HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE CHRISTMAS WEEKDAY (1)

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE CHRISTMAS WEEKDAY

HOMILY THEME: THE PROMISED MESSIAH

BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon

HOMILY:

(Lk. 3:23-38)
In the day’s Gospel we have Jesus’ genealogy, a testimony of His humanity. As the promised Messiah, He is also the Second Person of the Trinity. We believe Jesus is true God and true man. Jesus, true man and true God saved us. For many of us this is not an issue. Back then it was a great issue. So many days and meetings had been spent trying to clarify this mystery. The Church welcomed controversies and questions regarding what she believes. Many dogmas were developed by virtue of those controversies.

Remember, this issue produced the Mary Mother of God dogma. And as we have said before, it is more for Jesus than for Mary.

John, in the first reading, indirectly tackled this by saying that Jesus came through water and blood. Water and blood have special meanings in John. Water, the living water, is eternal life. It refers to Jesus’ divinity. Blood, the source of human life, refers to Jesus humanity. Some camps believe Jesus saved us but the one who died was only the human Jesus. John did not agree as mentioned in his letter. He used the symbolisms of water and blood to make his point. And he was not making a personal opinion. He believed the Spirit testified to it. It means we can only grasp it in the Spirit.

Matthew painstakingly traced Jesus’ ancestors. The only conclusion which may be derived is that Jesus was human. This truth makes the work of salvation up close and personal. He was not watching from a distance. He felt every pain incurred by the whip, wooden cross, stones, nails, and the lance. Add to that the taunting, cursing, abandonment, rejection, denial, and betrayal. Jesus was subjected to a lot of physical, psychological and spiritual pressures. He was God and He was human. Nothing stopped Him from saving us.

Let us thank the Lord Jesus for saving us. He could have just saved us while staying where He was. He could have remained Himself. But He came and became one like us. He suffered and died. Only one who has a heart of steel would not be moved and changed by that gesture. Are you one of them?