Dec 23 2024

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

Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Your ways, O Lord, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Good and upright is the Lord;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.

Gospel Luke 1:57-66

‘His name is John’

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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John

In today’s gospel, the family members and neighbours gathered in the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah to celebrate the birth of their son. Traditionally, children were named after their parents or other family members. Thus, those present with Elizabeth and Zechariah assumed that the baby boy would be named after his father. They were shocked when the parents announced that the baby’s name would be John, which means “the Lord has shown favour”. Indeed, God was starting something new through John. He would be the one who would prepare the way for Jesus and lead others to Him.

Each of us has a purpose. Like John, God wants us to point Jesus out to others through our words and actions. We are here on earth to serve as reflections of His faithful and unconditional love, guiding others to forge a friendship with Jesus. In this season of feasting, let us feast on God’s love for us, so that we can be faithful to God’s purpose for our lives.

Reflective question:
How can I become the person God wants me to be?

Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.