Homilies Simbang Gabi 2021: The Days of the Nine Prophecies.
Why did God send his Son to be born in our human likeness and poor realities? What hides behind the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord? And how does this involve and touch us today?
In the Holy Scriptures, the
Prophet Isaiah stands in a very high position when we talk of the coming of the
Messiah. He has a list of prophecies that could help us understand and live
better the Mysteries of the Incarnation of the Lord. The Christmas Prophecies
according to Isaiah are found in Isaiah 7:14: The Emmanuel: “...Behold, a
virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 9:5-6 alone contains seven sub-prophecies: “For unto us a child is born,
unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His
name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, the mighty God, The everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace.” The child is born; the Son is given; the government
upon his shoulder; the Wonderful Counsellor; the mighty God; the everlasting
Father; the Prince of Peace.
Based on these passages from the Prophet Isaiah and other prophecies, we will like to see this Novena to Christmas as the Days of the Nine Prophecies. In each one of these days, one by one, we will be hearing some beautiful prophecies about the one we are preparing to welcome at his birth. Every single day of this novena will tell us something particular about the Messiah. Isaiah, Jacob, Jeremiah, Micah, Solomon, Samuel, Malachy, and even John the Baptist will tell us in their way what they know of the one who is to come and how we should get ready for his coming.
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1st Prophecy: The Universality of Salvation.
An Amerindian proverb says: “The center of the universe is
everywhere.”
Today, the first day of the Novena to Christmas, the
Prophecy is about the universality of Salvation. The coming of the Lord will
bring about salvation. This will not be only for a selected or predilected group of people. It is a salvation opened to all. The mystery of Salvation will embrace
all people and every nation. Here is the beautiful good news of this first day
of our novena.
The message is clearly vehiculated by the Prophet Isaiah in
today’s first reading. Speaking of the House of God, the Lord, through His
Prophet says, it is to be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Jews, as
well as foreigners, shall be welcomed with the same title and honor in the
Lord’s House. And the Lord adds, “Let not the foreigner say, when he would join
himself to the Lord, ‘The Lord will surely exclude me from his people’.” God
does not discriminate. He does not exclude anyone from His presence, nor from
His salvation plan. The joy of the coming Christmas is for all. All that it
requires for us to partake in this mystery of salvation is to live in
accordance with God’s will. That is, to “Observe what is right, do what is
just…” We are urged to avoid all kinds of evil, keep holy the day of the Lord,
and not profane it. For, it is the evildoers only who will be excluded from
salvation.
God’s salvation is for all. In His love, the Lord will also
extend His grace on Israel's wicked leaders, but only, if these seize the
chance and the opportunity he offers for conversion. The Lord Jesus, in the
Gospel, answers to those wicked leaders, who, despite all the given
opportunities, have chosen to remain impenitent and unrepentant and to believe
in Him. He tells them that the witness about Him as the Messiah comes from four
different sources: firstly, from John the Baptist, as the herald and great
preacher of truth, the burning light that shines in the darkness of errors of
this world; secondly, from the works he himself does, that is his teachings and
miracles; thirdly, from the Father whose voice, more than one’s testified of
Him as the beloved and only begotten Son and works through Him; and lastly,
from the Scriptures, that is, all the words and writings of the prophets that
point out to Him.
Regrettably, the religious leaders of Israel, even though
they were said, to dwell on the Scriptures and believe in the words of the
Prophets, failed to recognize the presence of the Lord, the Messiah in their
midst and to believe in Him.
Brothers and sisters, the Salvation is at hand. It is God’s offer to all of us. Let us, therefore, enter into it with converted hearts, and a sincere faith. Through our words and actions, let us witness our salvation as a universal gift of God.
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2nd Prophecy: The Salvation will come from the House of Judah.
A Ghanaian proverb says: “Only the fool points at his
origins with his left hand.”
Opening our meditation yesterday, we were taught that
salvation was universal, that God does not discriminate between peoples. He
knows nor Jews nor Gentiles. But all were subjects of his plan of salvation.
This salvation, however, has an origin. It comes from the House of Judah. Here
is the second prophecy of Christmas.
The Savior, all the prophets foretold, will be born of the
source of Jessy, from the house of Judah. Today’s first reading plunges us into
the source of this prophecy. Jacob, while he was blessing his children, told
them the Judah, their elder, will stand forever and will be praised by his
brothers and will defeat all his enemies. Jacob foretold that the scepter, the
royal line will never depart from Judah until the coming of the one to whom it
truly belongs, that is, the Messiah.
This prophecy of Jacob finds its fulfillment in Jesus. In
the Gospel, through the genealogical tree of Jesus, Matthew shows that in Him,
all the ancient prophecies are accomplished. He comes from the house of Jacob,
from the line of Judah, born of the house of David. The evangelist gives us a
record on Jesus as truly the Messiah. He traces his genealogy beginning with
Abraham and concluding with Joseph, the husband of Mary.
In this genealogy, however, two great elements we can keep
about the Lord: firstly, is that he is from a faithful line through Abraham,
the father of all the believers, and a royal line, through David, the greatest
of all Israel’s kings. Secondly, his ancestral line is not constituted only of
saints and sinless people. Many of his ancestors have their personal sins due
to human weaknesses. They did have their “péché mignon” but God made use of all
these weaknesses and human failures to draw the beautiful mystery of salvation.
The implication for us is that God comes to be one of us and save us because we
are sinners. Christmas is the dawn of salvation for sinful humanity. He who
does not find himself a sinner cannot find the meaning of Christ’s incarnation,
and so Christmas will be without meaning for him.
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3rd Prophecy: The Righteous Branch.
A Jewish proverb says: “The righteous say little and do
much.”
Among a whole batch of sinners, there is always one who
stands righteous. We said in the second prophecy about the origin of salvation
and of the Messiah that, not all His ascendants were righteous or holy people.
But God, from the sinful source, raised a righteous one. Today’s prophecy, the
3rd of Christmas, from the Prophet Jeremiah, points clearly to the Messiah.
This could also lead to thinking about Joseph, the just man, the one who was
“Just a man” but chosen by God to contribute to His mystery.
About the coming of the Messiah, the Lord, through Jeremiah
says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a
righteous shoot to David; As king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do
what is just and right in the land.” Two words here lead our reflection:
Righteous shoot and wisdom. These two expressions actually could summarize the
personality and the life of Joseph, the Husband of Mary.
About him, Matthew says in the Gospel: “Joseph her husband,
since he was a righteous man…” Because of his personality, “a righteous man”,
Joseph was inhabited by a spirit of wisdom and a great sense of discernment. He
was faithful to the Law, as every good and righteous person should be. But he
went beyond the letter of the Law to uphold justice that flows from love. In
deciding about Mary, we read that he made the right choice as one who is in
love: “unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.”
Faithfulness to the Law is what makes one righteous. But if our faithfulness to
the Law is not nourished of love, we lose all moral aptitude and fall into egoism
and the barbarism we see in today’s societies where divorce seems to be the
shortcut for all kinds of matrimonial crises and problems. And the consequence,
the so many broken families.
King David’s righteous shoot the Prophet Jeremiah spoke of
is passed to Jesus through Joseph. In him, the Lord not only inspires human
actions but he also becomes our righteousness. The Lord takes upon himself our
humanity and sets us free from the burdens of our sins.
The words of the Archangel Gabriel to the sleeping Joseph
and the name which will be given to the child-to-born reveal all about what is
going to happen in God’s wisdom and righteousness. The Righteous Man inserts
the Son of God into our humanity for Him to save us from sin. God, at the
incarnation, becomes one of us and one with us, “Emmanuel”, in order to save
us. So, the wisdom of God is what is at work in our human nature and Joseph
stands as the representative of humanity called to holiness, to righteousness.
Like Joseph, we too are invited to become righteous.
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4th Prophecy: Humility and Obedience.
December 19, 2021 - READINGS: Mi 5:1-4a; Ps 80:2-3, 15-16,
18-19; Heb 10:5-10; Lk 1:39-45.
Cf. Sunday, 4th Sunday of Advent.
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5th Prophecy: The Emmanuel.
A Togolese proverb says: “Absence polishes passion, presence
reinforces it.”
More than ever, we are assured that Christmas is near. The
Lord will come and will not delay. He will take upon himself our humanity in
all its humility, fragility, and teach us obedience.
There is a Filipino Advent hymn I really like, because of
its deep message, even though it sounds quite hilarious. It says, in literal
translation: “Lord, how long will we have to wait for you? Come on, come back.
Keep your promise. In moments of merriment, in times of prosperity, thank you
for your eternal grace. In moments of misfortune, in times of hardship, we call
upon you. Do not leave us. Lord, when you return, we will be your people. With
sincere faith in you, we try to follow your will.”
Two elements from this hymn can enlighten our nine days
preparation. We are a people living in hope, in great expectation. As such, we
fear that our expectation could delay or not come at the proper time we wait
for it.
We oftentimes pass through difficult situations, problems,
and happenings that make us lose all hope in the future. Won over by trials,
and adversities, we question from where will our salvation come? The Lord tells
us that he is the Emmanuel. He is coming to enter our lives, to enter our
history, and to transform it from within.
What Ahaz received as a prophetic promise is accomplished in
the Gospel. God, through His Angel Gabriel, brought the Good News of His
Incarnation to the Virgin of Nazareth, the betrothed to Joseph. She was told:
“The 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.” The Lord comes to be with Mary, and through her, with all our humanity.
Like Mary, we are exhorted to not be afraid. God is with us
in our daily battles. So too, like Mary, let us say, with humility and
obedience our “Fiat Voluntas Tua” to God and let His will indwell all our
actions and words every day.
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6th Prophecy: The Visitation of the Lover.
A Congolese proverb says: “He who visits you personally is
better than another who sends a delegate.”
In the Mystery of the Emmanuel, God is coming to visit our
humanity. And this will happen because of His love for us. If there is
something I could talk about, hours and hours, 24/7 non-stop, and without
getting tired, it is love. Love is life. Love is what gives meaning to our
existence. Love is what we celebrate at the Nativity of the Lord. At Christmas,
we commemorate and revive the solemn visit of our unique and true lover to our
humanity. All the prophecies and promises find their fulfillment in the Mystery
of the Incarnation of the Lord. “For God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have
eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) Christmas is the day of God’s visitation as a lover,
to human beings.
Today’s prophecy, more than a prophecy, is an action. It is
the act of God’s love. The readings overflow of this good news and the joy of
the Nativity springs already from it. The Song of Songs starts in its poetic
way saying: “Hark! my lover–here he comes springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.”
This poesy is somehow well accomplished in the mystery of
the Visitation. Mary, bearing the Son of God, the Word made flesh, visits her
cousin Elizabeth who is expectant of John the Baptist. Mary travels the hill
country in haste with the lover to encounter his loved one. Through Mary and
Elizabeth, it is Jesus and John who encounter. The Messiah visits the humanity
he is coming to save.
Nothing can explain and summarize well this scene of the
Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth than love. Rightly, when praying the Holy Rosary,
at the second Joyful Mystery, we speak of fraternal love. For, it is a love we
celebrate in that visitation. And that love opens us to songs of joy. Thus, the
joy of John leaping when he heard about the Lord’s coming.
Our lover is coming to visit us and bring solace to our
sorrowful humanity. Let us exult and sing him a new song. Like Elizabeth was
honored by the visitation of Mary the Mother of Her Lord, let us also bring the
joy of Christmas to all the people in need, the people forgotten or abandoned in
the loneliness of this world, the homeless, the prisoners, the elderlies closed
in houses for aged, the disable people closed and sometimes forsaken in the
institutions, the sick abandon in an isolated area of our hospitals. A
visitation is an act of love and it brings joy. Let us share that joy this
Christmas.
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7th Prophecy: Thanksgiving for God's Greatness.
A Russian proverb says: “You can't keep a word of thanks in
your pocket.”
On this seventh day of our novena, all is about songs and
actions of thanksgiving. Hannah gives thanks for the birth of Samuel. Mary
sings her heartfelt gratitude to God for his greatness and actions in her life.
These two songs of Mary and Hannah, and their actions as well teach us how we
should always be grateful to the Lord.
Hannah and her husband Elkana brought the little Samuel to
the Temple to fulfill the requirements of the Law of the Lord. Beyond this, it
was for the child’s mother the fulfillment of a promise. She prayed to the Lord
to have this grace of the maternity. The Lord has answered her prayers. So,
with gratitude, she comes to consecrate him to the Lord.
In the Gospel, another hymn of thanksgiving, the song of
Mary. It is a hymn on humility and love for God's mercy and actions toward his
people through a lowly handmaid. Mary acknowledges that all that is taking
place in her and through her is the grace of God. Nothing from herself or her
own merits. God is the only instigator of this great mystery. So, her whole
being bows before the divinity to sing his greatness. The soul of Mary, what
she owes of most dear meets her Spirit, what God gave her, to proclaim, and
sing, and rejoice in the Lord.
The Magnificat of Mary and the canticle of Hannah have great
similitudes. They both are songs from grateful hearts and humble beings who
know that without God, nothing of what they have or what is happening to them
could be possible. These two hymns challenge us to be thankful to the Lord.
Gratitude is the greatest expression of love and a key virtue of humility and
humanity. Those who lack gratitude do not deserve to live. For ungratefulness
is the worst evil. May we learn from Mary and Hannah how to let our hearts,
souls, spirits, and whole beings sing every day our thankfulness to God for all
he does in our lives. May this coming Christmas sound for us our heartfelt
gratitude to God who chose to be one of us to save us from our sins.
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8th Prophecy: The Last Prophet.
A Bajan proverb says: “Prophet copies a prophet.”
“Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of
the Lord comes...” “What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the
Lord was with him.”
We are now in the time of the fulfillment of all the
prophecies about the coming of the Lord. All is about to be accomplished. The last step is found in today's readings,
particularly in the Gospel with the birth of John the Baptist, the son of
Elizabeth and Zachariah. The final question from the neighborhood can take us
to deeper reflection, “What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of
the Lord was with him.”
John is the last Prophet. The one who has to come before the
Lord. He is the reincarnation of Elijah, the great Prophet who is to come the
one about whom the Lord himself says, "Lo, I am sending my messenger to
prepare the way before me..." What then will he become? His destiny and his
mission are foretold before his birth: prepare the way before the Lord.
With today's celebration, we are exhorted to lift our heads
and see; for our redemption is near at hand. The Son of God, the Savior is
about to be born. Soon his glory will shine in our midst. Christmas is the time
where all is fulfilled. The King is coming to save the humanity he himself
created from dust. Our journey of expectation is close to its end, Hallelujah.
God is going to show his graciousness to the sinners. Thus,
the name of Zachariah and Elizabeth's son, John, "graced by God." We
are graced by God to be here today, alive and happy, despite the adversities
and trials of the time and the pandemic. We are graced by God to experience a
new Christmas. Let us also give that joy to all our neighborhood, just like the
birth of John brought joy to all who heard about it.
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9th Prophecy: The Everlasting Kingdom.
An Egyptian proverb says: “Those who are in the following of
the prince of everlastingness and God of Life, sing with joy.”
"Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever
before me; your throne shall stand firm forever."
The birth of the Lord, we said in the 8th Prophecy, marks
the fulfillment of all the prophecies. He comes, so that all that was predicted
and all the Lord promised to his people may be accomplished. Among the many
promises and prophecies, the Lord told David his servant that he will give him
an everlasting kingdom. In the Lord Jesus, this promise also is accomplished.
God "has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant
David," as sing Zachariah in his prophetic hymn and vision about his
newborn son.
Jesus is Son of God by nature and Son of David by adoption
through Joseph, the Husband of his Mother. God works in a way that pleases him
well. All he does concurs at the accomplishment of his design and the salvation
of mankind.
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