HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year A)

Dec 22, 2019

977

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (7:10-14)

The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!" Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6)

(R) Let the Lord enter; He is the king of glory.

The Lord's are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it. For He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. (R)

Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? or who may stand in His holy place? One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. (R)

He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a reward from God his savior. Such is the race that seeks for Him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (1:1-7)

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised previously through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, the gospel about His Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (1:18-24)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

One Sunday morning many years ago, a priest went around the village to call people to come to Mass and happened to pass by the home of one of his church members who was working in his backyard. The priest asked him, "Can't you hear those bells calling you to church?" "Eh, what's that?" asked the man. The priest repeated himself, "Can't you hear those bells calling you to church?" "I'm afraid you'll have to speak a little louder, Father!" said the man. So, the priest shouted, "Can't you hear those bells calling you to church?" "I'm sorry, Father" said the man, "I can't hear you because of those bells."

Yes indeed, worldly distractions and loud noises around us often tend to drown out God's voice but He keeps calling us and His voice keeps getting louder. The Bible tells us that God formed human beings from the dust of the earth in His own image and gave them a special place and dignity among all the works of creation, Genesis (1:27). He willed that the human beings would be in perfect relationship with Him, live in peace with each other, and care for the rest of the creation. Sadly, when the human beings disobeyed God and turned away from Him, their relationship with Him was broken. Yet God did not abandon them. He chose Abraham, because of his righteousness, in order to make him a source of blessing to the whole of creation and to bring back all mankind into relationship with Him. He made a covenant with Abraham and renewed it with his son, Isaac and grandson, Jacob, promising to bless, guide and protect them and their descendants as long as they obeyed Him, Genesis (15:18).

Furthermore, through Moses He gave them laws to govern and direct their lives, Ezekiel (20:25). But regrettably, Abraham's descendants kept breaking God's laws and violating the covenant and suffering grave consequences. This happened in spite of God sending numerous prophets to guide and warn them, 2 Kings (17:13-19; 18:12); Nehemiah (9:26) and Isaiah (24:5). Finally, God Himself became a human in the person of Jesus Christ and called all human beings to a new relationship with Him. Indeed, the church, which we are also part of, is the assembly of those who have heard God's call.

Having heard God's call, we have already responded by receiving baptism, which is an outward sign of entering into a special and personal relationship with God, which is to know and to love God. In fact, this was God's primary call in our lives. But there is also a secondary call - a call to actions or tasks; a call to carry out the work God has appointed us to do. From the moment we began our relationship with God, He calls us in different ways to do different things at different times in our lives but always with the same purpose: to serve Him. But, too many of us simply cannot hear God's calls due to all other loud noises in and around us which drown out His voice.

Today's second reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Roman Christians over two thousand years ago is a clarion call for individual believers and the church to be constantly aware of the saving relationship with God and share the fruits of this relationship with others. The letter to the Romans is considered to be one of the most powerful letters of Paul. Many Bible scholars even see it as a theological masterpiece and the greatest book in the New Testament. Because in the letter, Paul explains many of the doctrines of the Christian faith, like salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, Romans (1-3), the church is the Body of Christ, Matthew (12:4-8) and as well as gives instruction for everyday living, Romans (12:1-15:13). The primary theme of the letter is the gospel, which means "good news". The good news is that God's plan of salvation is available to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ, Romans (1:16-17). And that good news is a gift that cannot be kept to oneself but to be shared with others.

Unlike many other churches, the church in Rome was not founded by Paul himself. At the time of writing of this letter, he had never been there personally, although in Chapter 16, he does indicate that he had acquaintances and that he was preparing to visit there. Perhaps because of this, Paul began the letter with a lengthy introduction of himself and a comprehensive explanation of his mission. Furthermore, because this church was predominately Gentile, with there being more Gentiles than Jews, Paul stressed to the Christians their indebtedness to the Jewish heritage both in the Scriptures and in the person of Jesus who was born and lived as a Jew in the land of Israel.

Paul wrote, "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord", Romans (1:1-4).

Paul, here, introduced himself to the Roman Christians with a threefold description:

He introduced himself a "slave of Jesus Christ". Lest we forget, Paul was proud of his Jewish heritage and his Roman citizenship, Acts (23:6); Philippians (3:5) and Acts (22:28). But here he gave of himself a contemptuous description and voluntarily placed himself in the ranks of the doulos which, in Greek, means "bond slave" or "someone who had sold himself into slavery to another person".

To be a slave meant complete submission and total obedience to the master. By calling himself a slave of Christ, Paul did not only show his total submission to Christ but also put himself in the prophetic tradition. Many Old Testament figures, especially the prophets, considered themselves servants of God, through whom God always spoke to His people. Thus, Paul made it clear to the Roman Christians that as a servant of the Lord, he did not seek glory and honour to himself but to his Master, Jesus Christ.
Paul introduced himself as an "apostle". The word "apostle" comes from the Greek word apostolos, which means "one who is sent out", and has its roots in the Jewish tradition, that is, the Hebrew word shaliach, meaning "messenger", "agent" or "emissary". Accordingly, Shaliach is a person who is sent with authority to carry out a very specific task for the person who sent him. Thus, in identifying himself as an apostle, Paul stated clearly that he did not assume the office by his own authority, but he was called to it.
Paul introduced himself as someone "set apart". To "set apart" simply means to separate or isolate something. In the Bible, it means to designate or separate something for a special purpose or use. In effect, Paul was saying that he was separated for something special, that is, "the gospel of God". The word "gospel" literally means "good news". In the New Testament, it refers to the good news of Jesus Christ. But Paul referred to it as "the gospel of God" probably to emphasize that God is the source of the gospel and that it is for both Jews and Gentiles. On the whole, Paul presented himself as the one who was divinely authorized to share with them the gospel of God.

And then, in the next few verses, Paul describes the gospel of God:

This is the gospel "which God had promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scripture", Romans (1:2). At the time of Paul, a collection of ancient Hebrew books was considered as the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith, which modern scholars call the Hebrew Bible and we, Christians, call the Old Testament. So, referring to the promises of God in those writings, Paul clarified that the gospel was not a new message made up by him or anyone else but rather an old message deeply embedded within the Scriptures to which he, as a prophetic messenger prepared by God, is newly commissioned.
This gospel concerns a person, that is, Jesus Christ, who had both a Divine origin, as He was God's Son, and a human origin, as he was a descendant of David. Jesus was recognized as the Son of God in a number of ways. For example, at Jesus' baptism a voice from heaven proclaimed, "You are my Son", Mark (1:11) and Matthew (17:5). While announcing the upcoming birth of Jesus to Mary, the angel declared that He would be called the Son of God, Luke (1:35). Demons or "unclean spirits" recognized Jesus as "the Son of God", Mark (3:11) and Matthew (8:29). Apostle Peter acknowledged Jesus as "the Son of the Living God", Matthew (16:17). So also, in the Scriptures, Jesus is referred to as "the son of David" many times in different ways. For example, David was promised that one of his descendants would occupy his throne and rule forever, 2 Samuel (7:12-13).

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, the birth place of King David, Matthew (2:1-2). Many people called Jesus the "Son of David" while he was here on the earth, Matthew (9:27; 12:23; 15:22 and 20:30). So, Paul wanted to affirm that Jesus Christ was God's Son, who in his earthly life was born into the Royal line of King David, Romans (1:3). However, he pointed out that Jesus was designated Son of God in power only after he rose from death to new life. This highlights that it was not His teachings, healings, miracles, or even His sacrificial death on the cross but rather His resurrection from the dead that established Jesus as the Son of God, Romans (1:4).

Paul then explained further what his mission is. He wrote, "through Him", that is, Jesus Christ, he and others "have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of His name, among all the Gentiles, among whom you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy", Romans (1:5). Grace is a divine favour manifested in various ways. Paul had already acknowledged his encounter with Christ and his calling to be an apostle of Christ on the Damascus Road as the work of God's grace which included the forgiveness of his prior activities as a persecutor of Jesus' followers, Acts (8:3). And now, he recognized God's hand in giving him and others the unique mission of the apostleship to all the Gentiles, including those who had been already called to belong to Christ, the Church, through faith and Baptism, and to live holy lives, so that they too might believe in and obey God.

Furthermore, Paul indicated that they received the mission through Jesus Christ and for His holy name. "Name" refers to all that God is in His being, specifically God's glory and reputation. In other words, Paul made it abundantly clear that the Lord Jesus Christ is the means and the focus of the proclamation of the gospel.

Finally, Paul closes his lengthy introduction with a greeting of "grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ", Romans (1:7). There are several things which we need to take note of here:

Paul uses the same greeting as part of the introduction in many of his letters.
The greeting is really Paul's prayer that God would grant grace and peace to them.
Paul underscores that both God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ are the source of true grace and peace.
Paul combined the standard Greek greeting charis, meaning "grace", and the traditional Hebrew or Jewish greeting shalom, meaning peace, to create a distinctively Christian greeting. The greeting of peace was, and still is, the usual greeting among Jews. By extending a greeting of "grace" and "peace", Paul reminded them of their allegiance to God the Father who, out of great mercy and love, offered forgiveness and spiritual healing to all sinful mankind through the atoning sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross.

What is the message for us?

We all have already responded to the primary calling of God and become followers of His Son Jesus Christ through baptism. But too often, we miss out on hearing God's secondary calls either because we seek Him only when we are desperate, usually when we are going through a crisis or facing a major problem or whenever we willingly choose to live in a world with no shortage of both internal and external distractions.

Many times we may have ignored or disregarded God's call to get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, hatred, malice, jealousy, selfish ambition, slander in our lives or to be kind and compassionate or to forgive others, just as God forgives us, Ephesians (4:31-32) and James (3:14-16) or to love and serve others or to outreach and share the gospel of Jesus beyond church walls. But the good news is that God is always wanting to talk to us and to hear from us. He is constantly speaking to us.

Today is one of the days we are reminded once again that, even if we have not heeded or obeyed His call in our life in the past, that call is still there. God continues to speak to us through a song, through a conversation with a friend, through Scriptures, in a sermon, and through daily events. All we need to do is to be alert always and pay attention and respond to that call because the secondary callings are just as important as our primary calling and they are inextricably connected to our primary calling to be in relationship with God.
Just as Paul saw himself as a "slave of Christ" and faithfully carried out the great commission of His Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom He belonged, we must also see ourselves as slaves of Jesus Christ and completely submit all our actions, attitudes and desires to His Lordship.
We must not forget that we have not only been called to follow Jesus Christ but also to proclaim the gospel of God. Paul proclaimed courageously to all people far and wide, beginning at Jerusalem and continuing all the way to Rome that Jesus Christ was both a "descendant of David" as well as "the Son of God", specifically, that Jesus was both human and divine. In the same way, we must not also be afraid to proclaim to all unbelievers that Jesus is the eternal Son of God but became a human being in the line of King David for the sake of reconciling us back to God.
We must remember that we have been set apart, by our baptism, for the purpose of being used by God. Yes, indeed, God's mercy, has separated us from the corrupt ways of the world so that we might think, speak and live differently; that we might show the great and marvellous love that God has for us and that we might live a life that is holy and righteous before Him - a life that is not conformed to the ways of this world. However, as it is not going to be easy, we "should always pray and not give up", Luke (18:1).
The gospel of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead, now provides "grace and peace" for those who have an obedient faith. We are among those who have answered the call of the gospel and are now walking in the obedience of faith. We can therefore hold onto God's promises and be confident that He will grant us His grace and peace always.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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