First Reading
Micah 5:1-4a

Thus says the Lord: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.

Second Reading
Hebrews 10:5-10

Brothers and sisters: When Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.’” First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Gospel Cycle Cycle C
Luke 1:39-45

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Christmas is almost here. Just a few more days! The word of God is seeking to open our hearts to the great mystery that we will be celebrating in the Birth of the Savior. In order to understand a bit more about Jesus, we have to understand a lot more about all the Scriptures that went before Him and point to Him.

The first reading today, from the Prophet Micah, speaks about a future ruler of Israel who will come from Bethlehem. This brought about among some of the chosen people an understanding that a Messiah, a Savior, would come from Bethlehem. Thus when the three Magi ask, they are directed to Bethlehem.

Just as today, not everyone believes in Jesus Christ or in His Church, so also in the time before Jesus, not everyone believed that the Jewish prophets had any special insight or understanding of God’s ways. Yet the whole of Jewish Scripture keeps referring to some future figure who will do great things for the people.

Of course, there was the hope for a political Messiah, a Savior who make the chosen people dominant on the earth. That is never the deepest promise of the Scriptures. Even today, secular cultures look for a messiah and a savior in the political leaders. Every election in free countries seems to be about who can give us a better deal. This is just the opposite of the promises of Scripture.

The promise of Scripture proclaims this: do God’s will and you will have life eternal.
Just as in the time of Jesus, so also today, most people look for something more, something in this life, something that will give me pleasure, power and control right now. Jesus states: My kingdom is not of this world.

The Letter to the Hebrews keeps this reality before us. It is not some external reality that God wants. God wants our hearts and our beings, completely. God wants us to seek Him and to do His will. Not only that, God’s plan is a plan of happiness that the world cannot offer.

The Gospel of Luke today presents us the Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. This is such a gentle scene and reflects the very best of humanity. One cousin going to help an older cousin as she prepares to give birth. Each will give birth to an important religious figure. It is when we serve others that we encounter Jesus Christ. It is when we give ourselves in love that we find that we are loved. It is the simple and ordinary that we find contemplative delight.

Let us live these last days of Advent, waiting, serving, loving and trusting that the Lord is transforming our lives in Christ Jesus.