The First Sunday After Christmas Day (Year C), Dec. 28, 2003
Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 147 or147:13-21; Gal. 3:23-25; 4:4-7; John 1:1-18.
We hear welcome, familiar words in today’s gospel. John tells more than the birth of a human baby in his prologue. It is a story in brief of the entire ministry of Jesus. Yet the Christmas story is found in this gospel (1:14), despite the lack of angels, shepherds, Mary, Joseph and Bethlehem. We hear of the incarnation of Jesus, the Word made flesh, who has been in God since the beginning of creation. With the coming of Jesus, he has become incarnate and dwelt in our midst. This magnificent passage is a hymn of praise to Jesus, God’s Word. He alone is the light of the world and he perfectly reflects his father’s image.
Older readers may remember when this gospel was proclaimed at the close of every celebration of the Eucharist. While this practice was never widespread in Anglicanism, many Episcopal churches continued it until the influence of the reforms of Vatican II became more accepted.
It is encouraging to learn that “to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…” (1:12) and therefore his own siblings. This theme also appears in the second reading, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. “But when the fullness of time had come,” he writes, “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children” (Gal. 4:4-5). We are, as both Paul and John attest, sisters and brothers of Christ.
The reading from Isaiah tells us of the Lord causing his “righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations.” As the prophet rejoices in the salvation of Zion, we rejoice in the knowledge that all who mourn may be comforted and that in Jesus God’s promised salvation is fulfilled.
Look It Up
Where else in scripture are people referred to as children of God?
Think About It
Some scholars believe the prologue to John’s gospel was originally a hymn to John the Baptist. How does this gospel move the emphasis away from the Baptist?
Next Sunday
The Second Sunday After Christmas Day (Year C), Jan. 4, 2003
Jer. 31:7-14; Psalm 84 or 84:1-8; Eph. 1:3-6, 15-19a; Matt. 2:13-15, 19-23 or Matt. 2:1-12 or Luke 2:41-52.
