December
25, 2015
The
Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Reading
1
1For Zion’s sake I will not be
silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines
forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch.
2Nations shall behold your
vindication, and all the kings your glory; you shall be called by a new name pronounced
by the mouth of the LORD.[1] 3You shall be a glorious crown in the
hand of the LORD, a royal diadem held by your God.
4No more shall people call you
“Forsaken,” or your land “Desolate,” but you shall be called “My Delight,” and
your land “Espoused.” For the LORD delights in you and makes your land his
spouse.
5As a young man marries a
virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.
Responsorial Psalm
4I have made a covenant with my
chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant: 5Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne
for all generations.
R.
For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
16Blessed the people who know the
joyful shout; in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk. 17At your name they rejoice all the
day, and through your justice they are exalted.
R.
For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
27He shall say of me, “You are my
father, my God, the rock, my savior.” 29Forever I will maintain my
kindness toward him, and my covenant with him stands firm.
R.
For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Reading 2
16When Paul reached Antioch in
Pisidia and entered the synagogue, he stood up, motioned with his hand, and
said, “Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing, listen. 17The God of this people Israel chose
our ancestors and exalted the people
during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With uplifted arm He led them out of
it. 22Then he removed Saul and
raised up David as king; of him he testified, ‘I have found David, son of
Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.’
23From this man’s descendants
God, according to His promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. 24John heralded His coming by proclaiming
a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; 25and as John was completing his course, he would say, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. Behold,
one is coming after me; I am not worthy
to unfasten the sandals of His feet.’”
Alleluia
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Tomorrow
the wickedness of the earth will be destroyed: the Savior of the world will
reign over us.
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
1The book of the genealogy of
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.[2] 2Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac
the father of Jacob, Jacob
the father of Judah and his brothers.
3Judah became the father of
Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez
became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of
Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5Salmon
the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz
became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of
Jesse, 6Jesse the father of David
the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of
Uriah.
7Solomon became the father of
Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah
the father of Asaph.[3] 8Asaph became the father of
Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat
the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah.
9Uzziah became the father of
Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10Hezekiah became the father of
Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah.[4]
11Josiah became the father of
Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.
12After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah
became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel
the father of Zerubbabel, 13Zerubbabel
the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of
Azor, 14Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok
became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud,
15Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar
became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born
Jesus who is called the Christ.
17Thus the total number of
generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the
Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the
Christ, fourteen generations.[5]
18Now this is how the birth of
Jesus Christ came about. When His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but
before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.[6][7][8]
19Joseph her husband, since he
was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce
her quietly.[9]
20Such was his intention when,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son
of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is
through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.[10]
21She will bear a son and you are
to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfil what
the Lord had said through the prophet:
23Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name Him
Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”
24When Joseph awoke, he did as
the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and
took his wife into his home. 25He
had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named Him Jesus.
18This is how the birth of Jesus
Christ came about. When His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before
they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.[11]
19Joseph her husband, since he
was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce
her quietly. 20Such was his
intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and
said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your
home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that
this Child has been conceived in her. 21She
will bear a son and you are to name Him Jesus, because
He will save His people from their sins.”[12]
22All this took place to fulfil what
the Lord had said through the prophet: 23Behold, the virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel, which means “God is
with us.”[13]
24When Joseph awoke, he did as
the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and
took his wife into his home. 25He
had no relations with her until she bore a son, and He named Him Jesus.[14]
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Notes on Readings:
[1] Isaiah 63:2 - New name: figurative expression for
a new state of happiness; compare with Revelation 2:17; 3:12.
[2] Matthew 1:1 - 2:23 - The infancy narrative forms
the prologue of the gospel. Consisting of a genealogy and five stories, it
presents the coming of Jesus as the climax of Israel's history, and the events
of His conception, birth, and early childhood as the fulfillment of Old
Testament prophecy. The genealogy is probably traditional material that Matthew
edited. In its first two sections (Matthew 1:2-11) it was drawn from Ruth 4:18-22; 1 Chronicle 1-3). Except for Jechoniah, Shealtiel, and Zerubbabel, none of the names
in the third section (Matthew 1:12-16) is found in any Old Testament genealogy. While the genealogy shows the
continuity of God's providential plan from Abraham on, discontinuity is also
present. The women Tamar (Matthew 1:3), Rahab and Ruth (Matthew 1:5), and the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba (Matthew 1:6), bore their sons through unions that were in varying
degrees strange and unexpected. These "irregularities" culminate in
the supreme "irregularity" of the Messiah's birth of a virgin mother;
the age of fulfillment is inaugurated by a creative act of God. Drawing upon
both biblical tradition and Jewish stories, Matthew portrays Jesus as reliving
the Exodus experience of Israel and the persecutions of Moses. His rejection by His own people and His passion are foreshadowed by the troubled reaction of
"all Jerusalem" to the question of the magi who are seeking the
"newborn king of the Jews" (Matthew 2:2-3), and by Herod's attempt to have Him killed. The magi who do Him
homage prefigure the Gentiles who will accept the preaching of the gospel. The
infancy narrative proclaims who Jesus is, the Savior of His people from their
sins (Matthew 1:21), Emmanuel in whom "God is with us" (Matthew 1:23), and the Son of God (Matthew 2:15).
[3] Matthew1:1]
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PVA.HTM The Son of David, the son of Abraham: two links of the genealogical
chain are singled out. Although the later, David is placed first in order to
emphasize that Jesus is the royal Messiah. The mention of Abraham may be due
not only to his being the father of the nation Israel but to Matthew's interest
in the universal scope of Jesus' mission; cf ⇒ Genesis 22:18 http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PO.HTM ". . . . in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall
find blessing."
[4] Matthew1:7 - The successor of Abijah was not Asaph
but Asa (see 1 Chronicle 3;10). Some textual witnesses read the latter name; however, Asaph is
better attested. Matthew may have deliberately introduced the psalmist Asaph
into the genealogy (and in Matthew 1:10 the prophet Amos) in order to show that Jesus is the fulfillment not
only of the promises made to David (see 2 Samuel 7) but of all the Old Testament.
[5] Matthew1:10 - Amos: some textual witnesses read
Amon, who was the actual successor of Manasseh (see 1 Chronicle 3;14).
[6] Matthew1:17 - Matthew is concerned with fourteen
generations, probably because fourteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew
letters forming the name of David. In the second section of the genealogy (Matthew 1:6b-11), three kings of Judah, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah, have been
omitted (see 1 Chronicle 3:11-12), so that there are fourteen generations in that section. Yet the
third (Matthew 1:12-16) apparently has only thirteen.
Since Matthew here emphasizes that each section has fourteen, it is unlikely
that the thirteen of the last was due to his oversight. Some scholars suggest
that Jesus who is called the Messiah (Matthew 1:16b) doubles the final member of
the chain: Jesus, born within the family of David, opens up the new age as
Messiah, so that in fact there are fourteen generations in the third section.
This is perhaps too subtle, and the hypothesis of a slip not on the part of
Matthew but of a later scribe seems likely. On Messiah, see the footnote on Luke 2:11.
[7] Matthew1:18 - Betrothed to Joseph: betrothal was
the first part of the marriage, constituting a man and woman as husband and
wife. Subsequent infidelity was considered adultery. The betrothal was followed
some months later by the husband's taking his wife into his home, at which time
normal married life began.
[8] Matthew 1:18-25 - This first story of
the infancy narrative spells out what is summarily indicated in Matthew 1:16. The virginal conception of Jesus is the work of the
Spirit of God. Joseph's decision to divorce Mary is overcome by the heavenly
command that he take her into his home and accept the child as his own. The
natural genealogical line is broken but the promises to David are fulfilled;
through Joseph's adoption the child belongs to the family of David. Matthew
sees the virginal conception as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14.
[9] Matthew 1:19 - A righteous man: as a
devout observer of the Mosaic law, Joseph wished to break his union with
someone whom he suspected of gross violation of the law. It is commonly said
that the law required him to do so, but the texts usually given in support of
that view, that is, Deuteronomy 22;20-21 do not clearly
pertain to Joseph's situation. Unwilling to expose her to shame: the penalty
for proved adultery was death by stoning; compare with Deuteronomy 22:21-23.
[10] Matthew 1:20 - The angel of the Lord:
in the Old Testament a common designation of God in communication with a human
being. In a dream: see Matthew 2:13, 19, 22. These dreams may be meant to recall the dreams of
Joseph, son of Jacob the patriarch (Genesis 37|:5 - 11:19). A closer parallel is the dream of Amram, father of Moses,
related by Josephus (Antiquities 2,9,3; 212, 215-16).
[11] Matthew 1:21 - Jesus: in
first-century Judaism the Hebrew name Joshua (Greek Iesous) meaning
"Yahweh helps" was interpreted as "Yahweh saves."
[12] Matthew 1:23 - God is with us: God's promise of deliverance to Judah in Isaiah's
time is seen by Matthew as fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, in whom God is with His people. The name Emmanuel is alluded to at the end of the gospel where the
risen Jesus assures his disciples of his continued presence,". . . I am
with you always, until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).
[13] Matthew 1:25 - Until she bore a son: the evangelist is concerned to emphasize that
Joseph was not responsible for the conception of Jesus. The Greek word
translated "until" does not imply normal marital conduct after Jesus'
birth, nor does it exclude it.
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Dear Humanity,
I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.
And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.
Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.