Reflection on the Readings of the Vigil Mass of the Nativity of the Lord, December 24th, 2020
Texts: Is. 62:1-5; Ps. 89:4-5.16-17.27.29; Acts 13:16-17.22-25; Matt. 1:1-25
There are some events in life that make us look abandoned and people take us to be such. This year is full of such events: COVID19, Endsars protest, terrorist attacks, banditry, armed robbery etc. In the midst of all these, our God is present, he is working out our salvation. Hence, in the first reading, God says, "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch." God has never kept silent about our situation, neither has He gone to rest. The Zion or the Jerusalem mentioned, here, is not just a geographical location but a place where God dwells with his people. For the sake of His Name he will not abandon us. His love for us is everlasting, He will continue to intervene in our situation.
At the time the prophecy was made the people were discouraged and downcast about the rebuilding of Jerusalem because of the forces pressing against them from the local people (Ezra 4; Neh. 4-5). With this event, the people thought they had been abandoned by God. The prophecy came to reassure them of God's presence with them, it gave them hope of salvation. However, this prophecy looks beyond the restoration of the glory of Jerusalem to the Lord's coming, the One who will bring about the salvation of all, not the salvation of a people. The fulfilment of this prophecy is what we celebrate today, the birth of our Lord, that is the meaning of our gathering this evening: the Saviour is born. With the coming of our Saviour, we have been vindicated, our reputation restored. We are now called a new name by the Lord; no longer the forsaken, but the delights of God. We are crowns of beauty, the royal diadem in the hand of the Lord. This means we are now his glory, his joy. It shows how precious we are to God, the cause of his joy. It is said, "as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." This is only possible with those who do His will. It is by doing his will that we become his delight, and this we achieve in Jesus Christ, whom we rejoice at his birth now. We rejoice at his birth because he has come to deliver us from sin so that we can do the will of God and so become the delights of God.
Example of such persons who do the will of God is David, of whom it is said, "I have found in David, the son of Jesse, a man after my my heart, who will do my will." Hence, God promised him a son who will bring salvation to all. God always establishes the house of those who do His will. Jesus descends from the lineage of David because in Him the will of God is going to be perfected. It is said of Him thus: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). We rejoice, this evening, because the man who will do the will of God is born. We are to listen to him if we are to be God's delights, a crown of beauty in His hand.
Lord our God, grant us the grace to always do your will so as to be your delights. Amen.
Rev. Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
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