Fr. Jorge Miró shares with Exaudi readers his insightful commentary on the Gospel of this Sunday, January 5, 2025, titled “The Word Became Flesh and dwelt among Us”
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Today’s celebration aims to help you savor the true essence of Christmas. It encourages you to delve into the mystery of the Incarnation, to unveil the authentic nature of humanity in the radiance of Jesus Christ, the Word incarnate.
While Christmas can often be overshadowed by consumerism, sentimentalism, or mere historical recollection…
Hence, the Word of God proclaimed today serves as a reminder of the core message of Christmas: God took on human form so that you may be divinely transformed, and the Word became flesh to offer you salvation.
The Gospel also underscores that He came to His own, yet His own did not receive Him, urging you to welcome the Lord who is present to grant you the salvation He brings: but to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave the power to become children of God.
Believing in the name of Jesus involves acknowledging His divine essence as the Son of God incarnate and fully surrendering to Him. Those who believe in this manner and open their hearts to the Lord receive the gift of becoming children of God. This transformation is solely the work of the Holy Spirit: they are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Receiving the Lord entails fully opening your heart to Him, allowing Him to fill it, and embracing unconditionally the path He sets forth for you to attain the salvation He graciously offers. Ultimately, receiving the Lord means allowing yourself to be loved by Him.
Therefore, today’s Gospel prompts you to introspect and assess if you have genuinely welcomed Jesus into your life, if your belief in God becoming human in Jesus Christ is evident in your everyday existence. This is the path to true Life.
At times, we may feel frustrated, dissatisfied, resentful, or empty… because when we resist letting the Lord into our hearts and insist on living solely for ourselves, we end up in profound loneliness! (cf. Deuteronomy 32). Only God suffices. Those who open their hearts to Him discover genuine happiness and complete fulfillment as individuals.
God is near you. He is knocking on the door of your life! He desires to walk alongside you on your journey, bestowing salvation upon you in your life, your story, your struggles.
Have you welcomed Jesus? Does He reside in your heart? In what aspects of your life should it be most apparent that you acknowledge Jesus as the Lord?
Do not fear! Open your heart to the Lord!
Come, Holy Spirit!
