Fourth Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7,16-18; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25
It was the 8th c. B.C.E., King Ahaz was on the throne of the southern kingdom, Judah. All was falling apart. Isaiah, the prophet, did not sugar-coat what was about to happen. The “young woman… with child” was his wife. They were going to name their expected son, “Immanuel”, God is with us. The child Immanuel was destined to face hard times, when he would “eat curds and honey” because all the agriculture and commerce would be destroyed. Tough times were coming for the nation that was sent into exile in Assyrian waves in 721, again in 597, and then again in 587 B.C.E. The Assyrians dominated the region for 250 years due to their skill in forging weapons and armor of iron, while their neighbors could only forge bronze. Through these terrible times, God would be with them.
The author of Psalm 80 was a contemporary of King Ahaz and Isaiah. He pleadingly wrote –
Restore us, O God of hosts…
how long will you be angered
despite the prayers of your people? …
You have made us the derision of our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
show us the light of your countenance
and we shall be saved.
They prayed and pleaded for their own well-being, to be saved by God, to be saved from their misery.
Contrast the appeals of the 8th c. B.C.E. people with the opening words of St. Paul’s letter to the small house gathering in Rome–
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle…
we have received grace and apostleship to bring about
the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles…
He, too, was living in tough times, when the evil empire was Rome, rather than Assyria. Yet, St. Paul wrote about God’s grace and apostleship. In the midst of terrible times, he knew Immanuel, he knew God was with him, and in that knowledge, he sought to evangelize, to bring the Gentiles into faith.
Remember that in New Testament times all who were not Jews were called Gentiles, the outsiders. Those outside the faith were called “goy”. They were unclean because they lived outside Mosaic law. It was forbidden for Jews to eat with the goy. St. Paul, in those terrible times, broke through that ancient barrier. St. Paul also knew that he was “a servant of Jesus Christ”. Rather than pleading with God to be saved, he was serving God as an apostle to share the Good News, the goodness, the Gospel of God, with the outsiders, the Gentiles.
This brings me to Mary and Joseph, and our Gospel reading for today. We know Mary’s Magnificat proclaims–
…for you [God] have looked with favor on your lowly servant…
Likewise, following the dream encounter with an angel —
…[Joseph] did as the angel of the Lord commanded him…
Like St. Paul, Mary and Joseph sought not their own salvation, their own removal from life’s challenges. Instead, living in the grace of Immanuel, God with us, they sought to be participants in the drama of God’s love.
May we, when living in challenging times as people of faith, draw on our rock- solid awareness of God’s presence among us, Immanuel.
May we, when living in challenging times as people of faith, engage fully as God’s servants, seeking to do God’s will in this portion of God’s earth, as it is done in heaven.
Amen
