God-With-Us Is Coming to You

HOMILY FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Perhaps it feels like the end of Advent has overtaken you ... that it has seemed too short, (which it has been), and you haven’t had a chance, or you haven’t gotten around to making the best use of this time. It’s possible that for some of us this Advent has rushed by. In the busyness of the end of year, and in the preparations for family celebrations, the time has gone too quickly, and we have not managed to give Advent the attention it calls for. Perhaps some of us have tried to engage with the whole Advent thing, but it has been spiritually confusing, and we have been distracted. Perhaps some of us feel so burdened by our own weaknesses and failures, sins, and guilt, that we feel unworthy and ill-prepared to engage with Christmas.

Wherever we may find ourselves at this stage, whether one of these positions or a mixture of them, Christmas is still for us, and it is not too late to receive the grace and mercy of this time. Christ is coming, not a long time ago in a place far away, but right here ... right where we find ourselves. Whether we are ready or not, God-with-us, Emmanuel, is coming, and if we welcome him, his visit to us will be extraordinary.

So don’t get caught so much in the stresses of everything that still needs to be done: the cooking, cleaning, and last-minute gift and food shopping. The Eucharist this Sunday is a good opportunity to pause and contemplate who he is ... this one whose coming we celebrate ... the one we are to welcome.

The readings help us in this; they help us to consider the one whose birth it is that we are celebrating. On this last Sunday before Christmas, the Church’s Liturgy is a profound revelation of the true identity of our Redeemer.

Today’s first reading from the prophet Micah, written seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, says that a ruler will be born in Bethlehem, a ruler whose origin is from ancient times. Bethlehem, of course was also the birthplace of King David, centuries before. The reading prophesies that this ruler will be a descendent of David, who will be like a shepherd to the flock of Israel. Then we sang in the psalm about this shepherd of Israel, praying that from his throne in heaven, he will come to save us, that he will visit us and protect us.

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews tells us that this Son of David and only “begotten” Son of God, has come “in the flesh”, in a body. He has come to do the will of God. And by God’s will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Jesus is the Saviour whose sacrificial offering has made possible the forgiveness of sins.

Then in the Gospel account of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth, we see that all this is recognised by John when he leaps or dances for joy in his mother’s womb. Even in the womb John anticipates his role in preparing for the coming of the Messiah.

You could say that the fourth Sunday of Advent is always dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Earlier in Luke’s Gospel when the angel had announced that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, and she had given her consent, the angel told her that her cousin, Elizabeth in her old age, was also pregnant.

Today’s Gospel picks up directly after this narrative.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is our model of Advent. Mary helps us in our Advent preparation because she has her heart set on God; she has a sense of mission; she knows that she is called by God to bring Jesus into the world; she knows that it is all God’s work; and that it is all grace.

In Mary we have the fulfilment, not only of the angel’s promise to her, but of all God’s promises down through history. Mary is the one in today’s first reading from Micah, who is spoken of as: “she who is to give birth.” We celebrate that in a little while that she will give birth to Jesus. She is the mother of our Lord.

And Mary’s response after hearing God’s call was prompt and generous. She dropped everything, as it were, and hurried to the home of Elizabeth in the hill country of Judaea. The haste with which she responds, shows us her sense of purpose and her perfect obedience to the word of God.

This narrative of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is woven out of Old Testament strands. First century Christians hearing this Gospel narrative would have immediately made the connection with the Old Testament story of the Ark of the Covenant. Their excitement and joy in hearing this story can be ours as we grow in anticipation for the coming of the Christ-child. You see, if we were to read the Greek translation of the Old Testament and the Gospel passage for today with the original Greek alongside, we would see a profound message. In the time of King David, the Ark of the Covenant, the presence of God with his people, was kept in the hill country of Judah. In the Second Book of Samuel, we read how King David dressed in a priestly garment, fetched the Ark to bring it to Jerusalem. The reading describes how he performed a liturgical dance before the Ark. And David expressed unworthiness and awe, saying, “How is it that the Ark of the Lord should come to me?”

Now Mary, the new Ark of the Covenant, carrying the presence of God within her, goes to the hill country of Judah, to the home of Elizabeth, who was from a priestly family and Zechariah, who was a Temple priest, and John the Baptist dances in his mother’s womb at the presence of the new Ark of the Covenant. The word that St Luke uses for this leaping in his mother’s womb is the same word for the dancing of King David before the Ark of the Covenant.

At the greeting of Mary, Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry. The Greek word used is the same word used for the musical accompaniment of the Ark in the Old Testament. Elizabeth recognises who Mary really is and who it is she carries within her and she is overwhelmed. Like David before her, she says: “why is this granted me that the mother of my Lord should come to me.” The meeting of Elizabeth and Mary is the pointing of the Old Testament to the New. It is the revelation of the Messiah to the people longing for salvation.

God's plan for the redemption of the world begins with Mary. She was the woman of faith and the woman of courage who said “yes” to the Lord. We have been saved because Mary trusted in God. And so, we understand the importance of Elizabeth's words to Mary, “Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord's word to her will be fulfilled.” Elizabeth also says to Mary, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! These are words we repeat every time we pray the Hail Mary.

Whoever we are then, and wherever we may find ourselves to be at this stage of Advent, we can hear the call now to be part of something much greater than ourselves. We can hear the challenge to bring Christ to birth in our own lives, each with their unique and particular circumstances.

We shouldn’t let our insecurities and low self-esteem weigh us down. We shouldn’t let our sins and failures disillusion us. The birth of Christ is the beginning of God’s mission of mercy to us. We are invited to enter into the joy and grace of this event. This Christmas we will celebrate the birth of mercy among us.

Our response as we enter into the saga of the Christmas story, is to appreciate the beauty and humility of the God who goes to such extraordinary lengths to be mercy to us. And we are to realise that the Christmas saga continues in us. We are his people, the people who are saved from our sins. We are the simple, humble people, like Mary and Elizabeth, called to be holy and be part of the divine plan.