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Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

READ: (Isa 7: 10-14; Rom 1: 1-7; Matt 1: 18-24)

REFLECT: Called to be with God, share in the apostleship of Christ and be open and obedient to God’s plans...

My dear friends, today we are in the fourth Sunday of Advent, which marks the beginning of the final week before Christmas. We will be lighting the candle of peace. It is also called the Angel’s Candle and white candle represents purity, peace, and justice brought to the world by Christ. The white candle also reminds us the sinlessness and the purity of Christ. Today we are invited to reflect on the theme peace. We shall see in what way we can obtain peace of Christ within ourselves to work for peace and to live in peace with one another. So based on the liturgy of the word, I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1. Called to be with God:

Being with God or God being with us is a moment of joy and peace. We are empowered to feel that we can win over any situation, when God becomes our stronghold and shield. The destruction and devastation evades through human life, when we don’t have God as our stronghold and strength. It is there we lose joy and peace in life. Something similar we find in the first reading where king Ahaz and his kingdom moves to his own ruin by not professing faith in God.

The Lord tries to show his merciful face to King Ahaz, so that he would believe and be faithful to him. But he refuses to obtain a sign from God. The King Ahaz’s refusal is a refusal to the faith in God. But we see a kind of scriptural pretense, when he says, “I will not put the Lord to the test,” meaning that there was no need for a test since he firmly believed in God. In fact, the issue is not the test at all because the Lord himself graciously offered him sign. Rather, it is a matter of unbelief in Ahaz’s heart, a matter of the hardening of heart. This is, in fact, a most decisive moment for the fate of Judah, but Ahaz now rejects the Lord deliberately.

Under the pretense of obeying God, Ahaz is actually trying to justify a decision he has already made. History is witness to his sin. He not only entered into an unnecessary alliance with Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, but he also compromised his faith by swearing loyalty to Assyria’s idols and modifying the altar in the temple at Jerusalem to accommodate pagan worship. Moreover, Ahaz knew well that if he were to ask for a sign, it would be granted to him, and as a consequence he would have been compelled to believe the Lord and to place his trust in Him. But his wish was not Yahweh but Assyria was his desire. Therefore, he tries to slide away from giving himself to faith in Yahweh.

As someone aptly said, “faith shows itself in obedience; unbelief in disobedience.” We see here the unbelief of Ahaz to come to Yahweh in faith by disobeying God. When we disobey God, we lose our touch with him. That’s what happened to first parents as well. They disobeyed God and lost touch with God, lost the peaceful life in the paradise that God created for them. Today, disobeying God would mean bringing wrath on ourselves and losing the peace within, moving towards a destructive destiny on our own.

The peace within us is obtained when we have God with us and when God is within us. That’s what we see at the end of the first reading from prophet Isaiah that a virgin will conceive and bear a son and his name will be Emmanuel. Yes, Emmanuel means we all know “God-with-us.” The promise of God for an Emmanuel is to establish peace on earth. The result of disharmony and division in us and in the family or society or church or community is because we do not take sides with God or we do not have God with us or we are not with God.  We take sides with worldly views, ambitions, powers and positions, where our focus is deviated and our lives end up in chaos or in havoc.

Today’s challenge for all of us is just as Ahaz was challenged by God for a chance to prove his trustworthiness, we are also given by God signs at times to challenge us, change us and make us firm in the faith that we profess. Although our faith is not to be in the signs, but God throughout the ages has given us his people an evidence by which our faith might be increased and strengthened. So let us make every move in life to be with God and obtain peace for ourselves and others.

2. Called to apostleship in Christ:

Apostles are the twelve chosen by Christ for a special task of proclamation and representation of Christ’s work on earth. Apostles are sent out in the name of Jesus as representatives. Today, we are called to represent the apostles in spirit and truth to carry out the noble and good works manifested by Jesus Christ. We all know that St. Paul claims to be an apostle of Christ (Rom 1:1; Gal 1:1), because of the calling of Jesus and a special task that he was entrusted with in carrying out Jesus’ mission. 

One such passage we have it in today’s second reading. The second reading from the letter to the Romans, Paul introduces himself by stating his divine call, the message that he has been called to proclaim and the specific task with which he occupied. St. Paul shares as well with the Roman audience of his time the conviction that Jesus is the heart of the gospel. So it is an added joy today to remind ourselves that confessing and proclaiming the gospel requires that we incline to Paul’s exalted view of Jesus, giving preference to Jesus and making Jesus as central point of our proclamation and purpose.

Just as St.  Paul reminds us of his apostleship, his call to be holy and to proclaim the good news, we are also invited as chosen ones of Christ to share in the proclamation of good news and obtain holiness of life. The holiness of life and our association with Christ would become solid and strong, when we make Christ crucified as the central point of our living on earth.

Today, call to holiness and our association with Christ is a challenge, because of the worldly concerns, attractions and temptations in different areas of life. What is at stake or in danger perhaps is our prayer life and intimacy with God. St. Paul was able to associate as an apostle of Christ and could obtain the holiness of life, because he was completely transformed by Christ and allowed Christ to take control of his life and life-style. Today we need to have such mindset to have the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5). Today if we want to associate ourselves with Christ as a follower and obtain holiness, then we need to allow Christ to completely transform and form us into the likeness of God’s children. So let us realize that an apostle is sent on behalf of God, for God’s purpose and for God’s work. Let us not try to fill the minds of the people with our purpose and plans, which are self-seeking and selfish, personal motives and benefits.

The mind, heart, body and soul obtain peace, when we fulfill the plan of God, when we work for God’s glory and when we move towards God’s purpose, although there may be a initial struggle and confusion. So like St. Paul let us embody Christ saying, “it is not I who live but Christ who lives in me,” (Gal 2:20). The peace in life is obtained, when Christ is completely mingled within us. The peace in life is obtained, when we with a single-minded devotion speak of Christ and manifest Christ in our lives. So let us work for peace in sharing the mission of Christ like St.  Paul.

 3. Called to be obedient to God’s plan:

 Obedience is agreeing or doing what the other tells us or asks us or requests of us to do. Obedience to God’s plan would mean that one hears the voice of God and acts accordingly. So in obedience we become completely in conformity with God’s words or commands and submit ourselves in the plan of God to better our life on earth. Today’s Gospel presents before us short information about St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. The obedience and adherence of St.  Joseph to the plan of God though the angel in a dream, his receptivity to the message of God, his acceptance of Mary’s divine plan of God in her life is quite extraordinary.

The focus of attention in today’s gospel is not on the birth itself but on the significance of the child, the role he will play in fulfilling God’s will as is seen particularly in the importance of the naming in the passage, as well as in the content of the names itself, Jesus and Emmanuel. The one who is born embodies both God’s presence and his saving effect.

We see Joseph appearing as a very simple and real person, confronted with confusion and dilemma. But being a righteous man, knowing the fact as per the custom of Jewish society what would happen to Mary if she was exposed in public would be a disgrace and a death by stoning, resolves to do it quietly and secretively. However, the just man Joseph’s intention becomes so clear and pure, thus the revelation of God through the angel offers him a chance to cooperate with the plan of God. Here we see the real face of a just person Joseph. He receives a revelation from God and he becomes submissive and obedient. Yes, the intervention of the angel of God to Joseph was not to reassure Joseph about anything but to make him known the role of Joseph in the divine plan of God and we know for sure he obeyed without any hesitance and reluctance.

That’s why it is said, “Obedience is imaged as immediate and unhesitating in Joseph.” The obedience of Joseph is seen in Lk 1: 24-25 in the following phrases, “Joseph did what the angel of the Lord told him to do, took Mary as his wife, did not have any marital relationships with her, Joseph gave the child name Jesus.” Today, obedience of St.  Joseph places before us a challenge to obey God’s laws and His lawful persons in authority, be it in the church or in the society. The lawful persons in the society are our parents, elders, leaders and superiors in a religious community. We need to respect them and value their views and suggestion for the betterment of life. Obedience to good-hearted people, morally sound in judgment need to be considered as well, because they have the credibility to inspire and change life for the better.

Today, disobedience has become a convenient thing for us according to our likes and dislikes. We obey if we like a person or disobey if we dislike a person. If one supports personal views we obey otherwise we disobey, whether it is good or bad does not matter. So we need to realize that obeying all that is pleasant is not right but obeying all that is good and right will make our life pleasant to God and to one another. In order that we obey God and Know what is good and right, we need to dispose ourselves to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and listen to the voice of God in prayer and intimacy with God. So let us pray that we obey God’s commands and the lawful persons of God to live a peaceful life personally and make it peaceful for one another collectively in the world.

RESPOND:

Do we have God-with-us experience or do we feel desperate about not being with God?

Do we have in us the apostolic zeal and attachment to Christ in our lives?

Do we obey God’s commands and listen to his voice for a change of life and partake of the divine plan of God?

Let us be with God, have in us the apostolic feel and zeal for holiness of life and be submissive to God’s plans in our lives. Amen.

“It is better to sleep in the Sacred Heart than to be wakeful anywhere else.” (St. Francis De Sales, TLG, Book VI, Chapter 8, p. 187)

God Bless us all! Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968