December 24, 2022
Luke 1:67-79
By this time, we hear delightful Christmas carols being played at the shopping malls; we see twinkling stars and lanterns hanging in front of houses, rich or poor; Christmas trees creatively decorated with strings of Christmas lights and small Christmas gifts; Christmas is indeed everywhere! And today, most significant of all is the ninth day of our “Sambang Gabi”!
However, in the midst of such an atmosphere of Christmas spirit, there is a much more significant Christmas atmosphere that should dwell in our hearts. In our Gospel today, on the eighth day of John’s birth, Zechariah prophesied and proclaimed how blessed we are because “he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised for us a mighty Savior”. He described how God has been faithful to his promises and covenant with His people upon whom the dawn shall break to shine and guide into the way of peace”.
And tonight, we will celebrate the Nativity of Jesus, the greatest fulfillment of God’s promise to David in our First Reading. Instead of David building a house for the Lord, it would be He who would establish a house for David and raise up an heir after him. The connections of our Liturgical Readings today are very clear and deeply inspiring. In both readings, I see how good the Lord is to us and how faithful He is to His promises culminating with the birth of Jesus.
I am spiritually emotional right now as I go into details of God’s goodness and faithfulness in me. In the past months of 2022, I experienced a couple of mini-accidents and pains. Last September, a volume of boiling water in a kettle was accidentally poured over my right arm, causing immediate throbbing pain and swollen skin. Last October, a taxi bumped my yellow car on the left side, causing a big dent on my fender and damage on my front left suspension. Then, a week after, I was suffering from gout, an arthritis, and I was in deep pain with every step I made. But our Liturgical readings today came true and alive in me as the Lord set me free from all my pains and trials. The Lord truly raised for me a mighty Savior through friends, who have been serving the Lord in Biblical Apostolate, helping and supporting me in my needs. I felt his tender compassion. I felt Jesus being born in me to establish a house in my heart. Thus, I was healed.
This is truly my Christmas. Not only with those Christmas carols, lanterns, and Christmas trees…but a great recall and conviction that God has been good and faithful to us. And I promise, I will always proclaim in my priestly ministry as a Bible Apostle: “FOR EVER I WILL SING THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD!” Merry Christmas everyone!!!
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Reflection
Are you prepared to share about Jesus? (Di ako sure sa tanong*)