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 C)

Dec 22, 2024

198

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Prophet Micah (5:1-4a)

Thus says the Lord: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.

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

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19)

(R) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth. Rouse your power, and come to save us. (R)

Once again, O Lord of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted, the son of man whom you yourself made strong. (R)

May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong. Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (10:5-10)

Brothers and sisters: When Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, "As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God." First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in." These are offered according to the law. Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will." He takes away the first to establish the second. By this "will", we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

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

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (1:39-45)

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."

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

Homily

On this Fourth and the last Sunday before Christmas, Luke, in his gospel, draws our attention to two women, who came together to share their story and by doing so, they came to a greater understanding and awareness of God's plan in their lives. Both women were cousins and found themselves pregnant in the most unexpected, strange circumstances. One was an elderly woman named, Elizabeth, the wife of a Jewish priest, Zechariah. She had been barren and was unable to bear children, was now six months pregnant in her old age and would later give birth to John, who would be God's prophet and forerunner to Christ, the Messiah. The other was a young woman, called Mary, engaged to marry a carpenter, also pregnant, but uniquely by God's Spirit without sexual relations with any man, and who would later bear a child who would become the Messiah.

Both the pregnancies had been foretold by the prophets and were announced by the archangel Gabriel. After her encounter with Gabriel and her consent to become the mother of God's Messiah, Mary travelled on foot seventy miles from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to visit Elizabeth. It is incredible to think of what this encounter must have been like. Here were two women who had been called by God to bring forth children into the world who would transform the history of mankind. John would lead the way for Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who would save all people from their sins by shedding His blood and effect reconciliation between God and mankind.

From the narrative we understand that the meeting of these two women was indeed a joyful and unique event because Mary's arrival at the house of Elizabeth produced a spiritual upheaval. Much later this would upset the social order and create political disruption as well.

Luke recounts when the two women greeted each other, John, the unborn baby in Elizabeth's womb jumped for joy as an expression of acknowledgement of the presence of the unborn Saviour in Mary's womb. It is moving that the very first person to recognize Christ as God's Messiah was an unborn baby. Elizabeth articulated her feeling with the familiar words that we say in the "Hail, Mary" prayer: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." Filled by the Holy Spirit, she also recognized Mary as "the mother of my Lord," Luke (1:43). By doing so, she expressed her faith that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Elizabeth further went on to honour Mary for her faith and trust in the Lord by saying, "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." Because Mary had trusted God, even though her mission of bringing the Messiah into the world was beyond her comprehension.

What is the message for us?

Today's gospel leads us to an important reflection on Mary's role in God's bringing of salvation to the world. God chose to become man in order to save us from our sins. But He did not force Himself onto humanity. He did not disrespect our human freedom in order to do so. Rather, He invited Mary to be the mother of the Messiah. And because she said "yes," God became incarnate. As we approach the celebration of Christmas, we can echo the words of Elizabeth in saying that Mary is the blessed among women and give thanks for the blessings we have been given, especially the gift of salvation through her Son Jesus.
In keeping with the main players in the Bible, these women were not of noble birth, neither rich nor powerful, nor gods, nor did they possess any magical or mythical powers. Throughout the Scriptures God makes ordinary people extraordinary by the purposes into which He invites them, and so too with these two women. They recognized that they had been chosen by God and that they should be obedient and faithful to Him so that all the things are accomplished. Even with all the uncertainty, anxiety and fear they experienced, both trusted the paths that God had laid out for them. They boldly yet with humility accepted the mission of bearing their children. They said a resounding "Yes" to the roles they were being asked to play in God's saving plan, without reservation, placing all future challenges into the hands of God where they belonged. Hence, both of these women stand out as wonderful examples for us. When God calls us to do things that seem beyond our ability or that are legitimately impossible to handle on our own, let us, like Mary and Elizabeth, face the unknown with courage and faith. May we pursue the mission, remain faithful and be committed to His plan even in the face of uncertainty so as to accomplish what God has for us and for the world.
Let us not just be preoccupied with our own blessings from God but also recognize God's goodness in the lives of others and joyfully and wholeheartedly celebrate it regardless of the circumstances in our own lives, as Mary and Elizabeth did.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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