Christmas Eve: Sing Aloud, O Daughter Zion

Presence

As I sit here, the beating of my heart, the ebb and flow of my breathing, the movements of my mind, are all signs of God’s ongoing creation of me. I pause for a moment, and become aware of this presence of God within me.

Scripture

Zephaniah 3:14-18

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
as on a day of festival.”
I will remove disaster from you,
so that you will not bear reproach for it.

Reflection

As Jesus is being born, shepherds are keeping watch. Suddenly, the sky above them exploded into blazing light as an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. With the song of celestial multitudes ringing in their ears “Glory be to God in the highest”, the dazed shepherds make their way to the place where the baby lies. These are his first visitors.
Shepherds visiting a shepherd. A thousand years earlier, the Lord said to David: “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel”. Now, in the most meagre shelter in David’s city, lies the one whom Isaiah foretold “will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom and gently lead the mother sheep.” Had Isaiah lived to see this day, the sight of the infant in his mother’s arms must surely have recalled the closing chapter of his towering book: here he foretold the comfort and calm of the Messianic age “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you” (Is 66:13).

Prayer

All-powerful God, your eternal Word took flesh on our earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of your plan. Lift our minds in watchful hope to hear the voice which announces his glory and open our minds to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming. We ask this through Christ our Lord

Amen

Glory to you, Father, source of all being,

to you, Jesus, Word made flesh,

to you Holy Spirit, Comforter,

as it was before time began,

is now and shall be into the future.

Amen.