CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

DECEMBER 24, 2006

My dear parishioners in the Rio Grande Valley,

As we celebrate the birth of our Lord, I want to share with you some interesting insights on the birth of the Redeemer. They came back to me as I read a recent article written by Father Eugene La Verdieire, an eminent Scripture scholar in our country.

The author reminds us that on Christmas day, we often hear the gospel narratives with a romantic/childlike ear. Each year, on this day, listening to the Gospel readings, we recall the beautiful Christmas story told to us by our parents when we were children. We see the stable, the tender loving Blessed Virgin Mary with Joseph standing beside her, and the beautiful blue-eyed, blond and smiling baby Jesus, “wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12). We marvel at the scene and reflect on God’s great gift to us.

We often fail to realize, however, that when Matthew and Luke wrote the infancy narratives, they were writing for adult Christians in their communities. There was a message behind the story and an image behind each of the elements in that story. Today, I would like for you to rediscover the story and see in it the deeper meaning intended by the original biblical writers.
This does not mean that we must forget or set aside the beautiful story of the baby Jesus born in a stable and laid in a manger as angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). I simply invite you to look more deeply into its meaning.

The reason Mary found housing in a stable and laid Jesus in a manger was that “there was no room in the Inn” (Lk2:7). The people of Bethlehem, the town of the House of David and therefore Jesus’ town, closed their doors to Mary and Joseph seeking shelter and a birthplace for the Son of God. This rejection foreshadowed the ultimate rejection of Jesus that would take place in Jerusalem and lead to his crucifixion.

Listen once more, to the message given by the Angels to the shepherds in the field, “to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Messiah and Lord” (Luke 2:11).
• “To you is born” – a child had come into the world that night (the God-Man) – this makes reference to the incarnation;
• “a Savior" – this child had a mission of salvation for humanity – this connects our redemption to the birth of Christ.
• Reference to the “Messiah and Lord” reminds us that this new born child would lay down his life, be raised from the dead and appear as the risen Savior.

“In more theological terms,” Father La Verdieire says, “the redemption begins with the incarnation, and the incarnation is fulfilled in the redemption. Neither is meaningful without the other.”

And so, my brothers and sisters, on Christmas day we celebrate not only the birth of Jesus but his entire life. We celebrate his birth, we celebrate his miracles, we celebrate his preaching, we celebrate his passion and his cross and we celebrate his glorious resurrection. In brief, we celebrate the mystery of our redemption. Let us rejoice and be glad, alleluia!

That great mystery by which we have been saved from sin and death is the good news that the Lord entrusted to us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is the good news that the Lord sent us to proclaim, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mat 28:19-20).

Our First Diocesan Synod has called upon us to launch a new evangelization designed to evangelize those whom we have baptized and with them to evangelize the Rio Grande Valley. As your bishop, I urge you to join this effort and become “Disciples in Mission.” I invite you to join hands with me to build up the Kingdom of God in the Rio Grande Valley.

May the Child whose birth we celebrate, the Savior sent by the Father, bless us and enable us through the intercession of Nuestra Señora de San Juan del Valle, to be faithful to the mission he, himself, has given us.

May you and your family enjoy a happy and holy Christmas day!

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 05-Jun-2008 9:48 sitemap