The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas
It was early afternoon on December 25th and we were driving to our relative’s house. On the way there, we noticed a Christmas tree wrapped up on the curb for the garbage men. My children noted, “Christmas is already over for that family, but we still have two weeks of Christmas.” The readings today might best be understood in connection with the New Year beginning tomorrow; however the understanding of Christmas is still relevant here as well. For the much of the world, Christmas is over; therefore the tree goes out after the presents have been opened. The radio stations that have played Christmas music for nearly two months stopped on December 26. Yet, for Catholic Christians, we are not yet half way through the Christmas season. With this in mind let us examine what todays readings are meant to teach us.
The First and Second Letters of John are the only place in the New Testament to use the word antichrist. The context of the word is that some followers have deserted the community and have become deceivers with their own teachings. We are encouraged by the author of John to remember that we know the truth and to beware of those who deny that Jesus is the Christ. This community believed that when antichrists appeared the end was near. For us, the end is not meant literally, except perhaps when seen as the end of the calendar year.
Today’s Gospel is the beginning of John. The beginning of each gospel is different. Mark begins with Jesus’ ministry. Luke and Matthew begin when Jesus was born. John has Jesus extant eternally. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word with God, and the Word was God.” Thus Jesus was alive before creation, and helped bring creation into being, and then the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. For John, Jesus existed from the beginning and came into the world make us a new creation. John wanted us to know Jesus and accept Him for all times. This reading during the Christmas season reminds us that Christ came to dwell, to be birthed in and through our hearts.
Let us remember that Jesus is the true light and the darkness shall not overcome it. May our meditation today be on all the ways we have been blessed throughout this past year. And may our prayer today be that we better recognize and become the Light of Christ during this upcoming year. So that through us, people will be called to sing: “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice.”
-Michael Montgomery