Christ the Light of the World
December 25, 2006

Readings for the Solemnity of Christmas (Mass at Dawn)

Reading 1: Is. 62:11–12

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 97:1, 6, 11–12

Reading 2: Tit. 3:4–7

Gospel: Lk. 2:15–20

Link to Readings

By Father Wade Menezes, C.P.M.

Aim: (1) to describe the lights of the first Christmas: in the cave, of the angels, of the star; (2) to describe this Child as the Light of the World, our guide through life.

Dawn is the time of day in which the first rays of light begin to glimmer, to illumine and dispel the darkness. This morning’s Mass on the solemnity of Christmas is no different, for in it the image of light streams across the liturgical texts. This is seen not only in the entrance antiphon, but likewise in the collect and the responsorial psalm: “A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.”

This morning, the Church proclaims boldly that a darkened world is made all aglow through the birth of Christ. In this darkened world, a night sky is made bright by a shining star which stands apart from all others; a darkened field is lit up by myriad’s of angels hovering over simple shepherds and their flocks; and a dark, cold cave is illumined with the warmth of Divine Love made Incarnate, the Christ child, the Light of the World.

That Christ’s coming challenged nocturnal creation is not something to be alarmed at, nor should these light-illumining events be viewed as “proof” that darkness is, in itself, bad (after all, we learn of night’s creation in the Book of Genesis, and the Church celebrates the Christmas liturgy as a Vigil as well as at midnight); nevertheless, darkness is, in a very real way, “competed with” in the nativity account and this is important. Christ’s actual birth in Bethlehem shows forth the beautiful reality that God works with things according to their nature. Simply put, it makes perfect sense that a darkened world is tangibly illumined by divine, supernatural intervention upon the natural.

Surely, these event’s surrounding Bethlehem and its outskirts show forth the fact that from the very onset of Christ’s birth, man’s fallen nature—wherein he inherited a darkened intellect and a weakened will—is meant to be elevated and illumined toward perfect beatitude. What better way to show forth this reality than through creation itself? Simply put, darkness has become light, and rational, sentient man comes to recognize that he has a moral responsibility to pay homage to God Who has assumed human nature. This is a duty which was fulfilled not only by the shepherds of old, as told to us in the Gospel, but likewise a duty being fulfilled in our midst by all present here this morning.

Father Wade L. J. Menezes, CPM, is a member of the Fathers of Mercy, an itinerant missionary preaching order based in Auburn, Kentucky. He is an occasional contributor to Lay Witness magazine.

Back to Homily Archive