Merry Christmas!
Our Gospel this morning was taken from that of Saint John. This passage is known to us as the Last Gospel in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Thus it was this Gospel passage that was read at the conclusion of every Mass. When the priest gets to the verse: “et carum factum est et habitavit in nobis.” “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” he is instructed to genuflect.
This is a very profound statement for it is the very concept that we come to celebrate on this Christmas morning. The fact that God’s love is so great that He chose to take on our human flesh and dwell among us. Later in this Mass we will profess our faith and we will come to state: “and by the power of the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” Normally we would bow at such a statement, but today we are instructed to kneel for again, this is a statement that sums up the great joy that we celebrate on this Christmas morning.
One ancient prayer of the Church is that of the Angelus. This prayer is traditionally prayed three times a day at 6am, noon, and 6pm. One part of this prayer is what was read in our Gospel. The verse: “The Word became flesh.” And the response: “And dwelt among us.” By now you probably guessed, a genuflection is traditionally made at the statement “And dwelt among us.”
The action of making a genuflection is one of great humility. It finds its origins in the way that one would greet a king. It is not a simple hand shake, but is to lower yourself to another. This action sums up what God is doing for us. The fact that God is so loving that He wills to take on our human flesh and dwell among us. This is not something that He had to do, but rather was something that He desired to do out of His abundant love. Not only does God take our human flesh, but He does so by coming not to the richest of families. Instead He born in the lowliness of a stable. The King of Kings and Lord of the Lords and yet a baby who is in need of the loving care of His parents. Today we celebrate the fact that God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To this manger would flock angels, shepherds, and even kings. They all came and did Him homage. Be it angel, shepherd, or king they were willing to lower themself to God the Son who is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Today we come to do Him homage. We come with the difficulties which are present in our life, we come with the weight of sin, we come with our brokenness and do homage to the Savior of the World who alone can heal us and make us whole.
When we enter a church where the Eucharist is present we are called to make a genuflection. A genuflection is not a curtsy, a bow, or half way rush. A genuflection is to come down upon one knee and to realize that we humble ourself in the presence of Christ our Savior, He who was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, He who is fully God and fully man, He who humbles Himself upon the cross in order that we may be forgiven. Truly may we realize that to come into an encounter with the Eucharist is to come into an encounter with Christ. The same Christ whom angels, shepherds, and kings came to adore for they came to know and believe that this child was God made Flesh. May we too discover, believe, and trust in such a reality.
The Lord became flesh.
And dwelt among us.
