Good News Reflection
FOR NEXT SUNDAY: January 3, 2010
Second Sunday of Christmas*, Cycle C
Parish bulletins, faith-sharing groups, RCIA:
For professionally published, printable copies of a reflection on Epiphany,
please go to Catholic Digital Resources:
http://catholicdr.com/calendar/January/Epiphany.htm - Preview a sample
Readings for the 2nd Sunday of Christmas:
Sirach 24:1-4, 8-12
Ps 147:12-15, 19-20
Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18
John 1:1-18
http://www.easterbrooks.com/cgi-bin/Cathcal.cgi?20100103
*Most countries around the world are celebrating the 2nd Sunday of Christmas this Sunday. In the U.S.A., however, Epiphany is celebrated next Sunday instead of on January 6th, which will be Wednesday, so that more people will participate in the liturgical celebration of the Magi. If this is your situation, skip ahead to Epiphany's reflection.
For the Second Sunday of Christmas, we focus on Jesus as the Word of God. What God speaks, Jesus is. The Father created life by speaking it into existence, and Jesus sacrificed himself to raise life above the destruction of sin and lead us into eternal life.
When you ask God to help you, the Father says "yes" and Jesus is the "yes" who walks with you to guide you into all that the Father wants to give you.
In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we pray, "Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the Word and I shall be healed" – God says, "Receive me", and Jesus is what we receive, and in him we receive all of God.
In Mass, we have the Liturgy of the Word before the Liturgy of the Eucharist. If we open our hearts to Jesus during the Liturgy of the Word, we will have the faith to see much more than a piece of bread and a cup of wine during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Why? Because it is not the priest who consecrates the bread and wine, it is actually Jesus who is speaking the words that come from the priest's mouth. Jesus provides the miracle of transubstantiation every time.
When Jesus comes to you in the Word, is your heart quickened? Do the scriptures influence your mind and change your life? And when the bread and wine miraculously become the body and blood of Jesus, do you fall onto your knees in awe because you realize that you're in the presence of God Almighty? Do you feel unworthy to receive onto your lips one so holy as Jesus? When you pray, "Lord I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word and I shall be healed," are you changed by the experience? Do you become more joyful?
Finally, are you so moved by your encounter with Jesus in Mass that you leave church so full of joy that others want to know what Jesus has done for you?
Jesus is the joy of the world. After receiving him in the Word and in the Eucharist, we are called – and empowered – to live in this joy and to spread it to others. We are heralds of the Good News, and it is indeed awesome news! We are heralds of God's Word. We are heralds of the Eucharist. We are heralds of joy.
Questions for Personal Reflection:
What word from God are you waiting to hear? What good news do you hope to hear?
Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
How is Jesus the source of our joy? God has spoken to you, and Jesus is being for you the answer. How will you act on faith with this reality, even before you understand it?
STARTING ON MONDAY, if you're a member of the "Emmaus Journey" e-group, share your answers by writing to EmmausJourney@gnm.org
* To join and become a member, go to:
http://gogoodnews.net/GNMcommunities/EmmausJourney/
© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
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