Sto Nino B

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Study

18 January 2015

Feast of Sto. NiñoIn preparation for this Sunday’s liturgy

In aid of focusing our homilies and sharing

Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

1st Reading: Isaiah 9:1-6

1The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. 2 You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils. 3 For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. 4 For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames. 5 For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. 6 His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, From David's throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

The focus is on the child.


Great light

1The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. 2 You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils.

Oppression removed

3 For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. 4 For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames.

Child born

5 For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. 6 His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, From David's throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

A simple outline!


Great light

1The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. 2 You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils.

Commentary

In parallel form, v.1 states

that the people who once

lived in darkness have seen

the light.

V.2 indicates that the

passage is a prayer. It is

addressed to God.

It affirms God’s saving

actions upon his people.

God has brought them

abundant joy // great

rejoicing as in harvest //

dividing spoils.


Oppression removed

3 For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. 4 For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames.

V.3 gives the reasons why

the people are rejoicing:

God himself destroyed

the pole that burdened

them.

the rod of the taskmaster.

V.4 also gives a reason:

Every boot and every

cloak used in battle will be

burned.


Child born

5 For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. 6 His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, From David's throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

V.5 is the most important verse in

this reading, for the feast of Sto.

Niño.

It describes who this child is:

Has dominion (responsibility)

Wise, hero (victorious)

Father, prince of peace

V.6 tells us about his dominion:

Vast and peaceful

Like that of David

Sustained by judgment

(punishment for evil) and justice

(reward for good).

1st Reading: Isaiah 9:1-6Observe the many parallelisms (in color).

1The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; //

Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.

2 You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing,

as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, //

as men make merry when dividing spoils.

3 For the yoke that burdened them //

the pole on their shoulder, and //

the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of

Midian.

4 For every boot that tramped in battle //

every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames.

5 For a child is born to us, // a son is given us;

Observe also the contrasts:

Darkness vs. great light (v.1)

Land of gloom vs. light has shone (v.1)

The yoke / pole / rod of the enemies vs. dominion of the Child (vv. 3 and 5)

The dominion of the enemy: darkness, gloom vs. the dominion of the child: vast and forever peaceful.

Reflections on the first reading

The child comes to us as a gift (A child is born to us, is

given us.)

The child brings about the end of darkness and

gloom. (The child brings the beginning of light and

rejoicing).

His birth prompts the destruction of the rod/pole/rod

(symbols of slavery); and of trampled boot and

bloodied cloak (symbols of defeat).

The child’s dominion is vast and peaceful where

there is judgment (for the evil one) and justice (for the

godly).

Christian tradition applies this child to Jesus, although the author refers to a child of King Ahaz of Judea. The child is identified later as King Hezekiah.

According to Christian tradition, Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy of Isaiah.

As a child, Jesus is already victorious over forces of evil and darkness. Through his power, he brings about the well-being of the people, long suffering from dominion and oppression. In a sense, the battle starts already at his birth and during his childhood.

This child born is not a weakling, but a fighter for his people.

Resp Ps 98:1. 2–3. 3–4. 5–6

Resp.3, All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song for he has done wondrous deeds

his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.

2 The Lord has made his salvation known

In the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice

3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness inward the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God

4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands, break into song sing praise

5 Sing praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song,

6 with trumpets and the sound of the horn sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.

Resp Ps 98:1. 2–3. 3–4. 5–6

Resp.3, All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song for he has done wondrous deeds

his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.

2 The Lord has made his salvation known

In the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice

3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God

4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands, break into song sing praise

5 Sing praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song,

6 with trumpets and the sound of the horn sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.

Commentary

V.1 exhorts all to render new song to God for his wondrous deeds and he is victorious.

What are his wondrous deeds? He has made known his

salvation/justice to all nations, v.2.

He has remembered his kindness and faithful, v.3

God’s salvation is known to all.

Vv.4-6 exhort all the sing praise to the Lord with musical instruments like the harp, trumpet, and horn.

Reflections on the Psalm

We who experience and realize the wonderful deeds of God must necessarily rejoice, sing praise to God.

We exhort others to do the same.

We must have a sense of religious history, sense of justice and spiritual poverty in order to break into song.

We must have use musical instruments to enhance our praise to God.

God deserves a well prepared liturgical celebrations.

2nd Ephesians 1:3-6.15-18

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, 4 as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love 5 he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, 6 for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. 18 May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones,


Praises to God who acts through Jesus

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, 4 as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love 5 he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, 6 for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

Thanksgiving and prayer for the believers

15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. 18 May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones,

A simple outline!


Praises of Paul to God who acts through Jesus

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,

4 as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love

5 he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will,

6 for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

Thanksgiving and prayer of Paul for the believers

15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones,

16 do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you

a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.

18 May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the

riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones,

Two parts re-indented to make the reading easier:

The focus is on Christ who makes things happen.


Praises of Paul to God who acts through Jesus

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ

with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,

4 as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love

5 he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will,

6 for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

Commentary:

The actions of God through Jesus are the following: Blessing with every

spiritual blessing (v.3) God is generous.

Choosing us to be holy and blameless (v.4) God wishes us well. Sinless, no guile. He makes us special.

Destines us for adoption (v.5) God is accommodating.

V.6 gives us the reason for his actions: for the praise…


Thanksgiving and prayer of Paul for the believers

15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones,

16 do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus

Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.

18 May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the

hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones,

In v.15, the author gives thanks to God because of the Christians’ faith in

Jesus

and their love for the holy ones (fellow believers)

Paul prays for the following intentions: v.16 That God may give spirit of

wisdom and revelation, v.17

That your hearts may be enlightened, v.18

That you may know (appreciate)

- the hope…

- the riches…

Reflections on the reading

Whoever was the author, he was able to focus on

the role of Christ to the faithful.

The author affirms that Christ is the mediator

between the Father and us believers.

All the favors are given to us through Jesus Christ.

This is what Christianity is all about.

Like the author, we can also imitate Christ who

mediates (even in his youthful age as Sto. Nino).

Let us be channels of peace and blessings on our

loved ones and other people.

Gospel: Mark 10:13-16

13 And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." 16 Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Gospel: Mark 10:13-16

13 And people were bringing children to him that

he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked

them. 14 When Jesus saw this he became

indignant and said to them, "Let the children come

to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God

belongs to such as these. 15 Amen, I say to you,

whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a

child will not enter it." 16 Then he embraced them

and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

The focus of the reading is on children.

Gospel: Mark 10:13-16 13 And people were

bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." 16 Then he embraced themand blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Commentary:

There are three parties who are focused on the children. One, the people who bring the children

Two, the disciples who rebuke

Three, Jesus who welcomes.

Take note what each of them does to the children and why. People bring the children for Jesus to touch

Disciples rebuke, no reason why

Jesus allows them to come, to teach the people about the kingdom of God. Vv.14-15

Jesus allows the children to experience his affection by embracing them.

Jesus blesses them, giving them positive energy through his hands. V.16

Jesus was once a little child.

The second focus of the gospel reading may be the kingdom of God. The phrase “kingdom of God” occurs two times (vv.14-15).

Reflections on the gospel reading

The gospel reading is very short, but replete with meaning.

It reveals the attitudes of the adults towards children.

To some adults who love children, they must be brought to Jesus for his blessings.

To other adults who do not want to be disturbed by the noise of children, they must be kept away from the Master.

Here Jesus rebukes this kind of people

Let the children enter the world of Jesus (kingdom of God).

To Jesus, the children represent a state of being or conduct which allows one to enter the kingdom of God.

Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm

The child brings about dramatic changes in the life of the Israelites (1st reading)

The psalm celebrates God’s saving deeds.

Jesus brings about blessings from the Father (2nd reading)

By becoming like children, we enter the kingdom of God (gospel)

How to develop your homily / sharing

The devotion to Sto. Nino must lead us to the

appreciation of Jesus Christ in his totality.

The faithful must be reminded that the child Jesus

grew into a full-blown person who carried a message.

He did not remain a child for ever.

Therefore, the devotion must be more focused on the

challenges of Jesus (what he stood for) rather than on

people’s superstitious beliefs and pietistic attitude

toward the image.

The preacher must lead the faithful to see this point

through the readings.

The child did not remain a cute little boy.

He became a man, a strong man who brought about changes in the family, in society and in the system. (1st reading)

Jesus became the channel of blessings. This child had a mission to change our lives. (2nd reading)

Jesus teaches that if we don’t identify ourselves with children, we will not enter the kingdom of God. (gospel reading)

Jesus takes the children seriously.

Do we take the children seriously?

The sad plight of many children:

Malnourished

Out of school youth

Sexually abused

Abandoned

Homeless

Orphaned

Killed in the womb

There is no experience salvation for them.

How do we in the Church take care of our children? Not to allow our children view TV programs not

appropriate for them (children shouting at their parents, parents shouting at their children, children being terrorized by bad guys, sex and violence, etc). Protect their childhood innocence.

Promote family life, frequent communication among the members.

Treat them as children, not adults.

Let them enjoy their childhood.

Can we portray a Sto. Nino who fight against loggers, miners, contraceptives, oppressive systems, etc.? Observe the different images of Sto. Nino that will be paraded today. Which of them really represent Christ according to the readings?

The reception of the eucharist is a true sign of our

devotion to Sto. Nino.

In the eucharist, we experience his love and

blessings.

Through the eucharist, let us also be a channel of

blessing to other people.

Our Context of Sin and Grace

Abortion

RH Bill

Child labor

Child soldier

Street children, urchins

Abandoned children

Taking offense at children

Children with good

upbringing

Advocacies for Children

Home for the Abandoned

Nurseries

Wonder child

Hapag-asa

Feeding Programs

Special children, autistic, slow learners, etc.

Re-christianize Sinulog participants, by encouraging them to

participate in the Mass.

Suggested Songs

O Tao http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXhwzDRL7bM

Little Things

Let Me Live http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxB3dcBMy6U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXhwzDRL7bM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxB3dcBMy6U

Sto Nino B

Spiritual

Transcript of Sto Nino B