On behalf of the Parish, I would like to wish you blessings and graces in the joyful Christmas season. Christmas has four sets of readings. There is a set of readings for the Vigil Mass, there is a setting for Midnight Mass, there is a Mass at dawn, and there is a set of readings for the Mass during the day. The four sets of readings are quite different.

For the Mass during the day, we hear from the Gospel of St. John. This is called the Prologue of St. John, because it's at the beginning of the Gospel.

St. John writes:

“In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God...And the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Here we have an English translation of the Greek word “Logos”.

If we replace the “word” with the Greek word “Logos”, we have:

“In the beginning was the Logos, the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. And the Logos became flesh and dwelt among us.”

What does the word “Logos” mean? For the ancient people, the word Logos was everything for them, an idea, a thought, order, rationale, communication, etc. The word Logos is rather too complex to be summarized in one sitting. St. John used the word “Logos” to help us understand the mystery of Jesus.

If we had a private audience with St. John, we may be able to ask him a few questions. Maybe one of the questions would be: “Dear St. John, why did you begin to write the Gospel of Jesus in this manner? What do you mean when you use the word Logos? Why can't you be simple like the other guys, St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke, and just tell us about the life of Jesus, how he was born, how he lived his life, how he died, and how he rose again? The Gospel that you wrote is so different from the other three. It is vastly different. Why is that?

Why can't you just tell us about the life of Jesus? The others wrote that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. They told us that about the Angel Gabriel visiting the Blessed Mother, and also the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and how God remembered them in their old age and blessed them with a son named John the Baptist. Zechariah didn't believe so he was muted until John the Baptist was born.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem because there was a census decreed by Caesar Augustus, and Joseph and Mary had to travel towards Bethlehem. When Jesus was born, there was a bright star that led the Magi and the shepherds of the field to the place. The heavenly host, choirs of angels, singing the Gloria. After that, the Holy Family had to flee to Egypt because of King Herod. St. John, why didn't you just keep to that simple kind of narrative?

First of all, St. John may give you funny look, and he may say: “Hey, who do you think you are?” On the other hand, St. John may say: “I'm glad you are thinking along those lines.”

Secondly, St. John may say, if others have written down these stories of Jesus' birth and preserved them, there is no need for me to repeat them or re-write them. “I don't need to copy and write the same stories.” There's no need for me to be redundant.

Third and more important is this: St. John may say, because the life of Jesus doesn't necessarily began at the city of Bethlehem. The origins of Jesus doesn't necessarily begin at his birth in the stable. It doesn't begin at the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel visited the Blessed Mother and announced to her the Good News that she will bear the Savior in her womb. The life of Jesus goes back much, much further. It goes back to the beginning of time.

For St. John, the beginnings of Jesus doesn't just trace back to December 25, 00 AD, but it goes back to the beginning of creation, when God created the heavens and earth, when there was nothing – a void, Christ was already present then, in what we understood as the Logos. This Logos took on flesh, and became human.

The other Gospel Evangelist focuses on Jesus in the context of time. He was born on a certain date, in a certain time, in a certain location (Bethlehem of Judea). St. John, however, focuses on the Jesus who was present before time began and before creation existed. Essentially, St. John is saying: In the beginning was Jesus, Jesus was with God, and Jesus is God.

The other Gospel Evangelist focused on Jesus as the Son of the Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit. St. John on the other hand, takes it one step further by focusing on Jesus, as the Son of the Eternal God. That is why we say that Jesus is the Son of Mary, and the Son of God.

Jesus is “God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, con-substantial to the Father, through him all things were made, for us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven.”

You can imagine how difficult it would be if you were in the shoes of St. John, and tried to explain to someone that Jesus predates Creation. Christ had no beginning, but was already present at the beginning.

St. John tries to convey in the best way possible by speaking about Jesus as Logos, and the Logos became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but he always existed, and he was present from the very beginning.

St. John is not trying to summarize the life of Jesus, but to open our eyes to the mystery of Jesus. We will never fully understand the mystery of God the Most Holy Trinity. But at least we can have a glimpse into the heart of God. Hopefully it will help us to appreciate the Christmas story even more. We will resonate with the question: “What child is this?”

This is no ordinary child. When he was born, the Heavenly Host, the Choirs of Angels sing Glory to God in the highest. When he was born, the kings and emperors of the world are threatened by his birth. When he was born, shepherds of the field are told by the angels to come and witness. When he was born, Magi from the East or the three foreign kings traveled long distances, following a star that they believed would lead them to the newborn king of the Jews. What child is this?

He is the Son of Mary, and the Son of Eternal God. He was born in time, but already existed before time and before creation. The God who is eternal has chosen to be like us, to share in our likeness so that we may share in his divinity. He is the Emmanuel, God is with us.

Merry Christmas and God bless you.