Fourth
Sunday of Advent
It’s easy to imagine how
King David felt in today’s first reading. He is settled in his palace and no
longer has any reason to fear his enemies all of whom have been overcome. We
can picture him sitting back in his lounger, watching the game of the week on
TV, and being waited on by his many wives. Then, the thought comes to him: what
about the Lord? Maybe I should throw an extra twenty into the collection
basket, or maybe even make a contribution to the church renovation fund.
Actually, David thinks of building a house for the Lord,
Here I am living in a house of cedar,
While the ark of God dwells in a tent!
We can understand David’s
desire to give back after receiving so much from the Lord but he doesn’t really
understand. The Lord replies bluntly. “Should you build me a house to live in?”
It’s not just that the Creator of everything can’t be confined in a house or
temple; it’s also David’s incredible chutzpah in thinking that the Lord needed
anything from him. The Lord reminds the young King of all that he has received
and of all that he will receive.
I will raise up an heir after you, sprung from your
loins,
And I will make His kingdom firm.
How different is the story in
today’s gospel account of the appearance of the angel Gabriel to the virgin
whose “name was Mary.” St. Luke is the only evangelist to give an account of
the Annunciation. Obviously, he was not
present when the angel appeared to Mary, but Luke was a good historian. Where
did he get his information? It’s possible that he was merely relating an
account of what the early Church believed, but I like to think that Luke talked
to the Blessed Mother herself after the death and resurrection of her Son.
St. Luke is very careful with
words and he especially likes to use proper names. Look at the first few lines
of today’s gospel. We see Gabriel, Galilee, Nazareth, Joseph, David, and Mary.
These names are all very important. In particular, scholars tell us that Mary
or the Hebrew Miriam means “the exalted one.” The angel confirms Mary’s
elevated status when he calls her “full of grace.” Scholars have pointed out
that the angel’s greeting implies in its recipient “the attitude of being so
open to God that all of His love can stream unhindered into one’s life.”
Indeed, no one else in the
Bible receives such a stream of beautiful salutations as does Mary. “The
angel’s praise, in fact, echoed St. John’s words about Christ: ‘full of grace
and the abode of God’s glory.’” So we see that the Lord is not going to dwell
in a tent or house or a temple. The Church had always regarded Mary as the
dwelling place of the Lord, the true Ark of the Covenant. Gabriel says to her,
Behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
And you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High,
And the Lord God will give him the throne of David…
What is the significance of
the name, Jesus? We know that throughout their history the Jews have been
reluctant to use the name of God. Whether this was due to reverence, awe, or
fear is hard to say. Instead of naming God, they chose to refer to His activity
in the world. Thus the word, "Jesus" literally means, as Matthew
tells us, God saves. Similarly, the name, Emmanuel, means God is with us. The
birth of the Child will mean that God has entered our world in a special way.
He will become one of us and from that day forward we will be able to call Him
by his real Name, and even call Him brother. He can no longer be viewed as
distant or unapproachable. We cannot imagine Him as some angry old man in the
skies waiting to throw lightning bolts at us when we step out of line. God is
Love, and Love comes into the world at Christmas.
Just like the Jews of
yesteryear we too need signs. Maybe there is nothing special about them. Maybe
we just fail to recognize them. Maybe, we can just point to the signs expressed
in Charley Brown's Christmas song.
Christmas time is here.
happiness and cheer,
fun for all that children
call their favorite time of year.
Snowflakes in the air,
carols everywhere,
olden times and ancient rhymes
and love and dreams to share.
Sleigh bells in the air,
beauty everywhere,
yuletide by the fireside
and joyful memories there.
Christmas time is here;
we'll be drawing near;
oh that we could always see
such spirit through the year,
such spirit through the year.
Merry Christmas.
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Reading 1. 2 Samuel 7: 1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Reading II. Romans 16: 25-27
Gospel. Luke 1: 26-38 (Hail, full of grace!).
