4th Sunday of Advent
This is the last weekend of Advent. In our churches we light the last purple candle leaving the white candle for the First Mass of Christmas. It’s only in these last few days before Christmas that we begin to hear about the “Christmas story” itself. For the past weeks we have been preparing ourselves to greet the Lord, when he comes. Now we prepare to remember how he first came, by listening to the prophecies of his coming, and by listening to the stories of scripture about the events before Jesus’s birth.
In the first reading Ahaz sounds like the great model of faith. We are taught not to tempt God by asking for signs to prove our faith. If we got those signs, we wouldn’t have faith! God, speaking through Isaiah, invites Ahaz to ask for a sign any sign from God: “Let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!” Ahaz refuses saying, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord.” Ahaz is showing great faith in God. He doesn’t want any proofs from God; he doesn’t want to test God or so it seems. He will not ask for the sign; he will not put his and the nation’s security in God’s hands. But God decides to give a sign anyway: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel.” The promise found in Scripture will be fulfilled. By referring his readers to the scriptures, Isaiah reminds us that believers do well to put confidence in the word of God to sustain our hope and strengthen our faith in discouraging times such as we are in these days with so many people suffering in war and so many other avoidable crises. In the second reading Paul, a servant of Jesus, greets the believers in Rome. He emphasizes Jesus’ divine and human natures and wishes them grace and peace.
We meet Mary in the Gospel who had been prepared for the coming of the Messiah. She has received the angel’s greeting, and his strange news, and accepted her role in God’s plan Matthew is well planted in his Jewish tradition. He shows that from the very beginning of his gospel. Joseph was betrothed to Mary; Mary’s pregnancy turns Joseph’s world and his plans upside down. Instead of exposing her, he “decided to divorce her quietly.” He was a “righteous man”, and he will protect Mary from being publicly dishonoured. He is not vengeful and, though wronged, displays mercy. After his dream when the angel told him do not be afraid Joseph took his wife into his home. The world God chose to enter was one of poverty, hard labour and political and military oppression. God took a big chance being born among us especially in those circumstances. Surely there must have been neater options for God, to make the saviour’s path and work a bit smoother. But none of us has a “smooth path” through life. It’s good to know that Jesus, Emmanuel, “God with us,” chose to be with his people who live in the real and messy world. We began Advent with the cry, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. We will end it with the joyful Christmas call, ‘God is with us!
Throughout our Advent journey we were told to stay awake for the coming of the Lord. As we go forward to the Christmas Celebration there is much to be thankful even in our messy world with all its problems. The message of Christmas is about God’s loving kindness, his compassion, his mercy, and his abiding, living love and presence with us in his Son Jesus the son of God Emmanuel who is God with us.
Fullerton T 