Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 7:10-14; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans 1:1-7; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 1:18-25
It is still Adventide, with only a matter of days remaining before we celebrate the Nativity of the Lord on December 25th. We continue to “wait upon the Lord,” a major theme of the days leading up to Christmas, but perhaps even more so during these final days of Advent.
We are being called to respond to the Lord, who guides our lives, and who desires that we know from where we have come and to where we are going. God is our origin and goal, our beginning and our end, the Alpha (first letter of the Greek alphabet) and the Omega (last letter of the Greek alphabet).
These truths we hold dear and are never to forget, intended to guide us in how we live our days and years on earth.
The first reading for Mass this fourth Sunday of Advent is taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. We have been hearing Isaiah read to us throughout Adventide, with his special emphasis on the coming of the Lord to release his people from captivity, and even more importantly, to make possible the flourishing of all people in God alone, not in human constructs or promises. God alone suffices, as Saint Teresa of Avila put it so succinctly.
The lesson from Isaiah today emerges from a time when the people of God were losing faith and panicking, engulfed in crisis, as invading armies were at their gates, threating to plunder and to depose their king. The words of Isaiah in the midst of such calamity are clear: “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm” (Isaiah 7:9).
Isaiah announces to the people that their land shall indeed be reduced to ruins, but despite this reality, God will save the people and protect them. In short, the House of David shall endure. Furthermore, a son would be born to a virgin, whose name is Hezekiah, destined to ascend the David’s throne. God’s mysterious action is precisely the protection his people need. It is God alone who is capable of saving all those who place their trust in him.
In Isaiah’s prophesy we also find the prefiguration of the annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the coming of Christ, the Son of God, through Mary’s virginal conception by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus appeared in time born in Bethlehem and heir to the promises made to David and his line. The promises were brought to perfect fulfillment in Jesus, but in a manner never expected beforehand. In the case of Jesus, the promises were manifest and ratified by his Resurrection from the dead and Ascension in heaven forty days after his rising.
Advent is a time of quiet anticipation of the fullness of life in Christ, to which we are all called. This season can, of course, be hectic with all the preparation for the festivities: baking, decorating and shopping, to mention the most obvious. But the real “reason for the season” is the Lord himself. May we take the time to reflection on what is really important in life and what will last.
In the words of the late Biblical scholar, Father Carroll Stuhlmueller, of the Order of the Passion:
“This season summons us to prayer, study of the Bible, gentleness, clarity in our decisions, faith beneath all our thoughts and actions. Yet as we wait with the best of our human efforts, God will take us by surprise with a fulfillment of divine wonder. God alone saves—but only when we have done our best serenely in the spirit of faith.”
(from: “Biblical Meditations for Advent and the Christmas Season,” Paulist Press, 1980, page 182)
Maranatha, the Aramaic word for “Come, Lord, come!”
Abbot Christian Leisy, OSB