The Word Made Flesh

Homily for Christmas Mass during the day

The Christmas liturgies with three separate sets of readings are invested with a new depth of theological meaning. There is a progression of insight from the midnight gathering to the assembly that takes place during the daytime hours. At midnight the birth in history was proclaimed. At dawn the initiative of God’s gift was declared and the baptismal community’s joyful gratitude was announced. In the third celebration, which we celebrate at this Mass, we meditate on the identity of Christ and on our own new way of life in the Word made flesh. Four themes run throughout these readings: salvation takes place before our eyes, salvation is universal, the child is the reflection of God’s glory, and it is in the eyes of faith that we recognize the Word of God made flesh.

These four themes are linked together by Psalms 96, 97, and 98, used successively in these liturgies. These psalms are known as “enthronement psalms.” Throughout this night, the Church has sung of its child king, the reflection of God’s glory, and we sit in awe of the wonder made known to us. What we need are eyes of faith to see this marvel of God’s wisdom, this reflection of God’s glory in the fragility of the child of Bethlehem. The clouds of heaven are opened for just a moment, but it is enough time for us to catch a glimpse of the divine character of this mysterious child.

In this particular liturgy, we proclaim the opening verses of St. John’s Gospel, one of the most profound statements about Jesus found in the entire Christian Scriptures. While the Gospels which have preceded John’s Gospel have presented us with a man who was raised by God because of his obedience, John’s Gospel presents us with a much loftier vision of Christ. He is proclaimed as preexistent and an agent in the creation of the world. While the title Son of God was rather freely used to designate every king of Israel, every high priest of the Temple, and every Messianic figure in the Hebrew Scriptures, John insists that Jesus is unlike any previous king, priest or prophet. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh – the incarnate Son of God. Jesus and the Father are One.

John begins his Gospel with three very familiar words: “In the beginning . . .” We immediately recall a comparable statement in the opening verse of the Book of Genesis. John is subtly telling us that the coming of the Word into the world is as momentous as was the first creation. That Word is presented to us as reminiscent of another figure from the Hebrew Scriptures; namely, Dame Wisdom of the Book of Proverbs and the Book of Wisdom. However, John insists that while the character of Dame Wisdom was present at the creation of the universe, the Word is explicitly divine. John attributes life-giving power to the Word, life that gives light. The Word and the Light which is inherently a part of the Word have come to dispel our darkness.

John also tells us that while Wisdom plays at the footstool of the throne of God, the Word has come to dwell among us. The Word has entered into human history. Sadly, human history includes the rejection of the Word by his own people, those who should have recognized him as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. However, the Word made flesh is not contained within one race. For John insists that anyone who accepts the Word, who believes in his name, becomes a child of God. While God had chosen Israel as the Chosen, now all who believe are called children of God.

John’s Gospel proclamation is paired with a passage from the Letter to the Hebrews that reminds us that God has been engaged in a process of self-revelation, a process which is completed in the person of Jesus. Jesus is the final and full revelation of God through whom the world was created and the very person of God is made fully known to us. In response to this Good News of inclusion and salvation, we are urged to sing a new song with joy at the appearance of our salvation. We praise God who has chosen to be one of us.