Christmas Novena Mass 3rd Day

Christmas Novena Mass
Third Day
December 19, 2007

The build-up in our liturgy continues. As we prepare for Christmas we read the genealogy of Jesus according to Matthew’s Gospel, a genealogy that underlines the realness of the his coming to our human history. On the second day of our Novena, we reflected on the angelic announcement to Joseph that the mysterious pregnancy of Mary is the work of God.

Today we focus on the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth to his father, the priest Zechariah. This story prepares us for the announcement of the Birth of Jesus (which we will hear in tomorrow’s Mass.

God is a God of Surprises - with God nothing is impossible.
In Elizabeth, the Holy Spirit acted to make it possible for a woman doubly handicapped – she was barren and old – to be mother of a child. In the story of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit will act to make a virgin the blessed mother of the Saviour. The angel Gabriel will point out to Mary that the child-bearing of her cousin Elizabeth is a sign that “nothing is impossible with God.”

God is the giver
Beyond the deep theological import of our story today, we realise the God is a God of Gifting. The Holy Spirit who acted on the birth of John the Baptizer and Jesus..is a Divine Person of many gifts! In simple terms, the birth of John the Baptist was a “gifting” to the old couple – Zechariah and Elizabeth. The name “John” literally means “God has shown favor”, “God has given a gift”.

God has shown a big favor for Elizabeth and Zechariah. Elizabeth was naturally barren. They were both advanced in years. But God gave them a child to break their curse.

Barrenness
As we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christmas, we should then learn to rise above our own “barreness” – that is our sense of limitation, frustration, hopelessness in our lives. We should realise that God is good all the time.

God favour can come to us through persons, and lives that touch ours. The great gift – the cause of joy is their child. In the first Reading, the cause of joy for Manoah was the birth of a child – Samson. The cause of our joy this Christmas season is the coming birth of little child – child Jesus.

As we prepare for Christmas, we pray that amidst our uncertainty and hopelessness, God is with us to bring us joy. Like Zechariah, we must trust in God’s loving power and believe that He will exceed our expectations in time. Zechariah’s muteness taught us that our prayers will only be answered in fullness when we believe.

"Lord Jesus, you bring hope and restoration to your people. Restore and strengthen Christian family life today. Help me to love and serve my family. May your love rule in all my relationships and remove any barriers to peace and harmony."