First reading Malachi 3:1-4,23-24
Before my day comes, I will send you Elijah my prophet
The Lord God says this: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the years of old.
Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes, that great and terrible day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.
Responsorial Psalm 24(25):4-5,8-9,10,14
Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
for you are God my saviour.
The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble in the right path,
He teaches his way to the poor.
His ways are faithfulness and love
for those who keep his covenant and law.
The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him;
to them he reveals his covenant.
Gospel Luke 1:57-66
The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.
Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
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Being open to joy and newness
“They shared her joy”. The neighbours and relations of Elizabeth shared her joy because they shared her pain of being barren for so many years. Now, at last, they celebrated with her and her family. Do we share the joy of others? We can only share the joy of others when we share the pain of others. Christmas is a time to be with our friends and family; it is the season of sharing, not just gifts and good food, but sharing our lives with each other.
In the gospel, the people were amazed when the baby was not named after the father, following the Jewish tradition. Instead, both parents confirmed that the baby would be called, John, which was the name given by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah. This break from the Jewish tradition signifies that God was going to do something new in this baby’s life. As we stand at the threshold of Christmas, may we be open to thenew things God wants to do in our lives and may we never cease to be amazed and grateful.
Reflective question:
How is God inviting me to live this coming Christmas season?
How is God inviting me to live this coming Christmas season?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
