THE WORD
FIRST READING
Is 9:1–6
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest, as they exult when dividing the spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, the rod of their taskmaster, you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for fire.
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast and forever peaceful,
Upon David’s throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains
By judgment and justice, both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!
SECOND READING
Eph 1: 3–6.15–18
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones.
GOSPEL READING
Lk 2: 41-52
Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not fi nding him, they returned to
Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus advanced (in) wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
IN OTHER WORDS
“We are all God’s children” – this was the theme song for the Papal Visit last year which came to a close on the Feast of the Santo Niño. During his homily at the Mass in Luneta Park, Pope Francis said that this too was the message of the Santo Niño. “We are all God’s children”. That is what the Santo Niño tells us. He reminds us of our deepest identity. All of us are God’s children, members of God’s family”. The second reading from the letter to the Ephesians underlines this by saying: “In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:4-5). What great dignity and immense honor! This is what our celebration of the Santo Niño is about.
In that same homily, the Pope also reminded us that the coming of the Faith to our shores was accompanied by the image of the Santo Niño, which was given in 1521 as a baptismal gift from
Ferdinand Magellan to Lady Humamay, chief consort of Rajah Humabon. In the second Spanish expedition in 1565, led by Miguel López de Legazpi, the image was miraculously found intact inside a pine box in the midst of the ruins of a burnt house, after the village was burnt in the conflict between the Spaniards and the natives. Thus, the image of the Santo Niño has become an icon of the gift of Faith which the Philippines had received from the Spaniards in 1521.
The year 2021, then, will mark the 500th anniversary of the coming of Christianity to our country. To mark this event, the Episcopal Commission on Mission (ECM) of the CBCP is planning a National Mission Congress for the purpose of accentuating the responsibility of the Philippine Church for mission. “Gifted to Give” will be the theme of the celebration. After having been gifted with the Faith for the last 500 years, it is now the turn of the Philippine Church to share the Faith with others.
Thus, the Feast of the Santo Niño is an annual reminder of our missionary responsibility. This missionary calling starts with the family that is evangelized or a family that lives out the gospel in its day to day life. As the gospel reading puts it, even if the parents of Jesus did not understand what he said to them, Jesus nevertheless went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them ... And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
- Fr. Antonio Pernia, SVD | DWIMS, Tagaytay City
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
