HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

The Nativity of the Lord (Year A)

Dec 25, 2025

101

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (52:7-10)

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, saying to Zion, "Your God is King!".

Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry, together they shout for joy, for they see directly, before their eyes, the Lord restoring Zion. Break out together in song, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the Lord comforts His people, He redeems Jerusalem. The Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of earth will behold the salvation of our God.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6)

(R) All the ends of the Earth have seen the saving power of God.

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds; His right hand has won victory for Him, His holy arm. (R)

The Lord has made His salvation known: in the sight of the nations He has revealed His justice. He has remembered His kindness and His faithfulness toward the house of Israel. (R)

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise. (R)

Sing praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song. With trumpets and the sound of the horn sing joyfully before the King, the Lord. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Hebrews (1:1-6)

Brothers and sisters: In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, He has spoken to us through the Son, whom He made heir of all things and through whom He created the universe, who is the refulgence of His glory, the very imprint of His being, and who sustains all things by His mighty word. When He had accomplished purification from sins, He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say: You are my son; this day I have begotten you or again: I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me? And again, when He leads the firstborn into the world, He says: Let all the angels of God worship him.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (1:1-18)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God. These are they who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man's decision but of God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. John testified to him and cried out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, the one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me." From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side, has revealed Him.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

There is a story of a king who fell in love with a poor girl in his kingdom and wanted to marry her. But he was confused about declaring his love for her. In an odd sort of way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her in royal robes, she would surely not resist - no one dared resist him. But would she love him? She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the rest of her life? Would she be happy at his side? How could he know for sure? If he rode to her village in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want to cause embarrassment. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king, and that she was a poor girl and to let shared love bridge the gulf between them. For it is only in love that the unequal can be made equal.

The king, having been convinced that he could not elevate the girl without crushing her freedom, resolved to descend to her. So late one night, after all the people in his palace had retired, he slipped out a side door and appeared before the girl's cottage dressed as a beggar to confess his love for her. This was not just a disguise - the king took on a totally new identity - he renounced his throne to declare his love and to win hers. (A parable by Soren Kierkegaard)

This story beautifully illustrates the mystery of Christmas. God chose to demonstrate His deep love for us by lowering Himself to our level. He became a human being, just like us, Philippians (2:7). Our response to His love is to love Him in return and the action of loving God in response is to obey Him. Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments", John (14:15) and 1 John (5:3-4).

The Bible tells us that the Israelites were called to be God's people forever, Deuteronomy (7:6), Judges (20:2) and 2 Samuel (14:13). Being God's people implies that they were God's chosen people to worship the Lord God Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to be a light to others in the world, and to uphold His laws and commandments. They were circumcised and set apart for God so that they would be distinctive, different, or separate from the world. They were not to be part of the conduct, teaching, or influence of the world. In this way, they had a special relationship with God, and God in turn was to protect them and bless them with descendants, land, security and peace. But time and again, God's chosen people rejected God, His teachings, His lordship in their lives, and the mission He had for them. They went off and worshiped other gods, the gods that they did not know and became just like the gentiles, the non-Israelites around them, Deuteronomy (29:26). However, out of compassion and love for them, He repeatedly sent warning messages to them, thus giving them every chance possible for change.

When all His calls went unheeded and all His warnings went unanswered, He used foreign rulers and nations to discipline them. He didn't protect them. He allowed the destruction of their city Jerusalem and the temple. He let them to be conquered, oppressed, humiliated and ridiculed by their enemies, particularly Assyrians and Babylonians. These circumstances left them feeling abandoned, disheartened, discouraged, worthless, hopeless, and almost lifeless. And the worst part of their sadness was that they knew it was their own fault. They saw how destructive their sin was. The greatness of the devastation they were experiencing emphasized the greatness of their sin. This was the most humbling and lowest moment of their lives.

Yet, in the midst of their deepest despair, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, offering comfort and reassurance, a part of which we read in today's first reading, Isaiah (52:7-10). The prophet saw a vision of a messenger running across the mountains toward Jerusalem with the good news of peace, salvation, and God's reign and of the city guards shouting and rejoicing together because they could see with their own eyes the Lord Himself returning to Jerusalem to reign, and the people rejoicing. This vision concerned the future redemption of the Israelites from the Babylonian captivity, the restoration of their homeland and relationship with God, and the joy and excitement among them in anticipation. Isaiah was so overwhelmed with such a vision from God that he sang, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings the good news... ."

The prophet further described that not just the exiled Israelites, but all the peoples on earth would see the strength of God's arm on display, Isaiah (52:12). Some 150-175 years later, God fulfilled the promise by using King Cyrus of Persia as an instrument to free the Israelites and rebuild their lives. However, this was the beginning, not the completion, of the process of redemption and comfort that God would, eventually, bring to all people through His Son Jesus Christ, the Messiah, starting with His birth and leading to His death on the cross.

What is the message for us?

God was born in the person of Jesus just like every human being on earth while still being totally God. He became a human so that humans can become like Him in character not to become Him. He lived completely human, experiencing all the joys, sorrows, and limitations that come with being human, except in sin. He lived as a friend and Saviour to all he met as he travelled and preached the gospel. He had the same kind of frailties that all human beings have. He got hungry, thirsty and tired. Like everybody else on earth, He ate, worked, laughed, wept, and slept. He showed mercy to the poor, the sick, the widows, and the needy. He invited everyone to sit at his table. He dined with drunkards, tax collectors, prostitutes, and outcasts. He shared His knowledge and wisdom in their life situations and problems. He affirmed the dignity and value of all human beings.

He challenged and urged people to turn away from sin and lead a life pleasing to God by trusting, loving, obeying and serving God. He invited people to be kind and merciful, to forgive others, just as God forgives them. Thus, throughout His ministry, Jesus taught people the new and better way to be a human so that they could find true hope, peace, joy, love, and light. But not everybody accepted His teachings. Even many of His disciples turned their backs on Him and stopped following Him, John (6:60-71).

However, He called those who accepted Him as God's children, John (1:12), and commanded them to preach the same gospel throughout the world, Mark (16:15-15). So, since we have accepted Christ Jesus, we, too, now have the responsibility of sharing the good news with others. In other words, as believers in Christ, we must commit ourselves to having "beautiful feet." It does not mean that we must have feet with painted toenails and smooth skin, but rather feet made beautiful by bringing the Good News of Christ. When we carry Christ's message of hope, love, peace, joy, and light to all who are stranded, helpless, alone, lost in the darkness and despair, and in need of spiritual rescue, our feet become beautiful.

"If we say we live in God, we must live the way Jesus lived", 1 (John 2:6). Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me", John (14:6). Therefore, if we truly do love Jesus, then we must boldly and joyfully embrace the mission of Jesus in our lives. We must run like the messenger on the mountains, proclaiming Christ to all the people around us, enduring all the trials and tribulations along the way, but never altering His message. At the same time, we must pray that God may enable us to have the beautiful feet, bruised, bleeding and embattled because of Jesus Christ.

(P) Amen.

I wish you and your families and friends a Merry Christmas and God's blessings during this holy time. May God bless you and keep you!

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