The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
This blessing is most fully given in Jesus Christ. From the manger and from the arms of his mother the face of the LORD truly shines upon us.
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
Mary gives birth. Her child is at once fully human and fully divine. Because she is the mother of God the face of God can shine upon us. The face is the human face he receives from Mary. The light that shines is his as God.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
It is because he accepts the humanity of Mary as his own that we can now accept the invitation to participate in his divinity.
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, "Abba, Father!"
We see the baby Jesus teaching us this cry just as he teaches us to call Mary our mother. We are blessed beyond all we could ask or imagine by these gifts. Let us rejoice in thanksgiving.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
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