Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Isaiah 7:10-14
Jerusalem is being attacked by two neighboring kings when Isaiah is commanded by God to go and speak to the Jewish King Ahaz cautioning him to have faith that God will protect Jerusalem. Ahaz is hypocritical in both his faith and his response which is interpreted as cynical when he says “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”
Isaiah follows with his prophetic vision explained well in the footnote from the NAB: “The sign proposed by Isaiah was concerned with the preservation of Judah in the midst of distress (cf Isaiah 7:15, 17), but more especially with the fulfillment of God's earlier promise to David (2 Sam 7:12-16) in the coming of Immanuel (meaning, "With us is God") as the ideal king (cf Isaiah 9:5-6; 11:1-5). The Church has always followed St. Matthew in seeing the transcendent fulfillment of this verse in Christ and his Virgin Mother.”
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
Psalm 24 is a processional song. It recalls that God is the great creator and he calls his people to be faithful. It asks the question who can come into his presence and answers only those who are sinless (completely reconciled to God). They who achieve that beatified state will receive the reward of eternal life from the savior. It focuses on the character of the one who worthily seeks God and the one who is worthy to come into God’s kingdom and stand before him. We are answered; “He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.”
Reading II Romans 1:1-7
St. Paul introduces himself to the Christian churches in Rome with this opening message from his letter. In typical fashion, the introduction includes a statement of purpose (apostolate of the Gospel of Christ) and a profession of faith.
Gospel Matthew 1:18-24
Following the genealogy, the short story of Mary’s virginal conception through the Holy Spirit and how God intervened to insure that Joseph also heard his call. This section of the Nativity Narrative from St. Matthew’s Gospel tells the story of Joseph’s dilemma. He is required by Mosaic Law to file a petition of divorce in front of witnesses. He has resigned himself to this course of action when he has a dream in which an angel came to him and told him of the origins of the child Mary bore. For his part, Joseph accepted the message and did as the Lord commanded.
Reflection:
We have been given all of these scriptural readings in our liturgy within the past twelve months. Then have occurred at different times and with different significance but each of the readings have been presented, some multiple times (The psalm and St. Matthew’s Gospel). They come together today to tell a story of God’s plan being fulfilled. What is remarkable is that none of the individuals involved today had any relationship to each other, yet all were integral in causing God’s plan of salvation to come together. Isaiah, probably thinking he was delivering a message to his King so the people would take heart that God was with them, predicted the birth of Jesus, born of a virgin, called Emmanuel, the Messiah.
Following Isaiah by hundreds of years comes St. Joseph, of the line of King David as Ahaz was, selected by God to foster His only Son who was to be the salvation of the world. Finally we have St. Paul who comes as an Apostle of the Son of God to bring the message of hope, predicted by Isaiah and fostered by Joseph to the world. We stand today in awe of God’s wondrous works.
The baton is passed to us as we gather ourselves for the final rush to the Nativity of the Lord. We take the message of peace and joy which is encompassed by the Kingdom of God into a world that prefers the darkness of greed, hate, and hedonism. Like a scene from a vampire movie, we take the cross of Christ to dispel the evil of the world an bring hope to those without hope and love to the unloved.
Always it has been the same. God called Isaiah to deliver a hard message, he called Joseph to take on a heavy burden based upon faith, and he hurled St. Paul to a hostile world. We reach out for the hand of the infant Jesus knowing where it leads and pledge once more to walk with him to the Kingdom of God.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture today is “The Nativity of Jesus” by Caravaggio, 1609
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Isaiah 7:10-14
Jerusalem is being attacked by two neighboring kings when Isaiah is commanded by God to go and speak to the Jewish King Ahaz cautioning him to have faith that God will protect Jerusalem. Ahaz is hypocritical in both his faith and his response which is interpreted as cynical when he says “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”
Isaiah follows with his prophetic vision explained well in the footnote from the NAB: “The sign proposed by Isaiah was concerned with the preservation of Judah in the midst of distress (cf Isaiah 7:15, 17), but more especially with the fulfillment of God's earlier promise to David (2 Sam 7:12-16) in the coming of Immanuel (meaning, "With us is God") as the ideal king (cf Isaiah 9:5-6; 11:1-5). The Church has always followed St. Matthew in seeing the transcendent fulfillment of this verse in Christ and his Virgin Mother.”
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
Psalm 24 is a processional song. It recalls that God is the great creator and he calls his people to be faithful. It asks the question who can come into his presence and answers only those who are sinless (completely reconciled to God). They who achieve that beatified state will receive the reward of eternal life from the savior. It focuses on the character of the one who worthily seeks God and the one who is worthy to come into God’s kingdom and stand before him. We are answered; “He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.”
Reading II Romans 1:1-7
St. Paul introduces himself to the Christian churches in Rome with this opening message from his letter. In typical fashion, the introduction includes a statement of purpose (apostolate of the Gospel of Christ) and a profession of faith.
Gospel Matthew 1:18-24
Following the genealogy, the short story of Mary’s virginal conception through the Holy Spirit and how God intervened to insure that Joseph also heard his call. This section of the Nativity Narrative from St. Matthew’s Gospel tells the story of Joseph’s dilemma. He is required by Mosaic Law to file a petition of divorce in front of witnesses. He has resigned himself to this course of action when he has a dream in which an angel came to him and told him of the origins of the child Mary bore. For his part, Joseph accepted the message and did as the Lord commanded.
Reflection:
We have been given all of these scriptural readings in our liturgy within the past twelve months. Then have occurred at different times and with different significance but each of the readings have been presented, some multiple times (The psalm and St. Matthew’s Gospel). They come together today to tell a story of God’s plan being fulfilled. What is remarkable is that none of the individuals involved today had any relationship to each other, yet all were integral in causing God’s plan of salvation to come together. Isaiah, probably thinking he was delivering a message to his King so the people would take heart that God was with them, predicted the birth of Jesus, born of a virgin, called Emmanuel, the Messiah.
Following Isaiah by hundreds of years comes St. Joseph, of the line of King David as Ahaz was, selected by God to foster His only Son who was to be the salvation of the world. Finally we have St. Paul who comes as an Apostle of the Son of God to bring the message of hope, predicted by Isaiah and fostered by Joseph to the world. We stand today in awe of God’s wondrous works.
The baton is passed to us as we gather ourselves for the final rush to the Nativity of the Lord. We take the message of peace and joy which is encompassed by the Kingdom of God into a world that prefers the darkness of greed, hate, and hedonism. Like a scene from a vampire movie, we take the cross of Christ to dispel the evil of the world an bring hope to those without hope and love to the unloved.
Always it has been the same. God called Isaiah to deliver a hard message, he called Joseph to take on a heavy burden based upon faith, and he hurled St. Paul to a hostile world. We reach out for the hand of the infant Jesus knowing where it leads and pledge once more to walk with him to the Kingdom of God.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture today is “The Nativity of Jesus” by Caravaggio, 1609
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