He is the truth that reveals to us the glory, will and love of the heavenly Father. All who believe in the Word, which is Jesus, can become children of God.

 First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10

Reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah – 7How beautiful are the feet of those who announce and preach peace, walking on the mountains, those who proclaim good and preach salvation, and say to Zion: “Reign your God!” 8The voice of your watchmen is heard, they lift up their voices, they are rejoicing with joy, they know that they will see with their own eyes the Lord returning to Zion. 9Rejoice and exult at the same time, you ruins of Jerusalem; the Lord comforted his people and rescued Jerusalem. 10The Lord has laid bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation that comes from our God. - Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm: 97(98)

The ends of the universe beheld / the salvation of our God.

1. Sing to the Lord God a new song, / because he has done wonders! / His hand and his strong and holy arm / achieved his victory. – R.

2. The Lord has made salvation known, / and his righteousness to the nations; / he remembered his ever faithful love / for the house of Israel. – R.

3. The ends of the universe beheld / the salvation of our God. / Acclaim the Lord God, O whole earth, / rejoice and be glad! – R.

4. Sing psalms to the Lord to the sound of the harp / and the gentle harp! / Acclaim, with bugles and trumpets, / to the Lord, our king! – R.

Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-6

Reading of the letter to the Hebrews – 1Many times and in many ways, God once spoke to our fathers through the prophets; 2In these days, which are the last, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he also created the universe. 3This is the splendor of the Father's glory, the expression of his being. He sustains the universe with the power of his word. Having purged his sins, he sat down at the right hand of the divine majesty on high. 4He was placed as much above the angels as the name he inherited surpasses their name. 5Indeed, to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or even: “I will be a Father to him, and he will be a son to me”? 6But when he brings the Firstborn into the world, God says: “All the angels must worship him!” - Word of the Lord.

Gospel: John 1,1-18 or 1-5,9-14

[The short form is in brackets.]

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

The holy day has dawned for us: / O nations, come and worship the Lord God, / because today great light has shone on earth! – R.

Proclamation of the holy Gospel according to John – [1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. 2In the beginning she was with God. 3Everything was made through her, and without her nothing was made of everything that was made. 4In her was life, and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness was unable to dominate it.] 6A man sent by God appeared; His name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might come to faith through him. 8He was not the light, but he came to bear witness to the light: 9to him who [was the light of truth, who, coming into the world, illuminates every human being. 10The Word was in the world – and the world was made through it – but the world did not want to know it. 11She came to her own, and her own did not welcome her. 12But to all who received him, he gave the ability to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in his name, 13for these were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God himself. 14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we behold his glory, the glory he receives from the Father as the only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth.] 15John bears witness to him, crying out: “This is he of whom I said, He who comes after me has gone before me , because he existed before me.” 16From his fullness we have all received grace for grace. 17For through Moses the Law was given, but grace and truth came to us through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. But the Only Begotten of God, who is in the intimacy of the Father, he has made known to us. – Word of salvation.

Reflection:

The Word, mysterious at first, gradually identifies itself with Jesus, through the incarnation: “The Word became flesh and pitched its tent among us”. The Word becomes flesh, becomes man: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman” (Gal 4:4). Setting up a tent means taking up residence. Jesus leaves God and comes to live among us. The letter to the Philippians states that Jesus Christ “was in the form of God, but renounced the right to be treated as God. On the contrary, he emptied himself and took the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:6-7). Jesus is the creative Word of the universe. He is the truth that reveals to us the glory, will and love of the heavenly Father. All who believe in the Word, which is Jesus, can become children of God.

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