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The first reading of our liturgy presents us with the account of the call/vocation of Moses. God called and chose him to lead the people of Israel from slavery, oppression and suffering in Egypt to the promise Land. In the process, Moses experienced the great sign of the burning bush that was not consumed. God revealed his name to Moses as, “I am.” Jesus is considered the new Moses sent by God to come and deliver us/the world from the slavery, oppression of sin/Satan.

God took Abram outside and asked him to look up at the sky and promised him that his descendants shall be as many as the stars. Abram believed God. He had faith in God and it was credited to him as an act of righteousness. And the Lord made a covenant with Abram because he put his trust and faith in Him. We are children of Abram, like him we are called to have faith in God. Trust and have faith in the Lord who is our light, salvation, refuge and our helper.

Moses instructed the people to tell their story, “My father … went down to Egypt with a small household … But there he became a nation, great, strong, and numerous.” They were maltreated and oppressed. But God of their fathers with his powerful hand and outstretched arm, with signs and wonders brought them out into a country flowing with milk and honey: the promised land. (Forty days) He proved to be their true refuge and fortress able to deliver his people when they called upon him. As he promised in Psalm 91, “He shall call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress; I will deliver him and glorify him.”

Today, especially in our first reading, we are presented with a theme or topic that some or all us struggle with: speech/conversation. Our conversation or speech either edify and inspire good or bad like gossip, slander, character assassination. Several factors shape the kind of conversation we engage in. In the words of the author of the book of Sirach: “As the test of what a potter molds is in the furnace, so in his conversation is the test of a man. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had: so too does a man’s speech disclose the bent of his mind. Praise no man before he speaks, for it is then that men are tested.”

Jeremiah the prophet of God has a strong message for us. In his message he declared, “Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings… whose heart turns away from the Lord.” On the other hand, he says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters. It fears no heat or drought.”

Beloved brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ is today presented/dedicated to God in the temple. This practice is based on the regulation of the law. The purification and presentation of the first child is a Mosaic law “every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the child” (Ex 13:2). This ceremony is based on the understanding that a child is a gift from God. Prophet Micah had foretold the presentation of Jesus Christ. He said in our first reading: “I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek.”

“Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, which consisted of men, women, and those children old enough to understand. Standing at the end of the open place that was before the Water Gate, he read out the book from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men, the women, and those children old enough to understand: and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law… Ezra read plainly from the book of the Law of God, interpreting it so all could understand what was read.”

St. Paul says in our second reading that, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but all are given by the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service but given by the same Lord, different kinds of work given by the same God.” The Spirit distributes all these variety of spiritual gifts for service and for the building up of the church, the body of Christ. In the gospel, we see Jesus and Mary using their gifts to serve a couple and to save them from humiliation. Prophet Isaiah in our first reading says, “Nations shall behold your vindication, and all the kings your glory.” The gospel concludes with the saying, “Jesus did this… and so revealed his glory and all his disciples began to believe in him.”

The prophecy of Isaiah is about John the Baptist. “A voice cries out in the desert prepare the way of the LORD Make straight …the highway for our God.” This John spoken about is given the privilege to baptize our LORD. According to the account of Luke, “…Jesus also had been baptized and was praying. Heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son and with you I am well pleased.’”

“…. And on entering the house they saw the child with Mary, his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” On this holy day, we mark the Epiphany of our LORD, who is presented to us today as king, priest and Savior. The three wise men/magi led by a star initially went to Herod to inform him that they had seen the star of the new born king of the Jews and have come to do him homage/worship. These men fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah and the Psalm of today. “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come…from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense.” Is 2:1-6 “They … shall offer him gifts…All kings shall pay him homage.” Ps 72

On this feast day of the Holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, 2 families are presented to us in our 1st and gospel readings. In our first reading, Hannah went to the temple to present or dedicate her son, Samuel to the Lord for service in fulfillment of her promise. In her words, “Now I in turn, give him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”

“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” Jn 1:14. Today, is the Universal Feast of the birth of Christ Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God and Savior of the world. In the Gospel, St. John using high Christology, said of the new born child: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Jn 1:1) The birth of our Lord redeemer on this joyful day is full of many visible and beautiful symbols. We can see many here in our Church and we all have some in our homes and offices or work places. We can see the symbol of the manger where with Mary and Joseph, the new born child lays peacefully; reminding us that he is the prince of peace. We have the symbol of light reminding and teaching us that Christ the new born child is the light of the world who has come to dispel and cast away the darkness of evil, hatred, wickedness.

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, the love and grace of God has gathered us here to mark the holy, silent night when our savior was born. Certain days and nights are indeed special in our Christian life and gift of divine faith. Tonight is surely a special night when the whole world is keeping vigil in anticipation of the joyful birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In this week of the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior, prophet Micah tells us that he shall come from Bethlehem, “When she who is to give birth has borne,… he shall stand firm and shepherd us his flock. He will rely on the strength of the Lord God. His greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth and he shall be peace.”

This 3rd Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday (Rejoice) Latin translation of Phil 4:4-5. The first, second readings and the Psalm all speak of joy, gladness and praise. “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel…Be glad and exult with all your heart, the Lord …has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear,…fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged… The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty Savior; He will sing joyfully because of you...”

Dear beloved in Christ Jesus, as we enter more deeply into our Advent journey, the prophet of the Lord, Baruch invites us all to make low the mountain and fill up the emptiness in our lives. In the words of the Prophet, “For God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground.”

Beloved in Christ, today mother church invites all to embark on the sacred journey of Advent. Advent is a holy season when we undertake spiritual preparation in anticipation of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, his first coming.

On this last Sunday of ordinary time/liturgical year, we mark the kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ. All our readings testify to his universal kingship that has no end. Daniel said in his vision, “…Son of man received dominion, glory and kingship…His dominion is an everlasting dominion, …his kingship shall not be destroyed.” It’s an everlasting one.

Dear brothers and sisters, our readings for this Sunday focus on the end time, the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The prophet Daniel in the first reading said: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.”

In our first and gospel readings, we hear inspiring stories of two widows. In the midst of famine, Elijah met the widow of Zarephath, he instructed her to give him water and a little cake but she replied, there is only a handful of flour and a little oil… to go in and prepare… for myself and my son.” Elijah told her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do as you propose…” She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year together with her son, the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.