Gospel: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord Mass During the Day

Today is Christmas Day, the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, and the Gospel passage will be read in accordance with the account of St John (tap here for today's Mass readings from USCCB).

There are four Masses that are celebrated for the Feast of Christmas and each is given its own set of readings to help us contemplate Christ's birth. The Gospel for the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve is taken from the beginning of the Gospel of St Matthew. The Mass at midnight proclaims the birth of Jesus through the Gospel of St Luke. The Mass at dawn on Christmas morning continues the story of the birth of Jesus as found in St Luke's Gospel, ending with the shepherd's visit to the infant Jesus. In each of the Gospel readings, we hear portions of the infancy narratives which we are familiar with.

The Gospel for the Christmas Mass during the day itself is taken from the beginning of St John's Gospel, but this part of the Gospel is not an infancy narrative like those found in the three Synoptic Gospels. Instead, St John's Gospel starts at the very beginning and presents the Creation story as the framework for announcing the Incarnation. St John's opening words echo the first verse in the Book of Genesis. This framework invites us to view Jesus' birth from God's perspective. Each of the Gospels makes clear that Jesus' birth was the result of God's initiative. St John's Gospel, however, emphasizes that Jesus' birth was the divine intention from the moment of Creation.

As we observe in today's reading, the Gospel of St John includes highly philosophical and theological language. One example that particularly stands out in this Gospel is St John's repeated references to "the Word" in the opening verse. This expression (logos in Greek) borrows from a concept found both in Jewish and Greek thought. Jews used this phrase to describe God's action in the Creation story, for example, in the Wisdom literature. In Greek thought, the logos was understood as an intermediary between God and humanity. St John and others in the early Church adopted this language to describe God's incarnation in the Lord Jesus. As the term was used to express Trinatarian faith of Christians, the Word came to be equated with the Second Person of the Trinity.

In this prologue to the Gospel of St John, we also hear the main themes that will be developed in his Gospel. These are often presented in dualities: light and dark, truth and falsehood, life and death, and belief and unbelief. We also hear in this prologue a unique aspect of St John's Gospel, the theme of testimony. St John the Baptist was sent by God to testify to Jesus, the light. Others in this Gospel will also offer testimony about Jesus. The reader is invited to accept this testimony, which bears witnesses to Jesus, the Son of God. But even more directly, Jesus' actions and words will testify to his identity as the Word Incarnate of God.

Thinking about Jesus' birth in these theological and cosmological terms is particularly appropriate as we celebrate the Solemnity of Christmas in the darkness of winter in some parts of the world. At this time, nature seems to remind us of the darkness of sin. Into the darkness, in the midst of our sinfulness, God comes to dwell among us. St John's Gospel reminds us that through the Incarnation, God saves us from the darkness of sin and makes us children of God.

Happy Christmas.

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