Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord–Mass during the Day
“Fr. Anthony, you sing a lot.” I have heard that phrase no small amount of times. Some people like the chanting. Others do not enjoy it. Some have even accused me of chanting just to show off my voice. Why do I sing?
St. Augustine says that singing is for those who are in love. And I am in love…with my God, above all. So I sing, I chant, to Him. Think about your favorite love song for a second. What would it be? In your mind, hum a few bars of the song, or at least imagine that person singing it. Now imagine that person simply saying it. Very different, right? One of my favorite love songs is “My Girl” by the Temptations. Probably most of us know it. We can hear the into…We can hear The Temptations singing it. So imagine if it were simply stated: “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day/ When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May/ I guess you’d say/ What can make me feel this way?// My girl, my girl, my girl/ Talkin’ bout my girl/ My girl.” Not quite the same, is it (and not just because it’s me reciting it!)?
I rarely preach on the Psalm, but today did you listen to it? “Sing to the Lord a new song,” and “Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.” and “Sing praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song. With trumpets and the sound of the horn sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.” The Psalm itself is a song, and it’s encouraging us to sing!! But why?
We sing today because we are (hopefully) overflowing with love because God has become man in Jesus. Salvation has been announced, the Lord has restored Zion, He has comforted His people and redeemed Jerusalem. In Christ, we see our salvation. And we know the Gospel. While the brightness of the day is slightly clouded by the crucifixion which we will recall in three short months, the crucifixion itself is enlightened by the Resurrection.
We sing today because we are (hopefully) overflowing with love because while “In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son.” Jesus is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament, and makes clear in Himself what God wants us to know and how God wants us to live. Jesus, the refulgence (there’s your million dollar word for the day) of the glory of God the Father, “the very imprint of his being,” begins the way by which He purifies us from our sins. We sing today because “A holy day has dawned upon us. For today a great light has come upon the earth.”
We sing today because we are (hopefully) overflowing with love because Jesus, the eternal Word who was in the beginning with God and is God; who created all things and without whom nothing came to be; became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we say his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son.” We rejoice because “From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
All of this is Good News, is great news!! Our hearts should be bursting with joy at this news. Even those for whom this is a particularly tough time of year, those who have lost loved ones, whether recently or longer ago, can rejoice because by the mystery of the Lord’s Incarnation, which made possible the crucifixion and Resurrection, we know that death is not the end, and that those who follow Jesus can look forward to an eternal life of joy. By His Incarnation, Jesus gave us the possibility to be healed from all illness, and to find the fullness of life in heaven. That is joyful news!!
Will we keep it to ourselves? Or will we share it with others? Will we limited by word, like reciting a love song, or will we break into song and sing praise? May we be the ones about whom Isaiah prophesied when he said, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation.” May we “Sing joyfully to the Lord…break into song; sing praise.”
