HOMILY FOR 4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT--12/19/10--BELIEVING THE PROMISE

 

FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT–12/19/10  

 

 by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

 

 

READINGS: Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24

I.  Upheaval in Nazareth

A. The very first Christmas was not a peaceful time. In Nazareth, great gossip and whispers of scandal were still sweeping the streets of that town. True, Joseph had married Mary, but everyone knew that she was pregnant before the wedding. And there were even rumors that Joseph was not the father. A veneer of respectability had begun to cover the Holy Family, but still, people talked.

B. Funny thing about the promises of God–very seldom are they ever crystal clear; very seldom do they turn out as we expect. Take the people of Israel. That very first Christmas, the people were longing for a Messiah. Will he come this year? He’s supposed to be from the line of David! Will he free us from Rome, do you suppose? Will his coming make my life better? Those were the feelings of the people. Yet they couldn’t see that right under their noses, God was doing the spectacular amidst the ordinary.

C. All the prophecies came down to this–a virgin is to conceive and bear a son and his name shall be Emmanuel which means "God is with us." There was Mary, a virgin, visited by an angel and after all those years of waiting, all the hope of millions of people rests on whether she will say yes to God. She does and the prophecy is fulfilled. But so many people wanted to doubt it.

1. They doubted it in Nazareth. Pregnant by Joseph, pregnant by an unknown man, maybe, but a virgin birth? Not a chance. The people were skeptical and we can understand their reluctance to believe, because we have a hard time too. 

2. Some scholars who study the Bible doubt the virgin birth really happened. Some famous and powerful Christians harbor doubts–that’s how hard it is to believe that God would do such a thing as actually fulfill his promises.

3. What do you think? Did the virgin birth really happen? Is Jesus really without a human father?

D. One of the things that Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have pointed out is that the problem with our times is this terrible scepticism and uncertainty that God could ever act in our time or whether there even is a God. Both Popes point out that this is what has led to Europe forsaking God and is leading America to do the same. Think about our friends and relatives who have left the Catholic Church. Have they really replaced their Catholic faith with anything? Or are they just wandering searching for something and never finding anything? This is the time of the year when we can touch their lives with our belief that God has really come into our time and place to save us all.

II. Trusting In God

A. To those who think the Virgin Birth is just a lie shout out to them: But it’s not a lie! It’s true; it’s real; it happened!" Though we can’t pick up a family picture album and show the Holy Family at every stage of their lives, we can show them the Church. With all its weaknesses and sinfulness, the Catholic Church is still a beacon of hope and a refuge for those who suffer. We claim to meet Christ each week in the Eucharist and consume him at Communion so that we may become part of him and he alive in us. And all the good the Church has done for two thousand years is based on what happened in a stable long ago.

B. The virgin birth tells us that God is with us. That tiny baby, lying in a manger, is no ordinary child. On him the hopes of all humanity rest. All this Advent, we have prepared to welcome the feast of Christmas. Look at Mary, the pregnant virgin on her way to Bethlehem. She is serene, peaceful, and full of wisdom. Within her is the hope of the world. Soon she will give the Christ to all people. She’s on her way to Bethlehem to give us the same gift she gave those in her day–the gift of Emmanuel, "God with us".

C. It’s hard to break through cynicism and despair. But we’ve got people we love who need to hear this message of hope. Christmas opens the door to the stable and tells us there is a place for us, for all of us, there at the manger where the Christ Child sleeps. Why stay out in the night, in the dark, in the fog of confusion and despair. This Christmas, pull someone out of the night and into the light of the Catholic Church where they will meet Christ and be at home again.

 

Comments

[Dragonfly]

The 1st Christmas gives the perfect example of the path our lives should live. When the Lord gives us a task we need to see it through. Through our faith we will know when we have done all he asked. We should take no comfort in fear, knowing with prayer he will open our hearts and arms to those we need to reach, for his glory, if we just listen as Mary did. Pure of heart, Pure of soul. Helping our Lord bring us the truest and most perfect Christmas gift. LOVE Share it not just today or during this special time of year. Share it always, the church can be cold and distant place to those who are lost, or live in fear, but if we start with Love than we start with our LORD. No stronger or warmer place can be found. Merry Christmas!