The Bishop of Getafe, Monsignor Ginés García Beltrán, presided over the Mass of the Nativity of the Lord in the Santa María Magdalena Cathedral, where he centered his homily on the central mystery of the Christian faith: the Incarnation of the eternal Son of God, true God and true man.
In his preaching, the prelate started from the liturgical atmosphere proper to Christmas, evoking the Midnight Mass and the account from the Gospel of Saint Luke, to pose the question that—as he recalled—runs through the entire history of the Church: “Who is this Child who has been born in Bethlehem?”. A question that, he affirmed, “plays at the heart of our faith”.
Luke and John: history and eternity
Monsignor García Beltrán explained how the liturgy of Christmas proposes a complementary reading of the Gospels of Saint Luke and Saint John. While Luke places the birth of Jesus in concrete history—a journey, a humble village, a manger—Saint John leads the faithful to the eternal mystery of the Word, proclaiming that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”.
“The Child of Bethlehem does not begin there”, the bishop emphasized, recalling that his origin is in God Himself. In this way, he pointed out that both evangelists lead to the same truth: the newborn who lies in the manger is the eternal Son of the Father, through whom all things were made.
God’s definitive Word
The homily also incorporated the beginning of the Letter to the Hebrews, which presents Christ as God’s definitive Word to humanity. The bishop highlighted the contrast between divine greatness and the humility of the birth: “He who sustains the universe with his powerful word today weeps in a manger”.
From this mystery, he recalled the doctrinal formulation of the Council of Nicaea, whose 1700th anniversary has recently been commemorated, reaffirming the confession of Jesus Christ as “true God from true God, begotten, not created”.
Human and charitable dimension of Christmas
Beyond the doctrinal plane, Monsignor García Beltrán insisted on the human, social, and charitable dimension of Christmas. The birth of Christ in poverty—he affirmed—challenges Christians in the face of the suffering of so many children, families, and people who live today in conditions of precariousness, exclusion, or violence.
“The Child of Bethlehem teaches us that true greatness lies in closeness, in compassion, and in tenderness”, he noted, exhorting us not to justify indifference and to recognize in every person, especially the most fragile, the image of God.
The bishop concluded by inviting us to contemplate the manger together with Mary and Saint Joseph, models of faith, obedience, and service, and proclaiming the announcement proper to the solemnity: “Christ is born. Glory to God in heaven and on earth peace to those whom the Lord loves”.