Monday, December 25
Scripture
Is 52: 7-10
Ps 98: 1-6
Heb 1: 1-6
Jn 1: 1-18
Reflection
“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Jn 1:14
In the Gospel according to John for Christmas Day we hear nothing of an infant birth, a manger, or shepherds. After 60 years of REFLECTION and prayer, John proclaims “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” John introduces us to the God of Mystery beyond our ability to comprehend. This God cannot be held in a manger… yet unfathomably, some way is. “And the Word was made flesh and made His dwelling among us.”
I think of Christmas as a very human story: the birth of a child, a young couple laying their newborn in a manger, shepherds sung to by angels. It seems familiar, comforting, and relatable. I am drawn into, almost charmed, by the scene. Perhaps, that is the point. God comes to us in such a fully human way that we need not be afraid, overwhelmed, or intimidated. Karl Rahner, a foremost theologian, asserts God comes to us because the Consummate Lover, who is God, longs to be with us. So even if we had never sinned, God would have come to us in such a human way. Christmas calls us to acknowledge the astonishing reality of how close God draws near to us and how intimately we are loved by the Infinite God.
Prayer
Silent Night, Holy Night.
All is calm. All is bright.
Let us live in heavenly peace.
Personal Challenge
I take time today to thank God for the gift
of drawing so close to me.
Sister Marcella Clancy, CSJ
Detroit, MI
