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 2^nd Sunday after Christmas: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Jesus: The Creating and Re-Creating Word of God

Readings: Sirach 24: 1-2,8-12; Eph 1:3-6,15-18; John 1:1-18

Dearest brothers and sisters, the Church invites us today to ponder the Word of God who has taken flesh and dwells among us—the Divine Logos who has come to live in our midst.

In describing this Divine Logos, St. John leads our minds back to the origin of all things. The first chapter of his Gospel mirrors the opening of Genesis. In Genesis, God created the universe through His Word. In John, we see God recreating the world through that same Word made flesh.

At creation, it was through the Word that God conquered the primordial darkness, bringing light into the world and forming all things out of the formless void. When sin disfigured God’s beautiful creation and plunged humanity into darkness, God once again came to our rescue through His Word, who took flesh in the Blessed Virgin Mary and dwelt among us. His birth restored light to a world overshadowed by sin and death. Today’s Gospel reminds us that in Him is life, and this life is the light of all people—a light the darkness cannot overcome. This is the mystery of the Incarnation we celebrate at Christmas.

Dear friends, we are blessed to share in this divine manifestation, for from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. He chose us before the foundation of the world to belong to Him. The first reading praises Him as the eternal Wisdom who dispels the folly of worldly wisdom and enlightens our hearts. The second reading blesses God for granting us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. His name is Emmanuel—God with us. The psalm urges us to rejoice, for He strengthens the bars of our gates, blesses our children, brings peace to our borders, and fills us with the finest wheat. Truly, the Incarnate Word brings us joy, love, healing, and blessings beyond our imagining as we enter this new year.

Yet John also reminds us that these blessings are abundant only for those who welcome Him. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, it did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own did not accept Him. But to all who did welcome Him, He gave power to become children of God.

This sets before us a task for the new year: to welcome Christ into our hearts by embracing goodness and love toward all people. One of the surest ways to welcome Jesus is to reject sin and to treat every human being as we would treat Christ Himself. We must remember that anyone who fails to show love, respect, fairness, humility, and tenderness to others cannot claim to love Christ. Dear friends, this is our vocation for this year—to let the light of the Incarnate Word shine through our actions and our lives.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima