A Homily The
Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25 ©
Gospel Acclamation ~ Matthew 1:23
Romans 1:1-7
Responsorial
Psalm 23 (24) 1-6
Isaiah
7:10-14
1st Reading
Isaiah 7:10-14
The
Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself
coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz
answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’
Then
Isaiah said:
‘Listen
now, House of David:
are
you not satisfied with trying the patience of men
without
trying the patience of my God, too?
The
Lord himself, therefore,
will
give you a sign.
It
is this: the maiden is with child
and
will soon give birth to a son
whom
she will call Immanuel,
a
name which means “God-is-with-us.”’
Responsorial Psalm
23 (24) 1-6
Let the Lord enter! He is the king of
glory.
The
Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the
world and all its peoples.
It
is he who set it on the seas;
on
the waters he made it firm.
Let the Lord enter! He is the king of
glory.
Who
shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who
shall stand in his holy place?
The
man with clean hands and pure heart,
who
desires not worthless things.
Let the Lord enter! He is the king of
glory.
He
shall receive blessings from the Lord
and
reward from the God who saves him.
Such
are the men who seek him,
seek
the face of the God of Jacob.
Let the Lord enter! He is the king of
glory.
2nd Reading
Romans 1:1-7
From
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and
specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his
prophets in the scriptures.
This
news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took was a
descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the
spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in
all his power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him we received
grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan
nations in honour of his name. You are one of these nations, and by his call
belong to Jesus Christ. To you all, then, who are God’s beloved in Rome, called
to be saints, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send grace and peace.
Gospel Acclamation
Matthew 1:23
Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
virgin will conceive and give birth to a son
and
they will call him Emmanuel,
a
name which means ‘God-is-with-us’.
Alleluia!
The Gospel of the Day
Matthew 1:18-25
Spin
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born.
His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together
she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph;
being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce
her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy
Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is
the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to
fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to
a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’
When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he
took his wife to his home and, though he had not had intercourse with her, she
gave birth to a son; and he named him Jesus.
(NJB)
The Real Story
God is not a politician. The
creator of the universe is not a kingmaker. God does not give victory in
battle; appointing winner and losers. God, Immanuel is with all people, at all
times, in all places. God loves each, and every one of God’s children equally. God
stands with all people, whether or not any of them stand with God.
All
things and person have their being in God. God is the foundation of all that
is. Without God there is nothing, and in nothing there is not even the
possibility of something.
If
you wish to climb the mountain to find God, that is fine, do it, God is there. Or,
you may simply turn to your neighbor, and see God reflected in their face. God
is there. See them, behold the face of God, in that holy presence give thanks,
with your neighbor give thanks.
Do
not worry about your own holiness. God loved you before the creation of the world;
when only the possibility of you existed, you were loved. All things, and
everyone; as they are loved by God, they are holy.
Look
for God’s blessing in the service you provide to your neighbor, to your mother
and father, to your sister and brother. Be justified in one thing, the quality
and extent of your mercy.
God
is not confined to the pages of a book, or by the ink on a scroll, neither is
God bounded by the history and mythology of a people. Look to those things for
glimpses of God, for the remembrances of past encounters, but seek the living
God in living beings.
Always
bear in mind, the first time we saw God, when the first parent walked with the
creator, the world was a garden, and that was paradise, there was no talk of
kings, and no talk glorifying God in battle. Let us return to that.
Do
good and reject evil.
Remember
this; Paul was not chosen. He chose
to preach the Gospel.
Remember this; Jesus was descended from David through
his father Joseph.
Remember this; Jesus was not a lord or king.
Jesus lived among us an example of grace, and its
fulfillment. He was not a conduit of grace. His mission was not to confer on
human beings something that they lacked, but to activate in them something that
is inherent.
Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Joseph was of the House
of David. She became pregnant before their wedding, according to the design God
had put in place for the propagation of human life.
Joseph had second thoughts about marriage, and being a
father, but in a moment of conscience, listening to the spirit of grace within
him, he made a choice, and he embraced the truth, taking on the responsibility
to raise his child.
He took Mary as his wife; he brought her into his
house. They named their child Joshua, after the great hero of the Israelites. In
that trust they pinned their hopes on him, in that hope and trust (faith) they
encountered the presence of God. They knew then that God was with them,
inasmuch as they were with each other.
If Joseph had succumbed to his fear and weakness (and
that was a real possibility), in that time and place Mary would have been destroyed.
She would have become an outcast, she would have had no standing in her
community, she and her child would have died.
Joseph was humbled by his weakness and doubt. In that
moment he learned what it means to truly love.
If you believe it.
4th
Sunday of Advent
