Advent 4 Yr A
Behold - Hope
Celtic Reflection on Hope
December 2022
We are coming into the final days of advent, approaching the fourth Sunday, the Sunday of Hope, leading us up to Christmas. Like so many others, I have been harried and rushed in preparing for the arrival of guests in my home, for the arrival of Santa and for the arrival of Christmas Day.
Somehow, lost in all of this preparation and expectation, I have dark moments. I do not think that I am alone in this. Sometimes, in the coming darkness of winter, I falter and struggle to rejoice. Even through Gaudete Sunday, I found myself subsumed by shadows.
How can I rejoice when our world is in shambles,
When war still rages in Ukraine and other parts of the world,
When ordinary families are suffering for lack of safety, lack of food, lack of clean water, lack of hope?
How can I hope for the coming light when I, like so many others, carry grief continuously? Where is my hope? Where is my comfort? These are unanswerable questions.
But . . . because I am a believer, I know that Christmas still comes. It comes without my permission or recognition or readiness. When Jesus was born into this world, it was not a better place than our world now. Poverty and strife and war and oppression smashed the people down. God was not looking for a perfect world into which to send the Christ Child. God was finding the moment when the Christ Child was most needed. Like today. Like Christmas day, Christ arrives, and Love enters the world. Love enters us. In THAT, there is hope.
We find in Psalm 130:5-6 a perfect model:
“I wait for the Lord; my soul waits and in his Word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.”
Like David, like Mary, like the Hebrew people, we, nearing the solstice, sit quietly in darkness, waiting for the Messiah. The magi wandered and searched for years. We must find our own way into patience, into this hope.
Alexandre Dumas, author of The Count of Monte Cristo, once wrote that “All human wisdom can be summed up in two words: wait and hope.” I can think of few words that are more appropriate for Advent.
We wait in certainty knowing that Christmas morning comes. We can be jubilant, not at what exists in our world or in ourselves, but in that great potential, that great capacity for love which God has shown us. Despite our natures, God sent that Christ Child into this mess of a world where hope was fulfilled in his birth, his death and his resurrection.
Again, as the Psalmist writes in 96:11-13:
“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord: for he is coming.”
How can we do otherwise? We will be his light. We will be his exuberance. We will be his love in the world. So, let us give thanks, let us be
glad, and let us find our hope in God.
Amen.
© 2022 Paula Ashley
Introduction
In Year A of the Lectionary, the Fourth Sunday of Advent honors Joseph. And he was indeed a special person—learning that his fiance was pregnant, still loving her enough to try to shield her from shame, accepting the angel’s statement to stay with Mary, and protecting Mary and Jesus for the remainder of his life. Recall how whenever angels visit, the first words are “Do not be afraid.” How could Joseph not be afraid? And, in fact, he may have been. Yet . . . Joseph faced his fear head on and accepted his God-given role for his life.
Comments welcome.
Matthew 1:18-25
. . . When his [Jesus’] mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. . . . an angel of the Lord appeared to him [Joseph] in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”. . . When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
From sermon4kids.com: “Sometimes you and I may find ourselves in a situation where we don’t know what to do. Like Joseph, we might ask ourselves, “What do I do now?” If we listen, God will tell us what to do.”
Scripture: December 18, 2022—Fourth Sunday of Advent—Isaiah 7:10-16 (image); Romans 1:1-7 (image); Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 (image); and Matthew 1:18-25 (image). A visual/audio journey.
Collect: Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Reflection: In Romans 1:1–6, Paul defines himself according to (1) who Jesus is (promised through the prophets), (2) what Jesus gives (grace and apostleship), and (3) why Jesus is for all people (to foster faith). How do those qualities and gifts inform your own definition of self? How might you amend, or more greatly appreciate, your own self-image and the image you have of others because of Jesus?
Excerpted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 1 © 2013 Westminster John Knox Press
Practice: Are there times when you are fearful yet step into your fear to accept what you need to do? If you wish, post your comments to our website.
Eye Candy: “St Joseph and the child” by Francisco de Herrera the elder; “The dream of Joseph” (1640) by George de la Tour; “Vision of Saint Joseph” by James Tissot
Ear Worm: “Be not afraid” by John Michael Talbot; “Behold the Son of God” by Robin Mark; “All earth is waiting” by Taule
Brain Food: “Any news?” by Alyce McKenzie; “How long?”, from Draughting Theology website by Steve Pankey;
Prayer for lighting Candle 4:
Come, O Holy One, as the beloved child, Emmanuel!
Soften our hearts and open our arms for your coming
that we may make this a place worthy and warm,
kindly and safe for all your children, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Parables: “A beautiful mind” (2001), accepting life’s challenges; “Smallville” (TV series 2001-2011), Kent struggles to find his way in his new world; “How to train your dragon” (2010), young man understands adversity
For families: Study guide and activities (former guide), group activity; snacks, kid video
For children: See family guide/activities above (another activity), bulletin; craft
For middlers: See family guide/activities above (another activity); bulletin; craft
Coloring: Dreaming Joseph; Matthew 1
For youth: Joseph’s acceptance of Mary and the direction of his life is sometimes described as “radical” in that it diverts from what was the “norm” in his day. Law and cultural practice would dictate a divorce, at the minimum, or a stoning for Mary. Joseph chooses to disobey civic, cultural, and religious law and practice so he can follow the instructions from God’s angels. His was “disobedient obedience.” Can you think of modern-day examples of disobedient obedience. For more ideas, check out this article. Reflect on: What cause might be worth disobedient obedience? When might following God put one at odds with following law? How does one weigh the cost? What might Joseph’s story teach us?
If you wish, share your thoughts.
On this final Sunday of preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth, the central figures are the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. The Gospel reading is Matthew’s account of Jesus’ conception by the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Virgin. It is this Incarnation—becoming flesh—of God the Son that unites things earthly with things heavenly. In the quiet obedience of Joseph and Mary, we find the model for Christian living that enables us to be extensions of Christ’s Incarnation.
In today’s reading from Isaiah, the prophet foretells the birth of a child in a passage that the New Testament writers, especially Matthew, considered to be fulfilled in Jesus’ birth from Mary.
Jesus’ descent from David, his birth, his death and resurrection, are Paul’s theme in the passage from Romans. That life, death, and resurrection are the source of our new life in Christ, and bring us the grace and power to live in faith and obedience.
The liturgy centers on the fact that God comes to us in and through the material world. He came in the flesh of a human mother and lived within a human family. He comes to us now in bread and wine. He comes to the world in our flesh as we live in faithful obedience to him. The pattern for that obedience is the Holy Family of Nazareth for whom we give thanks today.
From The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.