Rightly so, the author, in the first reading, speaks about the return of exiles and the subsequent return of the Lord to Zion (to Jerusalem). The text of the first reading is poetic in style.
I suggest that we focus on three things, 2 from the first reading and the last one from the Gospel passage, the Prologue of John (John 1: 1-18).
The first information is that the author begins by saying: "How beautiful...are the feet..." (v. 7). This is quite a strange and thought-provoking image. Usually, you would not think of feet as beautiful or attractive because the feet carry the dust and dirt of the ground. Considering the mountainous landscape of the Jewish land and how dusty it could be, one would expect smelly and sweaty feet. You should be expecting 'tired' feet because the activity is described as "walking". What then is beautiful about that kind of feet of the messenger? This is an image, and because it is poetic, we should use poetic devices to understand it.
The poetic device is a metonym — a word or expression that names an object from a single characteristic of it or of a closely related object. In effect, the "beautiful feet" describe the mood and haste of the messenger and also the message. You cannot be bearing a joyful message and be sad. The messenger and the message became one. Redeemed people told about the return of the Lord cannot be sad and look gloomy.
Sad, gloomy, sorrowful, and mournful faces are contradictions to the joys of Christmas. This Christmas is for us because it is hope born in a fallen and hopeless human state. Never let your gloom overshadow your ability to be happy. Hope should enliven our joys. Regardless of the pain, agonies, and harsh conditions of human life we face, let us keep hope alive because the message of peace, good tidings of good, and salvation has been published for us.
The second piece of information for our reflection is that the author mentions "eyes" (2 times; v. 8, v. 10) and "to see" (2 times; v. 8, v. 10b). The "eye" is "Ra'ah" (רָעָה) and "see" is " 'ayin" (עַיִן). These are images of light. You do not see and use the eye in the dark. These are contrasted with darkness and blindness. The exile was a condition of darkness and blindness. To live in the dark is to have an obstacle to vision. St. Paul exhorts us to throw off the works of darkness, arm ourselves, and appear in the light (Rom. 13: 12). He would enlist some works of darkness (v. 13).
With Christ's birth, we cannot continue to live in the dark, in exile, and under oppression. We need to arm ourselves and appear as people of the light. We will enter self-imposed exile if we still hold on to the works of darkness. The light becomes for us also an image of opportunity, a fresh start, and renewed possibilities. As with the morning, we have the chance again to live as expected.
The final detail is from the Gospel passage, which is the Prologue of John (Jn. 1: 1-18). The Prologue of John has very much similarity with Genesis 1. Significantly, both start with "In the beginning" (Jn. 1:1; Gen. 1:1). More than that is the mention of light. Remember that the first thing God created was light: "Let there be light" (Gen. 1: 3). John describes Christ as "the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (Jn. 1: 5).
When God wants to begin something new, light is a sure element, either implicit or explicit. Today is the beginning of new things for us. Today, Christ's birth means a new birth and a recreated world. We have been given the hope of redemption from exile. The cloud of darkness has been taken away. Let us then resolve to do what is expected of people in the light. "It is by the rejection of sin that redemption becomes effective", said Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ho. Those sins are the works of darkness that plunge us into exile. Do not return to exile. Make redemption effective by looking forward.
May we indeed resolve to live as people of light, rejecting the works of darkness and embracing the hope of redemption.
Pax et Bonum!
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