First Reading – Isaiah 7:10-14
Responsorial Psalm –
Psalm 23(24):1-6 ©
Second Reading – Romans
1:1-7 ©
Gospel Acclamation –
Matthew 1:23
The Gospel According to
Matthew 1:18-25
(NJB)
The Fourth Sunday of
Advent (Year A)
Listen!
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, the God of Jesus Christ 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.
Be
mindful of this.
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 being.
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, give thanks with
your neighbor, demonstrate God’s faithfulness to you, demonstrate it through
love.
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. This is true
of all things and beings, of 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, the degree to which you cleave to justice, and the
service you give to those in your midst. .
Remember
this:
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 this metaphor 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 of glorifying God in battle. Let us return to
that.
Do
good and reject evil.
Remember, Paul was not chosen. He chose to
preach the Gospel.
Remember
this, Jesus was descended from David through his father Joseph.
Remember,
Jesus was not a lord or king. He was a Rabbi and a healer
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, an innate capacity
for good and a receptivity of the love of God.
Consider
this:
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 about 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 his moment of doubt. In that moment he learned
what it means to truly love.
He
choose good, he rejected evil.
If
you believe it.
First Reading – Isaiah 7:10-14
The Maiden is With Child
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 – 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.
Second Reading – Romans 1:1-7
©
Our Apostolic Mission is
to Preach the Obedience of Faith to All Pagan Nations
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 According to Matthew
1:18-25
How Jesus Christ Came to
be Born
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.
The Fourth Sunday of
Advent (Year A)
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