Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1- 6; John 1:18 The beginning of John’s Gospel does not deal with Bethlehem, Mary, the shepherds, or the stable and manger, so why do we read this Gospel on Christmas Day?
While the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel goes back to Abraham, the father of God’s people, and Luke’s to Adam, thus embracing
the entire human race, John’s goes back to God himself. John is the only evangelist who does not dwell on Bethlehem to explain the “reason for the time.” John is more interested in the WHY and WHO of Christmas than in the WHERE of Christmas. Thus, he travels into eternity to reveal the Person of Jesus Christ. This is a great passage because it gives us the theology of Christmas.
The first reading assures us that just as Yahweh brought his chosen people back to their homeland after the Babylonian exile, Jesus the Savior will bring humanity back to the kingdom of God.
In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 98), the Psalmist reminds us that the Kingdom includes everyone, not just the chosen people, singing, “All the ends of the earth have seen salvation through our God!”
In the second reading, St. Paul tells us how God, who in the past spoke through his prophets, sent his own Son so that by his life, death and resurrection he might manifest to us men the true nature of our God.
The Gospel offers a deeply theological view of Christ, the fruit of John’s years of preaching and meditating on this wondrous mystery of God’s love.
The Fourth Gospel opens with this extraordinary poetic passage, which is a hymn to the Word of God being revealed and at work in the world. It is a meditative summary of the whole mystery of Christmas, for the child of Bethlehem is the revelation of God, the truth of God and man, and by reflecting on this event we are able to understand who the one who was born is and who we are. The first thirteen verses, which make up the first part of the hymn, present us with the Word from its origin: we are in the realm of the relationship between the Divine Persons. The Word of God, at a certain moment, comes into contact with the world, with humanity, namely with us, by becoming incarnate. This event is sung in a burst of joy in verse 14, where the second part of the Prologue begins (vv. 14 to 18). However, this totally free gift of God is not recognized or rejected by many. However, there are also those who notice it, accept it and welcome it, thus becoming children of God. The “good news” of divine sonship is found right in the middle of the hymn (vv. 12-13).
According to almost all interpreters, this is the climax of John’s poetic Prologue, the culmination of his gradual theological “crescendo,” and the “key” to all the rest of the Gospel. It is such a simple sentence, yet it contains within it the promise, hope and challenge of Christianity in a nutshell!

The problem John faced was how to present Christianity to the Greek world around him in the Greek city of Ephesus where he lived. He discovered that in both the
Greek and the Hebrew, there was the concept of “word.” For Eastern peoples, words had an independent existence full of power. The Greek word for word is Logos, which means not only word but also reason. Therefore, whenever the Greeks used Logos, the twin ideas of God’s Word and God’s Reason were in their minds. This is why John presents Jesus to the Greeks as the Eternal One, as light and as creator in poetic prose at the very beginning of his Gospel. In his Prologue, John addresses major themes such as the pre-existence of the Word, God/Word and Father/Son as distinct Persons but, at the same time, one God; of Jesus as God, Life and Light; of the struggle between Light and darkness; and of the power of Light over darkness. According to John, the Word of God (Jesus) gives Life and Light. Thus, the Prologue of John’s Gospel summarizes how the Son of God was sent into the world to become the Jesus of history so that God’s glory and grace could be revealed in a unique and perfect way. One of the Church Fathers (St. Irenaeus) once said, “Gloria Dei, homo vivens,” (“the glory of God is the living man”). If this can be said of each of us, how much more must it be true of the Word made flesh? Here, in this Prologue, the evangelist enunciates the superiority of Christ, not only over all others as the only mediator between God and humanity, but also over the Law.
I wish to share with you Pope Francis’ reflection on Christmas because every person from the light of Christmas can draw strength and meaning.

Christmas is usually a noisy holiday:
We could use some silence to listen to the voice of Love.
Christmas is you, when you decide to be born again every day
And let God into your soul.
Christmas tree is you when you vigorously resist the winds and difficulties of life.
The Christmas decorations are you when your virtues are the colors that adorn your life. The Christmas bell is you when you call, congregate and seek to unite.
You are also Christmas light when you illuminate with your life
the path of others with kindness, patience, cheerfulness and generosity.
Christmas angels are you when you sing to the world
a message of peace, justice and love.
The Christmas star is you when you lead someone to an encounter with the Lord.
You are also the wise men when you give the best you have without regard to whom you give it.
Christmas music is you when you conquer harmony within yourself.
Christmas gift is you when you are a true friend and brother to all human beings.
Christmas greetings are you when you forgive and restore peace even when you suffer.
Christmas dinner is you when you satiate with bread and hope
The poor man who stands beside you.
Christmas night is you when humble and conscious you receive in the silence of the night the Savior of the world without noise or grand celebrations; you are smile of confidence and tenderness in the inner peace of an everlasting Christmas that establishes the kingdom within you.
A Merry Christmas to all who resemble Christmas!
P JOBY KAVUNGAL RCJ