Scripture Study for
The Nativity of the Lord - Mass During the Day
Isaiah 52:7–10 / Psalm 98:3c / Hebrews 1:1–6 / John 1:1–18 or 1:1–5, 9–14
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Understanding the Word
By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.
The proclamation of good news from Isaiah is dramatically portrayed in several ways. It begins with a sketch of a messenger running swiftly over the mountains with the message of peace and salvation. The people to whom the messenger runs have been desolate for so long, waiting for a ray of hope. The messenger announces that God has won victory and the people can now begin anew. Then the very ruins of the city are called on to break forth in song. Peace is no longer a hoped-for dream, nor is salvation only a promise for the future. They are now accomplished facts for which to rejoice.
The confessional hymn celebrated in the reading from Hebrews proclaims that Christ is the agent of revelation, creation, and salvation. It begins with a comparison of the ways that God communicates with humankind. In the past, God spoke to the ancestors through the prophets; in the present, God speaks a definitive word to the believers through God’s own Son. Since this Son is also the Wisdom of God, it stands to reason that he would be superior even to the angels. As the agent of salvation, he sits enthroned in the place of greatest honor, at the right hand of God.
The Gospel of John begins with one of the most profound statements about Jesus found in the entire New Testament. Its lofty Christology is comparable to that found in the reading from Hebrews. Both characterize Christ as preexistent and as an agent in the creation of the world. However, the Word of God, who is also the holiness of God and the wisdom of God, now dwells in the midst of humankind. While the Word is the true light that comes into the world, John is merely the witness who testifies to the authenticity and superiority of this light. Women and men have been transformed by the love that first prompted God’s revelation and Christ’s incarnation.