And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,
And we saw his glory, as the glory of the Father’s only Son,
Full of grace and truth
In 325, St. Nicholas gathered with the other Bishops in Nicaea to resolve some difficulties about how to understand how the person of Jesus is divine. They all had their favorite scripture passages to understand Jesus. Is Jesus God in all the ways the Father is? Nicholas said yes with the majority. They relied on the first chapter of John along with the first chapter of Hebrews. The whole book Isaiah brought forth supporting passages. Nicholas with the others produced the Nicaean Creed, which many of our churches use today.
This summary of the Gospels affirms that Jesus is fully God as is the Father. About ten years later the Church in Rome developed a feast to celebrate the Christ, affirming the teaching that Jesus is truly God. During Pagan Feasts, the Christians gave thanks to the Father for the gift of Jesus the Christ. They celebrated the Christ Mass. The Gospel was John 1, The New Testament was Hebrews 1, and Isaiah represented the Old Testament.
We saw his glory…full of grace and truth.
Isaiah (9,1-6) draws a picture. He sees the people walking in darkness. They lived in a land of gloom. He does not speak of just the one time, when he was writing. He speaks of a great cluster of events through time and across the face of the earth. In the morose, he prophesied a great light that would lead them through the dark valley. He gives many little lights to the people to navigate the shadowy place.
This Christmas, we are in the dark valley. Nature is getting dark. On our inside, we are getting deeper and deeper – almost North Pole dark. There is a mighty yoke weighing us down. We are being caned by a vicious task master. A plague has been growing around us. One in ten are being affected. We are being decimated. Anxiety grows within. The social order is breaking apart with riots, and political discord. Fires are burning. Hurricanes almost got through the Greek alphabet. Earthquakes being reported in places that do not get earthquakes. Too many are jobless, and more people are hungry. Hospitals are full, the medical staffs are strained.
We saw his glory…full of grace and truth.
Isaiah sees a great light. The glory and truth of the Father penetrates our eyes and lets us see what is hidden. First there is the Wonder-Counselor who is Wisdom, who is the Word of God. There is the God-Hero who has been with God from the beginning and caused creation. There is Father-Forever who makes His dwelling with us and will be our light and life. There is Prince of Peace who sits on the throne of David to establish the Kingdom of God and so the will of God will be done.
Jesus is the Will of God become human. Today we look beyond the crib. We open ourselves to the infinite presence of God. Absorb the love that is your salvation.
We saw his glory…full of grace and truth.
Today we celebrate the fulfillment of the prophet’s vision. Today in this dark valley we pledge ourselves to be the light of God and to witness to the love and joy of our God. Here in 2021, we shall shed the chains of self-importance. We will manifest his glory full of grace and truth. We will witness to the dignity of God’s glory within each of us, one and all.
The prophesy of Isaiah will be fulfilled again.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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