In the majestic name of the Lord, he shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord. He shall be peace. When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was born in the town of Bethlehem on that wonderful night two millennia ago, it was an event that, in the words of St. Paul, took place in the fullness of time (cf. Galatians 4:4). The event of the birth of Jesus Christ marked the fullness of time because it was in his life and ministry that the process of creation was to come to full fruition. Jesus Christ, fully divine and fully human, brings together the heavens and the earth (that is, it is in Jesus Christ that every created being in the heavens and on earth is brought together [cf. Ephesians 1:10]). In Jesus Christ, the divine and the earthly have ‘mixed.’ The event of the birth of Jesus Christ has thus come to be referred to as the dawn of the good news. 
In the First Reading, we see a foretaste of this good news. The prophet Micah announces the coming of a messianic king (savior) who is to restore the glorious days of Israel. And whereas the coming of a messiah-king was a promise that the Lord God had made to the community and as such was widely expected to take place, prophet Micah’s announcement had a new twist: this messianic king whose coming he was announcing was to hail from the insignificant clan (tribe) of Bethlehem-Ephrathah. Moreover, although coming to bring salvation to his kindred, this messianic king was to be a different kind of ruler. His triumph would neither be with the sword nor with the spectacle of power. His was going to be a triumph of peace and justice. Rather than a restorer of a political kingdom (as many had so thought), this messianic king would come to establish a kingdom of peace and justice, a kingdom where the Lord God becomes both ruler and shepherd. 
The good news which the Lord God was delivering to his people through the prophet Micah is the very one which is being celebrated in today’s Gospel reading. In the section preceding the passage constituting today’s reading (cf. Luke 1:26-38), the archangel Gabriel broke the news to Mary that she had been chosen by the Lord to be the mother of the redeemer. Mary was shocked at the news, to say the least. She questioned the possibility of her bearing God’s Son yet she was a mere maiden with no knowledge of a man. Archangel Gabriel understood Mary’s questioning, and in the angel's efforts to explain to her how God can make possible that which from the human point of view appears impossible, the archangel revealed to Mary that her kinswoman Elizabeth who was advanced in years and was already past the age of child bearing was in her sixth month of pregnancy. It was a revelation that obviously had a hand in Mary saying YES to God's proposal. But it was also a revelation that was good news to the ears of Mary. Her kinswoman Elizabeth had for many years endured the humiliation of being called barren (vs. 36). Like the clan of Bethlehem-Ephrathah which was considered insignificant among the clans of Judah, Elizabeth’s inability to have a child had made her invisible in the eyes of the members of her community. She must have endured hearing people speak about her situation and how it was a punishment from the heavens. Mary, aware of the kind of mistreatment someone in Elizabeth’s situation endured on a daily basis, couldn’t hold back her elation at the good news that the Lord God had finally lifted the veil of shame and misfortune that had covered the face of Elizabeth and her household. Moreover, her age notwithstanding, Mary rightly understood that what the Lord had done for Elizabeth foreshadowed the plan God had for God’s people (cf. Luke 1:54). The good news which was being celebrated in the household of Elizabeth and Zechariah was indeed a foretaste of the good news which was to accompany the visitation of the peoples of the world by the Lord.  
The good news of the Lord’s visitation of his people which culminated in the birth of Jesus Christ was foreshadowed on a number of occasions in the history of the Lord’s journey with creation. The latest of these was the conception and birth of John the Baptist. The birth of John the Baptist, as would be that of Jesus, was good news not only to his parents but to the larger community as well (and by extension, to the entirety of creation). Just as Elizabeth’s neighbors and relations gathered to share in her joy (cf. Luke 1:58), so was the entire universe invited to rejoice at the birth of the Baptist. John’s Birth heralded the nearness of the coming of the Messiah. As a forerunner of the Lord, John’s birth revived the hopes of the people. The salvation by the Lord for which the world had yearned was now within their reach. The peace and justice which had eluded the world ever since the rebellion by the first parents would now be attained. The Messiah’s coming will lead to restoration of peace and justice since, as the prophet Micah had pronounced, he will gather his brothers and sisters and shepherd them towards their homeland.