Scripture Study for

The Nativity of the Lord - Mass During the Day

Understanding the Word

By Br. John R. Barker, OFM

In the time of Isaiah, messengers carried their proclamations from  one post to another on foot. The messenger in this passage brings  “glad tidings,” which will be rendered a couple of centuries later  in the Greek translation of Isaiah as euangelion. The “good news”  is that the Exile has come to an end and the sovereign God who  defeats all enemies intends to bring salvation and restore the people.  The watchmen in Jerusalem see not only the messenger but also the  salvation itself, very likely a reference to returning Israelites heading  toward the city. Such is the power and goodness of Israel’s God that  all nations will see and admire it. 

The Letter to the Hebrews focuses on the unique accomplishment  of Jesus Christ. Because he is not only God’s Son and heir, but  especially “the very imprint of his being,” Jesus has revealed God  more clearly and fully than had the earlier prophets. Whereas in  the past God had provided for the broken human condition by  legislating repeated purification from sin, now God has provided a  fuller and final purification through a great High Priest (Hebrews  4:14–5:10; 7:1–8:6). Finally, as God’s Son and heir, Jesus reigns with  God in heaven. As God’s equal, he is therefore also worthy of the  worship of all creation. 

The beginning of John’s Gospel emphasizes two themes. The first  has to do with the person of Jesus as the “true light . . . coming into  the world.” As he comes into the world, Jesus, as God’s Word, brings  with him the very presence of God: life and light, grace and truth. In  other words, as God coming to dwell among us, Jesus brings every  good thing that God has to offer the human race, and to creation as  a whole. The second theme is the rejection by the world of its very  source and life. When the Word comes into the world, the world the  Word created, it either cannot or will not recognize him, or at least  some in the world have not recognized him. These two themes of  presence and rejection will develop throughout the Gospel. 

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