Dear sisters and brothers,  Joy comes to our hearts when we are ruled by God, not by anyone else.  Fr. Cielo

1. Sunday Readings
Commentary and Reflections
25 December 2016 Midnight
The Nativity of the Lord
In preparation for this Sunday’s Liturgy
As aid in focusing our homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

2. 1st reading: Isaiah 9,1-6
Light
• 1 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Upon those who
dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. 2 You have brought them
abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as men make merry when dividing spoils.
Oppression no more
• 3 For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of
their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. 4 For every boot
that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for
flames.
Child is born (King)
• 5 For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of
Peace. 6 His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David's
throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by
judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will do this!

3. 1st reading: Isaiah 9,1-6
Light
• 1 The people who walked in darkness have seen a
great light. Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone. 2 You have brought them abundant
joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as
at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing
spoils.
Oppression no more
• 3 For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their
shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have
smashed, as on the day of Midian. 4 For every boot
that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will
be burned as fuel for flames.
Child is born (King)
• 5 For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his
shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-
Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of
Peace. 6 His dominion is vast and forever
peaceful, from David's throne, and over his
kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by
judgment and justice, both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!
Commentary
• The passage portrays God acting
upon his people, who were once
in the dark:
– They now see the light. V.1
– They now greatly rejoice. V.2
– The author employs parallelism
and metaphors.
• Vv.3-4 give the reasons why
people are rejoicing:
– God has destroyed the yoke, the
pole, and the rod and also the
boots of war (instrument of
oppression).
• V.5 states the main reason of
rejoicing:
– a child is born, a king.

4. Reflections on the 1st reading
• The reading helps us reflect the meaning of the
birth of the Messiah.
• It introduces us to who he is.
• With him, we see light.
• With him, we stop walking in darkness and
confusion.
• The Messiah is here to liberate us from
oppression, and to give justice.
• Do you know what oppression means and how to
fight it?

5. Resp. Ps 96 1-2.2-3.11-12.13
• R. (Lk 2:11)Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.
•
1 Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
2 Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
• 2 Announce his salvation, day after day.
3 Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
• 11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
• 13 They shall exult before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.

6. Resp. Ps 96, 1-2.2-3.11-12.13
• R. (Lk 2:11)Today is born our
Savior, Christ the Lord.
•
1 Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
2 Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
• 2 Announce his salvation, day after
day. 3 Tell his glory among the
nations; among all peoples, his
wondrous deeds.
• 11 Let the heavens be glad and the
earth rejoice; let the sea and what
fills it resound; 12 let the plains be
joyful and all that is in them! Then
shall all the trees of the forest exult.
• 13 They shall exult before the LORD,
for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
Commentary
• The psalm is classified as royal
psalm of Yahweh King
• The psalm invites us to rejoice
– by singing and blessing his
name. vv.1-2
– by announcing his salvation and
telling his glory and wondrous
deeds. vv.2-3
• In vv.11-13, the heavens (sky),
the earth, the sea, the plains… all
these vast spaces and all their
contents must rejoice / exult too.
• Reason:
– The Lord is coming to rule with
justice and constancy
(consistency).

7. Reflections on the Psalm
• In this season of Christmas, it is but proper that
all humans and all creatures must celebrate.
• We celebrate because God’s coming means
good governance and justice.
• We rejoice to welcome God’s intervention in our
lives.
• We rejoice by singing songs and announcing his
salvation day after day.

8. 2nd reading: Titus 2,11-14
• 11 The grace of God has appeared, saving all
12 and training us to reject godless ways and
worldly desires and to live temperately, justly,
and devoutly in this age, 13 as we await the
blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the
great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, 14
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all
lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people
as his own, eager to do what is good.

9. 2nd Reading: Titus 2,11-14
11 The grace of God has
appeared, saving all 12 and
training us to reject godless
ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately,
justly, and devoutly in this
age, 13 as we await the
blessed hope, the
appearance of the glory of
the great God and of our
savior Jesus Christ, 14 who
gave himself for us to
deliver us from all
lawlessness and to cleanse
for himself a people as his
own, eager to do what is
good.
Commentary
• V.11 talks about the grace of God. It
does the following:
– Saves us
– Trains us to reject godlessness and
worldly desires
– Trains us to live temperately, justly
and devoutly
• V.13 talks about the coming of Jesus
Christ (great God and savior).
• V.14 describes what Christ does to
us:
– To save us from lawlessness (anomia)
• To cleanse us, to make us eager to
do good.

10. Reflections on the 2nd reading
• When Christ comes, he teaches us to be just
and God-fearing.
• Christ does not like anarchy, lawlessness and
abuse.
• If we follow God’s laws, we live in the grace of
God.
• Do you know how to follow God’s laws?
• Are you living in God’s grace?

11. Gospel reading: Luke 2,1-14
Decree of Augustus
• 1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the
whole world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment, when
Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Conformity
• 3 So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph too
went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of
David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and
family of David, 5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was
with child.
Birth of Jesus
• 6 While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, 7 and
she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling
clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them
in the inn.

12. Shepherds
• 8 Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and
keeping the night watch over their flock.
Angel of the Lord
• 9 The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord
shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.
Announcement of the birth of the Messiah
• 10 The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim
to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For
today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is
Messiah and Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find an
infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.“
Heavenly Host with the Angel
• 13 And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the
angel, praising God and saying: 14 "Glory to God in the highest and
on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

13. Commentary
• The passage starts with the decree of Augustus, the
emperor of the Roman Empire. Census had a military
(drafting, recruitment) and economic purpose (taxation).
Rome controlled Palestine through Syria, a more
strategic place.
• As descendants of David, Joseph and Mary (with child)
feel obliged. They report to Bethlehem. The story does
not follow up if they were able to enroll. It is presumed.
• Immediately the author tells the birth of the child in a few
words:
– Mary had labor and gave birth to a child and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, laid him in a manger.
• Why manger? No room in the inn. No more relatives?
•

14. Commentary, con’t
• The author immediately shifts the attention to the
shepherds.
• The angel informs the shepherds of the birth of Jesus. It
is good news.
• The angel repeats the details. In deeper analysis, it
seems, it is not at all good news for a savior to be
wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger.
• Then the author shifts the attention to the heavenly host
(army) with the angel, singing “Glory to God…”

15. Reflections on the gospel reading
• Though the Messiah is born in a humble place, it calls for
a big celebration.
• It is not an earthly celebration, but heavenly.
• Like the shepherds, we are enjoined to participate in this
joyful celebration.
• It is God’s will that heaven and earth rejoice at the birth
of his Son.
• God does not care whether his Son is laid in a manger…
It does not remove his dignity as his Son or as a
descendant of David.
• Do we feel slighted, belittled or taken for granted, when
we are not warmly received?

16. Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm
• The first reading speaks of the birth of a child (king).
• The psalm enjoins people to rejoice because of the
coming of God, as ruler.
• The second reading speaks of the coming of the grace of
God (not so much his birth, but his second coming) to
help us lead blameless lives.
• The gospel speaks of the birth of the Savior, which
heaven and earth celebrates.

17. How to develop your homily / sharing
• It is Christmas.
• We must rejoice. We must celebrate.
• Who are we not to celebrate?
• We celebrate our own birthdays. Should we not celebrate
with joy and rejoicing the birth of Jesus, our Savior?

18. • The readings coach us to celebrate.
• The first reading tells us to rejoice because with
the birth of the King-Child-Messiah, we will now
see the light, justice will be given us.
• The new King will rule us with wisdom and
understanding, not like the other kings of Israel.
• It is not us who determine who lives and who
dies.

19. • The second reading encourages us to rejoice,
because we have hope.
• Hope comes along with the coming of Jesus,
even in his second coming.
• Joy comes as a result of following God’s laws.
• Obedience to God leads us to joy.
• There is no joy to the autocratic and reckless.

20. • The gospel reading provides us the reason, par
excellence, to rejoice.
• We rejoice because the Savior is born.
• We rejoice because even the heavenly host and
the angel are rejoicing, singing “Glory to God…”
• We rejoice because we have peace as God’s
gift, not because some people are misinformed
by false sites or get killed by blood hungry
countrymen.

21. • Our Church, the Catholic Church, teaches us that we
can best rejoice by attending and actively participating in
the Mass.
• The Eucharist cannot be replaced by any party, noche
buena, gift-giving, ballroom dancing, visit of relatives or
friends and watching our favorite films through our latest
gadgets, selfieing in the restos or going to the parks on
the eve of, or, on December 25.
• Our Church does not recognize any substitute for the
Eucharist.
• Catholics should not be misguided by consumerism and
commercialism. Today they should make it a point to
attend Mass.

22. • This Christmas is a call to rejoice, by
transcending all our fears, frustrations, pains
and woundedness.
• We respond in faith, believing that we can live
on a higher level of existence, not dwelling so
much on our miseries and poverty, but on our
hope that one day killings, injustices, wars,
human trafficking, and addictions will be
stopped.
• We live by the promises and spirit of Christmas:
salvation, liberation, truth, peace, justice and joy.

23. • We celebrate Christmas by participating in
the Eucharist.
• Jesus is born again in us in his Word and
in the Eucharist.
• There is joy in the Eucharist. You can feel
it when you prepare for the mass and
receive Jesus in his word and Eucharist.
• The Eucharist is the Bethlehem alive.

24. Our Context of Sin and Grace
• Too much eating and
drinking
• No eucharist on the eve
of Christmas or on
Christmas Day itself
• Unable to overcome
sadness
• Focused on shopping
• Reception of the Holy
Eucharist
• Rejoicing with the family
and the community
• Welcoming the birth of
Jesus in church in the
eucharistic celebration

25. Suggested Songs
• O Come All ye Faithful
• Ang Pasko ay Sumapit
• On the Night when Christ was Born
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NODxkBeXdsg
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPCqP_0iyoo
• Zion Sing by Lucien Deiss

26. • Dear sisters and brothers,
• Joy comes to our hearts when we are
ruled by God, not by anyone else.
• Fr. Cielo