Vigil Mass
First Reading - Isaiah 62:1-5
Second Reading - Acts 13:16-17
Gospel - Matthew 1:1-25
The scripture readings for the Christmas Vigil Mass remind us how God showed His Mercy to the mankind by choosing Abraham and adopting his descendants as His Chosen People, disciplining them by slavery in Egypt and later in Babylon, making them a prosperous nation under God-fearing kings, then disciplining them again, by Greek and Roman conquerors, when they turned unfaithful, and finally by giving them the promised Savior-King in the form of Baby, Jesus, in Bethlehem. Thus today, at this Christmas Vigil Mass, we are celebrating the fulfillment of our God’s prophecies about sending His own Son to save a sinful world.
In the first reading, Isaiah prophesies how the God of Israel will honor the desolate and forsaken Jerusalem and land of Israel by espousing her as a man marries a virgin and makes her a mother. Yahweh does this by sending His long-awaited Messiah into Israel to possess it and rule over it. The Messiah will vindicate Israel and save her. Through His prophet Isaiah, the Lord God wished to inspire the hopeless Israelites, returned from the Babylonian exile, to plant crops and make their desolate land fertile and prosperous so that she might be able to hold up her head again among the other nations.
In the second reading, St. Paul recounts the history of God’s mercy to Israel, His chosen people. God showed His mercy to His chosen people of Israel by fulfilling the prophecy about His long-awaited Messiah. He sent His Son as the Savior and the descendant of David.
The Gospel reviews the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17), tracing his descent from Abraham through David as foretold by the prophet, then describing his birth as our Savior at Bethlehem (1:18-25), through the working of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel also shows how God resolved the doubts of Joseph by sending His angel, first to reassure Joseph, then to instruct him to name the child Jesus. The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yehosua, which means ”Yahweh is salvation.” Just as the first Joshua (the successor of Moses), saved the Israelites from their enemies, the second Joshua (Jesus) would save them from their sins.
Dear friends, we need to allow the Savior to be reborn in our lives. Let us remember the famous challenge of the poet, Alexander Pope “What do I profit if Jesus is born in thousands of cribs all over the world during this Christmas, but is not born in my heart?” Let us allow Him to be reborn in our lives during Christmas 2022 and every day of the New Year 2023. Let us also show the good will and generosity of sharing Jesus, our Savior, reborn in our hearts, with others as love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and humble service.
We need to experience Christmas as it takes place at Christ’s Mass on our altars. Jesus becomes present on our altars to become our spiritual food, to nourish our souls so that we may become his healthy children. Let us worship him by our active participation in the Holy Mass as the angels, shepherds and wise men did in the Gospel story.
We need to have a Christmas gift for the Christ-Child because we are celebrating his birthday. Hence, instead of focusing our full attention on giving Christmas gifts to family members, let us give our hearts to Jesus today, filled with sacrificial love, overflowing mercy, selfless caring, and unconditional forgiveness for others.
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