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Today’s gospel reading on the beatitudes comes from the Gospel of Matthew 5:1-12. The beatitudes appeared also in the Gospel of Luke 6:20-26. There is a slight difference between Matthew’s account and that of Luke’s. Matthew presents the sermon on the Mountain while in Luke’s it is on the plain. Another thing we may notice is that while Matthew gives us eight (8), Luke gives us four and included woes to match the corresponding beatitudes.

In the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah, says “The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light, upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light is shone”. What this prophecy means is that the light of God will always overcome darkness. No matter how dark it may seem, the light of God will always shine forth.

Isaiah, in the first reading, tells of the servant whom the Lord will show his glory. This servant is destined to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the survivors of Israel. There is no other person than Jesus who was born for us during Christmas. He is that servant whom John the Baptist points out to us in the Gospel.

Today, being the feast of the Epiphany, we celebrate Jesus the incarnate word being revealed to all the nations of the world. The Church calls it, the feast of appearance or manifestation of the Lord. Epiphany comes from the Greek word and means “Manifestation”.

The first reading of today is a prayer of blessing given to Moses by God as the format of blessing over the people. It is very profound that such prayer comes in as our first reading today as the year begins.

Christmas is one of the most important events in human history as we celebrate the mystery of God coming down to be with us. He took our human nature to be one of us, to liberate us from the of death caused by the disobedience of Adam and Eve. This event happened about 2000 years ago when Jesus was born in Bethlehem and until date the celebration reminds us that Jesus still wants to be born in our lives.

“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” This statement finds fulfilment in the birth of Jesus whose birth we await this season. One important fact to keep in mind is that this prophecy was made in a period of crisis in the Davidic kingdom, as enemy armies threatened to invade Jerusalem and remove King Ahaz from the throne. Ahaz out of fear of the invading Syrian army wanted to seek help from the Assyrians but the Prophet Isaiah dissuades him from doing so, encouraging him rather to seek divine help and assistance.

Today is the third Sunday of Advent traditionally called Gaudete Sunday, which means Rejoice because the coming of the Lord is very close at hand. That is why the color of the vestment is Rose instead of purple. This theme of rejoice comes out clearly in the first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah where he says, “the desert and the parched land will exult, the steppe will rejoice and bloom, they will bloom with abundant flowers and rejoice with joyful song”. He goes further to prophecy, “say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not, here is your God, He comes with vindication, with divine recompense He comes to save you”.

Isaiah in the first read speaks of a shoot that shall sprout from the stock of Jesse and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. He goes on to enunciate the various kinds of Spirit that would be bestowed upon this stock of Jesse like, the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel strength, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.

Today begins the season of Advent and Advent comes from the Latin word “Adventus” meaning coming or preparation for an arrival. It is a time we are waiting and preparing for the coming of Christ at Christmas. When we are expecting a very important person or some guests to come, a particular reality called waiting is very imminent.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King that Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe which is to say that He is the beginning and end of everything. The readings focus on the Kingdom which extends beyond this world and goes on to demonstrate that Jesus does not rule like our human kings. He rules in humility and from the cross to show that His kingdom is different from the rest of the emperors of the world and kings of the world.

Today, we live in a world of so many uncertainties, wars, violence, disease, family disintegrations, religious violence, dangerous theologies and philosophies, economic and political turmoil. These events have pushed many to conclude that the end time is very near. Many people also have caved in on these events and gone ahead to prophesy that the end of the world is very close at hand.

Our first reading of today is taken from the second book of the Maccabees and it is good to note that one of the best known passages of the books of the Maccabees is the account of the martyrdom of a mother and her seven sons. They were willing to sacrifice their own lives rather than transgress the law and commandment of God. Despite the torture, the entire family remained faithful and offered the supreme sacrifice of their love and fidelity.