Mass During the Night
Reading I: Isaiah 9:1-6
This is the most famous of all the messianic prophecies of Isaiah. Its original meaning was very different
from the associations that have grown up around it in Christian use during this season.
It may have been composed originally as a liturgical anthem to be sung on the occasion of the coronation of
the Davidic kings of Judah. Every time a new descendant of David ascended the throne, it was hoped (note the
irrepressible hope of Old Testament religion!) that this king would in fact prove to be the ideal king.
The joy of the occasion is expressed by two comparisons: the joy of harvest and the joy of victory on the
battlefield (Is 9:3). The new reign ushers
in freedom from want and freedom from oppression (for the allusion to Midian, see Judg 6-8) and peace (the
burning of the bloody debris of the battlefield).
The “birth” of the child (Is
9:6) was actually the enthronement of the king, which in the royal theology was conceived as God’s
adoption of the king as his son (see Ps
2:7).
The king is hailed by a series of royal titles. This is one of the few places (cf. Ps 45:6) where the king is actually called
“God.” Usually it was anathema for Israelite religion, even in the royal theology, to go as far as
that, though it was common enough in the surrounding nations.
Probably we should understand the king’s divinity in a modified sense: he is the embodiment of
God’s own kingship, God’s representative on earth.
Christian faith reinterprets this passage.
The joy is the joy of Christ’s advent, which ushers in deliverance for the oppressed (Lk 4:18) and peace between God and humankind
(Jn 14:27). The words “a child has
been born for us” now suggest the birth at Bethlehem rather than the enthronement of a king.
This reminds us that the birth of Jesus is only the beginning of the Christ event, that the Nativity really
stands for the total advent of Christ, the whole saving act of God in him.
Finally, it seems more appropriate to hail Jesus rather than the king of Judah as “God.” Yet, even
here we must be careful. The New Testament never refers to Jesus as God without qualification. Jesus is
not Deus in se (such a notion would compromise the unity of God), but Deus pro nobis—God
turned to us in grace and salvation.
Responsorial Psalm 96: 1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13
This is probably the most magnificent of all the enthronement psalms that celebrate the kingship of Yhwh.
Much of its content also appears in another place in the Old Testament, namely, 1 Chr 16, a cento of psalms put
together by the Chronicler to mark the bringing of the ark into the temple by David.
The theme of a “new song” can be traced all through the Bible. The old song was sung by Moses and
Israel at the Red Sea (Ex 15). One might
say that the whole liturgy of the old Israel was a continuation of this old song. But it lost its zest with
the passage of time and especially in the Exile: “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange
land?” So Second Isaiah looks for a new song to be sung after the return (Is 51:11).
This hope for a new song was disappointed at that time, and the new song became part of Israel’s
eschatological expectation.
In the Book of Revelation, the new song’s promise is fulfilled at last in the celebration of the victory
of the Lamb. Christmas marks the first step toward that victory, so the Church can already here and now take
up the new song (as it always does in its liturgy).
In the birth at Bethlehem, Yhwh truly comes to judge and save the world.
This passage speaks of the two comings of Christ: (1) “the grace of God has appeared,” that is,
in the Christ event (and Bethlehem marks the inception of its appearance); (2) “while we wait for the
blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory...”
The Second Coming, which had been the dominant theme at the beginning of Advent but had receded into the
background as the season progressed and the expectation of the birth of Christ took over, is not completely
forgotten now that Christmas has come.
For it is only in the light of the Second Coming that we can celebrate the first coming. People who forget
this sentimentalize Christmas into a “Baby Jesus” cult.
In the Nativity, Christ comes first in great humility in anticipation of his coming again in majesty and great
glory. It is especially fitting that this note should be struck at the Midnight Mass of Christmas, for much of
our traditional imagery speaks of the Lord’s Second Coming as taking place at midnight. This imagery is
found in the parable of the ten virgins: “At midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the
bridegroom!’” (Mt 25:6).
The infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke pose very difficult problems for those who would use them to
reconstruct actual history. The two narratives agree on the following points: the names of Mary and Joseph as
the parents of Jesus; his supernatural conception and Bethlehem as the place of his birth; and the dating of
his birth in the reign of King Herod. Clearly these items go back to earlier tradition, prior to the
evangelists.
Is the location of Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem simply an expression of faith in his Davidic messiahship
(see Mic 5)? Probably this question will
never be answered. Then there is the unsolved problem of the census.
Luke dates it during the period when Quirinius was legate of Syria. This we know from Josephus to have been
from 6 to 9 CE, a dating that appears to be confirmed by the fact that Josephus places the first census in
Judea (see Acts 5:37) at about 6 CE. This was immediately after Judea came under Roman rule—a more plausible
reason for a Roman census than at the time when Judea was still a quasi-independent kingdom.
But this dating for the census clashes with Luke’s other statement, supported by Matthew, that Jesus was
born in the reign of Herod, that is, not later than 4 BCE.
Many attempts have been made to vindicate Luke’s account of the nativity census. For instance, it has
been suggested, on the basis of remarks by Josephus, that Quirinius had already been in Syria as early as
10-7 BCE.with a legatine commission.
But the neatest solution, proposed not long ago, is a different though perfectly plausible translation of Lk 2:2: “This was the first
registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.”
Another problem is that we have no evidence for people returning for a census from their normal domiciles to
their ancestral homes.
These historical problems should warn us that, in the words of the Jerome Biblical
Commentary (original edition), “the details of the narrative are symbolic and biblical; they
communicate the mystery of redemption, not a diary of early events” (Jerome 2:121). That is certainly how the
narrative should be heard at the first Mass of Christmas.
We should probably not romanticize the shepherds. They had a bad reputation as thieves, and in any case they
were poor. In fact, as Joachim Jeremias has shown, they were classed with tax collectors and prostitutes as
members of despised trades. This fits in perfectly with the emphasis of Luke’s Gospel.
The angelic announcement is the biblical way of bringing out the meaning of an event in salvation history (see
the annunciation stories). This is the birth of One who is to be the Savior, the Christ (Messiah), and Lord.
In the second proclamation, made by the “multitude of the heavenly host,” not his titles but the
effects of the Christ event are announced: glory to God and peace (with the full meaning of shalom)
among people.
The words “among those he favors” vary in the Greek texts. The King James Version favored a text
that gave the sense “good will [i.e., God’s good will or favor] toward men.” The Vulgate
preferred a reading that yielded, literally, the sense “to men of good will.” This is probably the
right text, but the literal meaning is badly misleading.
| Preaching the Lectionary: The Word of God for the Church Today Reginald H. Fuller and Daniel Westberg. Liturgical Press. 1984 (Revised Edition), pp. 16-19. |
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For more information about the 3rd edition (2006) of
Preaching the Lectionary click picture above.
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from Religious Clip Art for the Liturgical Year (A, B, and C).
This art may be reproduced only by parishes who purchase the collection in book or CD-ROM form. For more information go http://www.ltp.org