December 18
Fourth Sunday of Advent
“Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.”
Reflection
This weekend, we are graced to experience several encounters with the holy. In our first reading, an encounter takes place between God and Ahaz, king of Judah. In the encounter, God tells Ahaz to ask for whatever he wants, but in an act of faithlessness, Ahaz refuses. At this point, God takes matters to another level when he tells Ahaz and the entire House of David that a virgin will give birth to a son who will be called Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” This is information of a cosmic dimension, since it would take a great miracle for a virgin to give birth.
In the second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, he tells his followers about how Jesus is the Son of God, a descendant of King David and the fulfillment of hundreds of years of prophecy. He points out that Jesus’ resurrection will result in the grace of God freeing us from sin.
In the gospel from St. Matthew, we have another encounter, this time between Joseph and God’s angelic messenger. Joseph now knows that Mary is pregnant. Joseph is a devout Jew and while he could have had Mary stoned to death for violating Mosaic law, he wanted to just divorce her quietly. The angel tells him to go through with the marriage for the child was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit. The appearance of the angel of the Lord changes Joseph’s mind and he goes through with the marriage and becomes a great guardian for Jesus, serving God in many powerful ways.
These three readings all refer to the birth of Jesus Christ whose incarnation as a human being we are about to celebrate. It is a reminder that God is so deeply in love with each and every one of us that he literally moved heaven and Earth to provide a savior for us. As we come to the end of the Advent season, let us bask in the love of God and share his goodness with everyone we come across in our world, especially those we love. Let us celebrate peace on Earth in all of its beautiful dimensions.
Peace be with you,
Deacon Dare
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