By Martin Jumbam
The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, December 22, 2013 as the fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A. Christmas is just around the corner and there’s feverish excitement among children and adults alike as cards, presents and decorations are on everyone’s mind. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah announces that God will show his people a sign: a maiden with child will give birth to a son called Immanuel – God with us. This prophecy, given a thousand years earlier, finds fulfillment in the New Testament with the birth of Jesus Christ, the Immanuel – God with us. In the second reading, Saint Paul tells the Romans that the Son of the Virgin Mary comes from royal stock – a descendant of David. He is the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of holiness, which he received to pour out on all flesh. Paul is convinced of his mission, which is to proclaim to the world that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophets. In the Gospel, Saint Matthew shows the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy when a virgin conceives by the power of the Holy Spirit and brings forth a Son – Immanuel, God with us. Saint Joseph, his adoptive father, receives the unique privilege of being addressed father by the Son of God, as he is the head of the family of Nazareth. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace of conversion as we prepare to receive Immanuel – God with us. Amen.
First Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14.
In those days, the Lord spoke to Ahaz “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
History tells us that King Ahaz of the small kingdom of Judah was afraid that his two stronger and more aggressive neighbours from the north, Israel and Syria, would destroy his kingdom. They had in fact invaded his kingdom but had failed to capture Jerusalem or king Ahaz himself. The king was expecting another attack and he decided to form an alliance with the Assyrians, a superpower with a highly aggressive foreign policy. The prophet Isaiah was totally against this decision and told the king that David’s dynasty would be preserved through an alliance with a pagan nation like Assyria but only through trust in God.
To encourage Ahaz to entrust himself to divine help, Isaiah told the king that a maiden would conceive and bear a son as the sign of the presence of God among his people. His name would be “Immanuel – God with us”. Isaiah told the king that before this child grew the two hostile kingdoms of Israel and Syria would lose their power. The king refused to listen to the prophet and his decision turned out to be a political and religious disaster as Assyria defeated the threatening nations but king Ahaz was forced to pay very heavy tributes to Assyria.
What am I taking home from this reading? The first thing to note is that this is probably the most well-known of all Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the Messiah. The depths of God’s purpose in inspiring the prophets shine out in these verses. Isaiah has ready access to Ahaz, the King of Judah. Like his fellow prophets, he can speak above the king, conscious of his divine calling. Isaiah’s promise of a king from the line of David was to find fulfillment in the birth of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Isaiah’s oracle is open to the future work of God, a work, which Matthew’s words in the Gospel now declares as accomplished with arrival of our Saviour.
Let us pray this day for the grace the Holy Spirit bestows on us to recognize and welcome Immanuel, our God in our midst. Amen.
Second Reading: Romans 1:1-7.
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, the Gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
In these opening verses of his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul addresses a Church he had not visited in very edifying terms. As he is going to extol the Good News as the power of God saving all who have faith, it is well for him to declare his own act of faith in this Good News. He echoes what we hear in the other readings: the ancient promise, the Davidic prince, the intervention of the Holy Spirit in his human existence, his saving power.
Paul reminds us as vividly as usual that what we are remembering is not a distant happening which moves us to religious wonderment, but saving events which can and do touch each and everyone of the faithful. The Jesus we are about to celebrate in his humanity as well as his divine sonship, extends his life-giving presence through all the earth.
When Jesus is about to ascend into heaven, he charges his Apostles to proclaim the Good News, which was to be what the Fathers of Vatican II call “the source of all saving truth and moral discipline.” For the Apostles, this Good News was nothing other than Jesus Christ and his work of salvation. That is why the Gospel (which the Church is given to hand on to all generations) is centered on the life and teaching of Christ, as passed on to us by the Apostles.
Saint Paul concludes this passage by saying that the Romans are called to be saints. He’s saying that we too, as Christians, are all called in the same kind of way as the Israelites were so often called through Moses. Let us therefore call on the Holy Spirit to come down upon us this day, as we await the arrival of Immanuel, God with us, who will help us to remain sons and daughters of God that we became through baptism. Amen.
Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11.
The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
The gospel of this day gives us many points to reflect on. It tells us about the marriage practices of the Jews: how they engage, how they marry and how they divorce. According to the provisions of the Law of Moses, engagement took place about one year before marriage. Here Joseph, who is described as a ‘son of David’ and a man of honour, finds that his wife-to-be Mary is pregnant even before they come to live together. He is shocked and decides to call off their engagement quietly so as not to discredit Mary. It is then that God intervenes and he accepts to take Mary into his house. When he exercises the right to name the child Jesus, as God commands, he becomes the legal father of the child and it is through him that Jesus too becomes ‘son of David’.
One can also reflect on the meaning of Christian names. Here Immanuel, foretold by the prophet Isaiah about seven hundred years earlier, means God with us. We can also reflect on the birth of Christ itself. He is said to have been born of the Holy Spirit. In the Creed, we recite “We believe in One Lord, Jesus Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, he was born of the Virgin Mary.”
It is therefore worthwhile to look at the Holy Spirit and his work among us. As we read in the Old Testament, it is the Holy Spirit who brought God’s truth to human beings. He taught men God what to do. It was the Holy Spirit, who all through history, brought God’s truth to people. We profess in our Creed: We believe in the Holy Spirit. He has spoken through the prophets.
So for Jesus to be born of the Holy Spirit means that Jesus will be the person to bring God’s truth to humanity. In Jesus, we will learn what God has for us. In Jesus, we see the love, the compassion, the mercy, the seeking heart and the purity of God. Born of the Holy Spirit means that with the birth of Jesus the time of doubt and guessing about God’s plan for humanity is over. The birth of Jesus has brought to us the truth about God’s plans for us.
Jesus enables us to recognize the truth. He opens our eyes to the truth. Through his teachings, Jesus shows us God’s goodness and compassion for us. As followers of Christ, we too are expected to extend the goodness and compassion we receive from God onto others, especially those who are poorer and weaker than us. As followers of Christ, let our words be words that build not words that destroy. Let our actions be exemplary and not scandalous. This is what it means to be born of the Holy Spirit. As followers of Christ, let us pray this day that the Holy Spirit may strengthen us so we can remain people of truth, people who bring light and life into the lives of all we meet on our way, just as Christ did. Amen.
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