The Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, Monday, December 25, 2023

Luke 2, 15–20

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

The Gospel Reading we will consider today is taken for The Mass at Dawn for this solemnity.  The Missal contains four Masses for Christmas: one at the vigil, which takes place after sunset on December 24; one at midnight; one at dawn; and one during the day.  Each has its own readings and prayers.  The text of the Gloria, an important part of these Masses and which was not recited or sung during the season of Advent, was composed very early on the Church’s history by an unknown Christian.  In his commentary on the Mass, Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) states that Pope Telesphorus  (128-139) ordered the Gloria sung at the Masses at Christmas.  An ancient book on the acts of the popes tells us that Pope Symmachus (498-514) ordered it sung on Sundays and on certain feasts.  At first, its singing was restricted only to bishops but this privilege was extended to priests and then to clerics singing in a schola.

“When the angels went away from them to heaven.”  The Gospel Reading follows the singing of “Glory to God in the highest and peace to men of good-will” by the choirs of angels who surrounded the shepherds the night Jesus was born.  In fact, the Lord may have been born during daylight hours.  The interval between his Birth and the angelic announcement to the shepherds at night would have given Mary a chance to rest and the new-born Child to settle.  And while it is common to think that the angels filled the heavens above the shepherds, we should note that the first angel who appeared and told the shepherds of the glorious events that were transpiring “stood by them” (Luke 2, 9).  When the multitudes of angels appeared, Luke says, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host” (Luke 2, 9), so that it sounds as though they surrounded the shepherds and filled the fields, the hills, and the gullies.  This version of the scene is captured in medieval portrayals showing the angels and shepherds embracing as the reconciliation of heaven and earth by Christ has begun.  This breath-taking scene only lasted for a few minutes, though, and the angels proceeded back to heaven, not vanishing as suddenly as they had appeared but rather visibly ascending.  We might wonder how the angels looked.  Luke does not describe them here or earlier, when Gabriel came to Zechariah and the Virgin Mary.  He does describe angels at the Resurrection, however: “Two men stood by them, in shining apparel”(Luke 24, 4).  Specifically, they do not seem to have wings, but look like “men” dressed in brightly lit linen tunics.  In their appearance to the shepherds, moreover, “the brightness of God shone round about them [the shepherds]” (Luke 2, 9), emanating from the angels.  (And when we do good works, the glory of the Lord emanates from us as well).

“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”  Rather than shaking with fear from their experience, the shepherds hasten to learn the truth of the angel’s words.   This shows a disposition to believe, a willingness to learn.  It is a great gift to have this, and relatively few people have accepted it.  “So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.”  Walking about in the dark, they might have wandered for hours without finding the Holy Family in the rocky niches outside of Bethlehem.  Either the one they sought came within easy reach or they were guided to it by an interior grace.  When a person sets out to perform a good work, he does not accomplish it on his own but only through the grace of God and his cooperation with it.  The shepherds explain their presence to Mary and Joseph: “When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.”  To this point, Mary and Joseph had made their difficult way from Nazareth to Bethlehem, sleeping by night along the road with the other travelers and eating only what they had brought with them.  No angel conducted them, no chariot conveyed them, no herald cleared the way before them.  When Mary told Joseph that the Child was about to be born, no one ran about looking for shelter for them.  Indeed, the doors in Bethlehem town were closed against them.  They went to a niche in the rocky hills away from the town without anyone helping them, and Mary lay down and gave birth there.  No angels, no glad songs, not even a measure of privacy.  And certainly cleanliness did not feature in this niche where animals were accustomed to be kept.  The shepherds, however, came and brought news of the angelic visitation made to them, and it made them wonder at the Providence of Almighty God: “All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.”  Luke’s speaking of “all” probably means the people whom they told after they had seen Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.  For Mary and Joseph, their report would have come as a welcome confirmation that God was pleased with them despite their plight.

“And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”  She added this visit and report by the shepherds to what she had already experienced with Gabriel.  We have to keep in mind that neither Mary nor Joseph spoke openly with God every day and that they knew well all the details of his plan for them.  They did not, and considering the enormous things that were asked for them and the barely sufficient information they received, they did marvelously well and provide examples for us in doing God’s will.

“Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.”  You and I have even greater reason to glorify and praise Almighty God for all that we have heard and seen, for we have the Gospels and the teachings of the Church to tell us who Jesus is and what he did for us.  We know far more than the shepherds, and even receive the Body of our Savior in Holy Communion.  So let us abound in joy this Christmas Day for all that God has done for us.