Solemnity of Christmas

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Sunday, 27 December 2020 : Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday after Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Holy Family of Nazareth and Bethlehem, consisting of the Lord Himself as the centre focus of the Holy Family, the Lord, Divine Word Incarnate born as the Son of Mary, the Mother of God, and the foster-son of St. Joseph, who became the legal father of the Lord.

As described in the Scriptures, the story of the Holy Family is truly one that is filled with many wonders for its exemplary nature as a family as well as the challenges and trials that the Holy Family had to endure together against the difficult opposition and the troubles that were facing them, through which the Lord’s opponents wanted to stop the works of God at its infancy.

We heard of how the Holy Family travelled from the small town of Nazareth in Galilee to the city of David, Bethlehem in the land of Judea due to the demands of the census that had been ordered by the Roman Emperor Augustus at that time. St. Joseph had to lead the way and take care of the heavily pregnant Mary on the long journey to Bethlehem, and braved the difficult journey in a largely inhospitable condition along the way. When they reached Bethlehem, there was no inn or lodging available for them and Mary’s delivery time was already due.

They had to take refuge in a cramped and dirty stable outside of Bethlehem, amidst animals and their shepherds. That was where the Lord was born, a King born not in a great palace but in a lowly stable. St. Joseph took good care of Mary and her Child during this period of time, and brought them all to the Temple of God to offer Jesus to the Lord as prescribed by the Law as the firstborn son offered to God. That is how we have our Gospel passage account today of how Jesus was met by Simeon and the prophetess Anna.

Through what Simeon and the prophetess Anna told Mary and St. Joseph, certainly they knew that their family was not going to be a regular or ordinary one, just as the Angel of God had revealed earlier to each one of them of their mission in Mary as the Mother of Messiah and the Son of God, and in St. Joseph the Protector and Patron of the Holy Family respectively. The words of Simeon and Anna again emphasised the gravity and importance of the role that Christ would play in the world, and by extension, the Holy Family along with it.

And not even long after Christ was born, He already had to face a lot of trials and even hatred, from the king of Judea and Galilee, Herod the Great who was threatened by the coming of a new King in the midst of his kingdom and thus wanted Jesus eliminated and destroyed. In his desperation and unwillingness to let go of his pride and greed, Herod ordered the whole infant population of Bethlehem below the age of two to be slaughtered. But God rescued Jesus and the Holy Family, and through St. Joseph’s leadership, went into Egypt until king Herod was dead.

The Holy Family was indeed an exemplary family, with St. Joseph as its head and patron, as a father figure to Our Lord and as the protector of both Mary and the Child Jesus especially during those crucial early years. Mary is the matron of the Holy Family, the mother figure as the Mother of Our Lord and also as the wife to St. Joseph, in a loving marriage blessed by God.

And of course the Lord Himself was the Son in the family, brought up by Mary and St. Joseph in Nazareth after they all returned from Egypt. The Lord listened to both of them and learnt from them many things, from St. Joseph He likely learnt the many crafts and tools, the working of the world, while from Mary, His mother He learnt more about the ethics and the other relations of the world.

The members of the Holy Family loved each other and dedicated themselves for one another, going to the Temple of God to pray and to worship, in which occasion when the Lord was twelve, He purposefully stayed behind at the Temple, and both Mary and St. Joseph were shocked to find that He was not among their return companion. They went back all the way to Jerusalem to find Jesus, and found Him in the Temple.

Again, in that occasion, although the Lord told both Mary and St. Joseph that His place was at His Father’s house, but He listened to them and obeyed them, following them back to Nazareth, and as the Scripture said, continued to grow in wisdom and strength in the sight of the world, until the coming of the days of His ministry, in which, Mary, His mother, followed faithfully along, even all the way to the Cross, and was there by the side of her Son when He died.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we progress through the Christmas season, we should see how important the family is to our Christian faith. As the Child Jesus Himself was born into a loving family and grew up with them together and grew in the faith and wisdom, thus, all of us should also model our families along the examples of the Holy Family, building up a faithful family and a strong family bonded in genuine love.

The Holy Family shows us all that it is indeed possible for us all to have a loving family and a family dedicated to God, anchored in faith and prayer, in love and compassionate care for each other. But are we modelling and living our families like that of the Holy Family? Or have we rather neglected our families and our family members, and treat each other with contempt and lacking in love?

Now let us ask ourselves, how have we been celebrating Christmas as a family? Have we been mainly focused on the material aspects, focusing on the glamour, festivities and all the gifts, the monetary and wealth we have gained and received? Or have we instead been focusing more on the time we spend together as a family? We must all realise that no matter what, nothing can replace the love and time spent together as a family, not even money.

It is indeed sad to see families nowadays that do not even exist coherently or in love, which members were divided against each other, having disputes and bitter disagreements, having conflicts and even causing suffering and to the point of murder and killing the members of your own family. And all these are caused by our weakening family foundation and our lack of faith, as our families have increasingly become more and more corrupted by worldly values and become less centred on Christ and the Holy Family.

The family is indeed the foundation of the faith and the Church, as we must all remember that the house and the family is the domestic church that all the young experience through and that is also where our young ones learn the important values of our faith, through our own actions and implementation of what we have believed as Christians. But many of us often do not do and act in the way that we have professed and believed. As a result therefore, we ended up alienating many of those who became skeptical and doubtful due to our actions.

To many, their first impression of our faith and our life comes from the family, and if our families are functional and good, faithful and committed to God and to one another, then naturally this will lead to better relationships between the members of the family with one another as well as with their Christian faith. On the contrary, if our families never sit together and pray together, and never even talk to each other and are locked with each other in struggles and disagreements, then each of the members of our families will quickly drift apart from our faith, as well as from one another.

The devil knows this well, brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is why, in order to bring about our downfall, he is leading a lot of attacks and assault on the institution of our families. We should not allow him to have a free reign over us and our families, and the best way is by making sure that our families are modelled after the Holy Family. This means that our families should first of all be centred on God, to be Christ-centric in all the things we do.

And then, we should look up to the harmony shown in the Holy Family, of the value of care and love, obedience and care among its members. We should strive to make our families to be like the Holy Family too. If we have been selfish and arrogant, stubborn and easily angered, then let us all learn to be more selfless, be more willing to listen to each other, be more gentle and loving so that as each of the members of the family, we may come together and be more united, blessed and strengthened by the love of God in the face of many trials and challenges we may have to face as faithful Christian families in our world today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all deepen our relationship with one another, especially with our family members, and let us all draw ever closer from the example of the Holy Family so that each and every one of us may live our lives as ever faithful and dedicated father, mother, husband, wife, children, brothers or sisters, as one united family and one community of the faithful in glorifying God by our lives. May God bless us all and our families, our family members wherever they may be, and may He strengthen the bond of unity and love between us, always. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 December 2020 : Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 2 : 22-40

When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the Baby up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord : Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice, as ordered in the law of the Lord : a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

There lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel, and he had been assured, by the Holy Spirit, that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law.

Simeon took the Child in his arms, and blessed God, saying, “Now, o Lord, You can dismiss Your servant in peace, for You have fulfilled Your word and my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You display for all the people to see. Here is the Light You will reveal to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

His father and mother wondered at what was said about the Child. Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother, “Know this : your Son is a Sign, a Sign established for the falling and rising of many in Israel, a Sign of contradiction; and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.”

There was also a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. After leaving her father’s home, she had been seven years with her husband, and since then she had been continually about the Temple, serving God as a widow night and day in fasting and prayer. She was now eighty-four. Coming up at that time, she gave praise to God, and spoke of the Child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

When the parents had fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their town, Nazareth in Galilee. There the Child grew in stature and strength, and was filled with wisdom: the grace of God was upon Him.

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Sunday, 27 December 2020 : Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hebrews 11 : 8, 11-12, 17-19

It was by faith, that Abraham, called by God, set out for a country that would be given to him as an inheritance; for he parted without knowing where he was going. By faith, Sarah, herself, received power to become a mother, in spite of her advanced age; since she believed that, He, Who had made the promise, would be faithful. Therefore, from an almost impotent man, were born descendants, as numerous as the stars of heaven, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.

By faith, Abraham went to offer Isaac, when God tested him. And so, he, who had received the promise of God, offered his only son, although God had told him : Isaac’s descendants will bear your name. Abraham reasoned, that God is capable even of raising the dead, and he received back his son, which has a figurative meaning.

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Sunday, 27 December 2020 : Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 104 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

Give thanks to YHVH, call on His Name, make known His works among the nations. Sing to Him, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds.

Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek YHVH rejoice. Look to YHVH and be strong; seek His face always.

Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments, you descendants of His servant, Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

He remembers His Covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the Covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

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Sunday, 27 December 2020 : Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 15 : 1-6 and Genesis 21 : 1-3

After this the word of YHVH was spoken to Abram in a vision : “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your Shield; your reward will be very great!”

Abram said, “My Lord YHVH, where are Your promises? I am still childless and all I have will go to Eliezer of Damascus. You have given me no children, so a slave of mine will be my heir.”

Then the word of YHVH was spoken to him again, “Eliezer will not be your heir, but a child born of you (your own flesh and blood) will be your heir.” Then YHVH brought him outside and said to him, “Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that.

Abram believed YHVH Who, because of this, held him to be an upright man. YHVH was kind to Sarah as He had said, and fulfilled His promise to her. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time YHVH had promised. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son that Sarah bore him.

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Friday, 25 December 2020 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we have come together to celebrate the great Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is better known as Christmas. Christmas is one of the two most important celebrations of our Christian faith together with Easter. After approximately four weeks of preparation throughout the season of Advent, we finally begin this most joyful season and celebration of Christmas beginning today.

As mentioned earlier, the celebration and season of Christmas are very important together with that of Easter, and the celebration of the birth of Our Lord and Saviour at Christmas cannot indeed be separated from the Passion, death and resurrection of the Lord at Holy Week and Easter. Without Christmas, there can be no Easter and without Easter, then Christmas would have been a meaningless celebration and event.

For without Christmas, then there can be no salvation for all of us mankind, as it was through Christmas that each and every one of us see the salvation of God in Jesus Christ, the salvation of God in the Baby born in Bethlehem in Judea two millennia ago, the Son of Mary born in the city of David. Through Him, God was no longer intangible and unreachable by mankind, for in Jesus, the Lord has bridged the gap between us and Him.

Through this very important event of the Nativity that is the birth of Our Lord into this world, the Lord Himself has chosen to adopt our humanity, and uniting our humanity to Himself, He became the personification of God’s love, the Divine Word Incarnate. The Word of God and only Begotten Son of God has assumed our human nature to become the Son of Man. In Jesus Christ therefore, we have the One God incarnate, two natures, divine and human, distinct but inseparably united in Him.

Then, when I said earlier that Christmas cannot be separated and meaningless without Easter, it means that if the One born at Christmas was just a mere man, the son of a woman and not of divine origin, then Christ could not have saved the world, for the suffering and the sacrifice He would undergo on the Cross at Calvary would have been meaningless, as the blood of a man would not have been sufficient to redeem us from our multitudes of sins.

On the contrary, if the One Who was at the Cross and died on the Cross at Good Friday was just a divine being that was not also a man, then first of all, it would have been impossible for God to die as a divine and immortal being, and then, secondly, without the significance of His incarnation, He could not have saved us, as it was by sharing in our humanity that He gathered us all and redeemed us, that we may share in His death and die to our sinful past selves, and be led into the new and eternal existence and life filled with grace through His Resurrection.

That is why, when we look at Christmas and rejoice today, ultimately it is because of the Resurrection of the Lord, for we know that this same Child born in Bethlehem celebrated today, is the same One Who was crucified for us, suffered and died for us, and Who eventually rose in glory and was triumphant against sin and death. Through Him, His Passion, suffering, death and Resurrection, we have received a new life and a new hope, and we can truly rejoice because once we have been lost in the darkness, doomed to destruction and annihilation, and now we are the beloved children of our Lord and King once again!

That is the true essence of Christmas that many of us have often forgotten, especially amidst the increasingly commercialised and materialistic nature of the secular Christmas celebrations and events. As many companies, parties and peoples wanted to make profit out of our celebrations and rejoicing, and adapting to the culture of joy of Christmas, they ended up in making us forget what Christmas truly is all about, and for all the excesses that we saw all around us, all these distract us from our true joy and what we should truly celebrate.

Instead of being preoccupied and being distracted by the many glamorous celebrations and events, the parties, revelries and merrymaking this Christmas day and the rest of the season of Christmas, we must look beyond the material and the surface appearances, and go deep into the true essence of Christmas. And this is why we should rediscover the true reason for our joy in Christmas, that is Christ. For if we sideline Christ or worse still, leaving Him out of Christmas entirely, then what is Christmas then?

There is truly great joy among all of us today, but we need to ask ourselves, are we celebrating Christmas in the right way? It is good to celebrate and to be happy, and we should rejoice and be merry, but are we too focused on the exterior celebrations and superficial appearances, materialistic considerations and the excess of secular Christmas culture? Shouldn’t we be more focused on that interior joy and true spiritual joy that we should have this Christmas?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as I have mentioned earlier on, Christmas is about the joy that all of us experience thanks to the Lord Who has willingly embraced us and reached out to us, and Who has humbled Himself and lowered Himself to our state, the wretched state of humanity that He might share the burden with us and took up upon Himself all the struggles, pains and sufferings that we have suffered. He emptied Himself of His glory and divinity in His Passion, and lovingly embraced us through His Cross, by which our salvation has come to us.

Christmas is truly about the Lord Who has humbled Himself, made Himself small and lowered Himself that He may touch us and be with us, that He may reconcile us to Himself. It is about the hope that He has brought us through His salvation, the peace that He has restored to us through His coming, the joy that He has revealed to us and returned to us after all the darkness and sorrows we experienced, and ultimately, the true and genuine love that He has for each and every one of us, all manifested and shown to us through Christ, His Son, the Child born and celebrated this Christmas.

We can see just how throughout history, man had always aspired for greater things, and many had even wanted to be like God, to have power and dominion over others and all things. That was why our history had been filled with so many bitterness and struggles, with so many conflicts and destruction as we walked down the path of conflict and war due to the clashing of our ego and pride, our desires and greed.

Yet, here we see the Almighty and all glorious God, willingly embraced our humanity and humbled Himself, to be born as a Child in a stable barely fit for any humans, less still to be the palace of a King. This is our Lord and King, the One Whom we celebrate about this Christmas, not our pride and ego, our desire and all of worldly things, but rather, the joy we have because God is on our side, and has shown His love for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this year has been an incredibly difficult one for so many of us. So many had perished from the pandemic and many others had died, suffered and are still suffering from many trials and challenges, directly or indirectly related to the pandemic, and other unrelated issues that had always bogged us down and troubled us all these while.

Indeed, it may seem to be an ill-time for us to celebrate during this Christmas, given the still terrible situation all over the whole world. However, this is exactly what we need to do, as we ought to reevaluate our Christmas celebration and joy. We are all called, as Christians, to be the bearers of God’s Hope and Light into the world, to be the faithful and genuine witnesses of His love and desire to be reconciled with us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect and discern carefully on this most joyful occasion of Christmas, our way of celebrating it with true joy and with real purpose. Let us all realise that unless our Christmas is hope-giving, peace-giving, joy-giving, and most important of all love-giving and life-giving, then we have missed out the true essence and meaning of Christmas.

Instead of grumbling that we cannot have a ‘normal’ Christmas celebration this year due to various restrictions, let us all remember all those who had none to celebrate it with, all of our healthcare and frontline workers who had to work through even the Christmas season, risking their lives and pouring out their love for others. Let us all remember also all those who had not been able to celebrate Christmas due to various difficulties and challenges, and all those who have had to hide their Christmas joy and even their Christian faith.

Instead of worrying that we have received less Christmas gifts and lesser things in our parties and celebrations, lesser guests and lesser festivities, let us all think of how we can give from the bounty and blessings we have to all those who have not been fortunate and who has even less than what we have. If we are still able to worry about such things, then we must not forget about those who are struggling daily to make ends meet, and all those who have lost their jobs and their hopes especially during this dark year.

And last of all, instead of trying to pamper ourselves and love ourselves more, in this Christmas season we are called to imitate and follow the examples of Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. He selflessly reached out to us and showered us with love, and He came into this world and did all that He had done so that we may be saved and be released from all that we ought to have suffered.

Let us all be grateful this Christmas, for the gift of life, for all of God’s blessings, no matter how small they may be, that we may indeed find our true joy of Christmas, and celebrate together as a community, as a loving family centred on God and His love. Let us all truly rejoice as God’s beloved people, and share this joy that we have to the whole world, that even though this year may have been dark, but the Light of Christ in us will dispel even the greatest darkness, and in the end, He Who has conquered death, will lead us all into true joy and eternal glory, forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 25 December 2020 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Mass at Day (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 1 : 1-18

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. Whatever has come to be, found life in Him; life, which for human beings, was also light, light that shines in darkness, light that darkness could not overcome.

A man came, sent by God; his name was John. He came to bear witness, as a witness to introduce the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but a witness to introduce the Light; for the Light was coming into the world, the true Light that enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, the very world that did not know Him.

He came to His own, yet His own people did not receive Him; but to all who received Him, He empowers to become children of God, for they believe in His Name. These are born, but not by seed, or carnal desire, nor by the will of man : they are born of God.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father : fullness of truth and loving-kindness. John bore witness to Him openly, saying, “This is the One Who comes after me, but He is already ahead of me, for He was before me.”

From His fullness we have all received, favour upon favour. For God had given us the Law through Moses, but Truth and Loving-kindness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God-the-only-Son made Him known : the One, Who is in and with the Father.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

John 1 : 1-5, 9-14

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. Whatever has come to be, found life in Him; life, which for human beings, was also light, light that shines in darkness, light that darkness could not overcome.

For the Light was coming into the world, the true Light that enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, the very world that did not know Him.

He came to His own, yet His own people did not receive Him; but to all who received Him, He empowers to become children of God, for they believe in His Name. These are born, but not by seed, or carnal desire, nor by the will of man : they are born of God.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father : fullness of truth and loving-kindness.

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Friday, 25 December 2020 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Mass at Day (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hebrews 1 : 1-6

God has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times He has spoken definitively to us through His Son. He is the one God appointed Heir of all things, since through Him He unfolded the stages of the world.

He is the Radiance of God’s Glory and bears the stamp of God’s hidden being, so that His powerful Word upholds the universe. And after taking away sin, He took His place at the right hand of the Divine Majesty in heaven. So He is now far superior to Angels just as the Name He received sets Him apart from them.

To what Angel did God say : You are My Son, I have begotten You today? And to what Angel did He promise : I shall be a Father to Him and He will be a Son to Me? On sending His Firstborn to the world, God says : “Let all the Angels adore Him.”

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Friday, 25 December 2020 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Mass at Day (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

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Friday, 25 December 2020 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Mass at Day (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 52 : 7-10

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring Good News, who herald peace and happiness, who proclaim salvation and announce to Zion : “Your God is King!”

Together your watchmen raise their voices in praise and song; they see YHVH face to face returning to Zion. Break into shouts of joy, o ruins of Jerusalem, for YHVH consoles His people and redeems Jerusalem.

YHVH has bared His holy arm in the eyes of the nations; all the ends of the earth, in alarm, will witness God’s salvation.