First Reading

A reading from the Second Book of Samuel (7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16)

When King David was settled in his palace, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" Nathan answered the king, "Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you." But that night the Lord spoke to Nathan and said: "Go tell my servant David, "Thus says the Lord: Should you build me a house to dwell in?""

"It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the Earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also reveals to you that He will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever."

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

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29)

(R) Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

The promises of the Lord I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. For you have said, "My kindness is established forever; in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness." (R)

"I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant: "Forever will I confirm your posterity, and establish your throne for all generations."" (R)

"He shall say of me, "You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior." Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him, and my covenant with him stands firm." (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (16:25-27)

Brothers and sisters: To him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.

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

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke (1:26-38)

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."

"Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "They Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

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

Homily

As we approach the great feast of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us reflect upon the closing words of Saint Paul to the Romans in today's second reading. Among the letters that Paul wrote to the early Christian communities, the letter to the Romans stands out as the only one written to a community that Paul had never visited.

The letter consists of sixteen chapters and they are divided into three parts. In the first part Paul spells out the fundamentals and foundations of the Christian faith based on the Gospel Message. In the second part he explains God's sovereignty over salvation. And in the last part he gives instructions about how to live a holy life. At the end of his exhortation he gives a magnificent offering of praise to God. Therefore, it is evident that even though Paul had said many things in the letter he wanted the Roman Christians and all believers to remember that the most important thing in their faith is to give glory to God.

Paul gives glory to God for two things:

For the grace of God or the work of God. What is the grace of God? The grace of God is the strength of God. He says, "To him who can strengthen you". That's to say God strengthens the believer as he or she waits to be redeemed. He makes the believer secure, stable, constant and firm. Paul wanted to affirm that God has the power to keep the believer from falling no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the challenge is. God saves the believer in the worst of times and in the best of times. However, such grace is not given to all people who call out "Lord, Lord", but to those who truly walk with, accept, and believe in Him in accordance with three things:

First: "According to his gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ". His gospel does not mean Paul's private gospel but the gospel he had received from God through Jesus Christ. He claimed the gospel of Jesus as his own because it did not only make a dramatic change in his personal life, through his acknowledgement of Jesus as Lord, but also in his thinking. And the proclamation of Jesus Christ refers to his birth, life, death and resurrection. So Paul was saying that God strengthens believers who walk in accordance with the instructions of Paul and the preaching of Jesus Christ.

Second: "According to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings". "Mystery" refers to the whole event of the coming of Christ as Savior and Lord which had been the plan of God from the beginning of time. But it was obscured or hidden from human understanding until Jesus was born into time and space. So Paul was saying that God strengthens believers who accept the whole mystery of Christ, revealed and fulfilled in history according to the wisely ordered plan of God.

Third: "According to the command of the eternal God". Even though there are well over three hundred prophesies concerning the coming of the Messiah the first prophecy of Christ's coming came from God Himself just after the Fall of Adam and Eve into sin. God made the first prediction of the Messiah when He said to the Serpent: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel", Genesis (3:15). So the mystery of God's salvific plan began at the outset of creation. The solution to this mystery was only revealed in Paul's day after God kept people guessing for thousands of years when and how he will come. It was hidden for a long time and now it has been revealed in Jesus, to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Paul wanted all Christians to understand that it is in the character of grace from God who decided to reveal himself in the manner prescribed by the prophets. The sinful man who is searching for it could not and will not find it on his own. So Paul is saying that God strengthens believers who believe in the eternal plan of God. Paul further said to them that the purpose of revelation was to make all people faithful and obedient.
For the great plan or wisdom of God. Paul humbly recognized how wise God was to devise a plan blended with grace, mercy, love and justice. In order to secure the salvation of all people who are bound for eternal separation He sent His own Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die on the cross so that we may have an example of how to live to please God. Thus Paul gives glory to God for the work of God and the wisdom of God.

The apostle Paul was so moved by God's grace, mercy, love and justices that he found himself travelling to many places in order to reveal this news to others. He wanted all human beings to know how God has rescued us and how much He loves us. Today we are also privileged to have God's plan of salvation fully revealed to us. We are privileged to be able to call on the name of Jesus in faith, knowing that he was born into our sinful world as one of us, that he died for us and that even now he lives for us. As Christmas draws near, let us join Paul in glorifying God for the great mystery known only to Him for ages, which has now been revealed to us through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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