The True Light Has Come

𝐃𝐄𝐂. 𝟐𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 (𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲)

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟓𝟐:𝟕-𝟏𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟗𝟖:𝟏-𝟔 “𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐈: 𝐇𝐞𝐛 𝟏:𝟏-𝟔  

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏:𝟏-𝟏𝟖

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬.” (𝐉𝐧 𝟏:𝟏𝟒) 

         John the Evangelist began his Gospel with the Word of God as the beginning or the reference point for everything that is in the world. For us to be able to grasp and appreciate the true meaning of the incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we must begin from the origin of God coming in the flesh.

         John lays down the foundation of our faith by pointing out that there are three things about the Word of God. One is that the Word was already present even from the beginning of time (𝐯.𝟏) when God created the world. What John was saying was that the Word was not one of the created things as it was already there even before the creation began.

         The Evangelist also says that the Word was with God (𝐯.𝟐) which means that the Word which was God establishes the connection between God and Jesus and for all intents and purposes there is no one person who can reveal to all of humankind who God is except Jesus.

         The final point that John wanted to point out at the beginning of his Gospel was that the Word was God (𝐯.𝟏). What John wanted to emphasize with this point was that Jesus was not just identical with God but he was perfectly the same as God in both mind and heart that through Jesus we can see what God is like.

         Thus, John describes Jesus as the light-giving and life-giving Word that came down from heaven to assume a human form out of God’s unparalleled love for men “𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐧, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐉𝐧 𝟑:𝟏𝟔)          

         In 𝐯.𝟒John wrote: “𝐈𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐧.” And in 𝐯.𝟗, he writes: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.” This I believe was the focal point of this passage in that Jesus the incarnated God was sent principally to bring both life and light to humanity.

         Jesus himself claims in 𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟎:𝟏𝟎 that he came that men might have life and that they might have it abundantly and to those to whom Jesus will give life will never perish (𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟎:𝟐𝟖). This then is the key to enjoying the true meaning of the coming of Our Savior for while it may be possible that men can live without Christ, he will never know what life is because Jesus is the only person who can make life worth living.     

         The key then to living a life that carries with it an assurance of a fuller and eternal life is to enter into the very life of God, and we can only do this by believing in Jesus Christ because “𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐉𝐧 𝟑:𝟑𝟔) and “𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐉𝐧 𝟔:𝟒𝟕).

         The second point that John wanted to stress out was that Jesus did not only bring life, but he also brought the light “𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.” (𝐯.𝟓). By ourselves, men succumb to fears and human emotions that are influenced by the perverted environment we live in. The light that Jesus brings is a guiding light because “𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.” (𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟐:𝟒𝟔)        

        With his coming as the incarnated Son of God, Jesus also brought with him the glory of the Heavenly Kingdom that was rooted in God’s encompassing love for the world. His coming provided men with the opportunity to comprehend that the glory of God and the love of God are one and the same. While Jesus was clothed with the splendor of God in everything that he did on earth, that splendor was founded on love.

         Jesus came with a mission, and this has been prophesied by Isaiah in the First Reading when the prophet said: “𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧, “𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠!” (𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟓𝟐:𝟕)         

         Besides the coming of Christ as an expiation for the sins of the world, the prophecy of Isaiah is one of the primary reasons why Jesus came and this is the message of Christmas. There is indeed a reason to celebrate Christmas, but we must rejoice with the thought that we have been entrusted with the mission to bring the good news to others, to proclaim peace, to bring good tidings and to proclaim salvation.

         What makes our mission significant is that it is Jesus who equips and empowers us such that we should never cease proclaiming anew the wonder of the Incarnation. “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 ...𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬; 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝.  𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐧.” (𝐆𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐬)        

         As the Word became human, we can find in Christ the perfect model of what a teacher should be. Jesus became the model of what we are to become as he shows us how to live and gives us the power to live that way (𝟏 𝐏𝐞𝐭 𝟐:𝟐𝟏).

         Thus, our celebration of Christmas should be centered on his becoming one of us that we may eventually be like him.

         In simpler terms, Christmas should be viewed not only in terms of merriment and gift-giving, but we must all rejoice and celebrate Christmas with reverence because this is the time of the season that we are brought to a realization of our own divinity as the Word became flesh and made its dwelling among us.

         Christmas is a celebration for all people. As we will read in the first Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis – 𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒊 𝑮𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎 (𝑱𝒐𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍) all baptized Catholics have been entrusted with the message and mission of Christ. Each one of us needs to have happy feet and we can get inspiration from the great prophet Isaiah who said in the first reading: “𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧, “𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠!” (𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟓𝟐:𝟕)           

         What this means is that we need to make use of the gifts God has given us to bring the Good News to the world around us. Regardless of our status and position in life – we can be as ordinary as the man on the street or those who keep an eight-hour work regimen in offices, in the marketplace and public places. You may be an executive in a bank, multinational or someone who owns and runs your own conglomerate or one who is below the corporate ladder, the mission remains the same.

         You can probably imagine yourself filling the shoes of the torchbearer in sporting events such as the Olympics who carry the fire to light the torch to signal the beginning of the games. What differentiates you from the torchbearer is that he merely carries the torch to open the games – nothing more and those in attendance at the coliseum will not even remember the name of torchbearer.

         But you are being sent on a mission to light the fire in the hearts of the people wherever you are, and you bring with you a message that can transform the world – “𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠!” (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘋𝘦𝘤. 25, 2025)