Homily: 4th Sunday of Advent – Cycle B
Friends,
as we come to this fourth week of Advent, we come very close to the celebration
of Christmas. We also come close to the
end of the calendar year. It’s slightly
disheartening to acknowledge that we’ve been living in these “unprecedented
times” for nearly a year. We have
endured lockdown, various restrictions on our communal life and the life of
worship, very unexpected losses, and an unprecedented fear of contact with
others. In many ways, much of what we
have been able to rely upon has been turned upside down. Thus, as we approach Christmas and the turn
of the calendar year, it seems natural that we are looking for an “unprecedented
promise” of restoration and renewal.
In
our first reading today, King David received an “unprecedented promise”. David had been through a lot. From his days as a young shepherd for his
father, Jesse, to his years as a general in King Saul’s army, to his taking
Saul’s place as king over the unified tribes of Israel, David found himself to
be the beneficiary of God’s providential care.
Now that he was established on his throne in Jerusalem, he looked to
build a house worthy of the presence of God—a temple—as a sign of thanksgiving
and honor to God who had provided for him so generously. David was informed, however, that God had a
different plan: that instead of David building a house of wood and stone for
God, God would build a royal house for David, built of David’s descendants, and
that this house (this dynasty) would endure forever.
This
was truly an “unprecedented promise” as no king before or after David would
receive such a promise from God. We know
that God is a god who keeps his promises and so we know that this promise isn’t
hyperbole: that is, an exaggeration.
Rather, it is an enduring commitment to David and his descendants: a
commitment that only an all-powerful God could guarantee. David was humbled by this promise and he
turned his heart to praise of God. This
song of praise is recorded for us in the Responsorial Psalm that we heard
today.
In
our Gospel reading, we heard how the Blessed Virgin Mary also received an
“unprecedented promise” from God. Far
from the glories of the throne of King David, which ruled over a nation that
had won victory over all its enemies, Mary, in the little-known town of
Nazareth, receives a strange, yet powerful message from God. She has been “highly favored” by God. Why?
It isn’t said. She will conceive
a child even though she would not have relations with any man. How?
By the unprecedented overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. This was a strange message, indeed. But it continues. This child will be a great ruler over the house of David and he shall be called,
“Son of God”. His rule over the house of
David will be eternal, meaning that there would no longer be a dynasty of
descendants, but rather that this king will be an everlasting king. A truly unprecedented promise, indeed. How could we know it is true? The barren woman, Elizabeth, has conceived a
child: an unprecedented occurrence proving that the impossible is possible for
God.
Mary, while unable to know
exactly what would unfold in the future, nonetheless understood that this kind
of revelation often brought hardship to the one who received it. Still, she gave her consent. With that, the unprecedented event of God
taking on human flesh occurred and the very fabric of the universe changed! One of the places that I have visited that
have had the most powerful impact on me has been the Basilica of the
Annunciation in Nazareth. It is a
beautiful basilica and a wonderful monument to the Incarnation that took place
there in Nazareth. Tradition holds that
it was built over the place where Joachim and Anne (Mary’s parents) had their
home. In the grotto below the main
church, is a little chapel which tradition holds is the very room in which the
archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary.
There is an altar in this chapel and on the altar is inscribed the words
from Saint John’s Gospel: “Verbum caro factum est”, which is Latin for, “the
Word was made flesh”. Except there is an
extra word added to the inscription on the altar. There it reads, “Verbum caro hic factum est”:
“Here the Word was made flesh”. Perhaps you all can imagine that to look at
the place where the all-powerful God took on human flesh would be an
awe-inspiring moment. Let me assure you,
it was. It made clear to me just how
unprecedented was the promise that God made to Mary.
This unprecedented promise and
the unprecedented outpouring of salvation that has come through its fulfillment
is what Saint Paul and all of the generations of Christians have
recognized. Therefore, in today’s second
reading, we heard his doxology of praise that God, who had hidden this promise
in mystery throughout many generations, has made it known and brought it to
fulfillment. This is the same doxology
of praise that today, we Christians must proclaim.
My friends, Advent calls us both
to proclaim this unprecedented truth and, therefore, to look for a further
unprecedented manifestation of God in the midst of these unprecedented
times. We must be
"angels"—that is, "messengers"—of this truth and of this
call to expectant waiting. By our
proclamation of praise, we will turn hearts to God so that his house, eternally
established on the throne of David through his Son Jesus, may continue to grow
until the unprecedented revelation of that same Jesus Christ at the end of
time.
Therefore, through the grace
that we receive in this Mass and through our coming celebration of Christmas,
may our joy manifest itself in such praise that it will bring light and peace
to a world that desperately needs it.
Our Mother Mary is our example and our guide. May she lead us to this praise and welcome us
into the home of her Son.
Given at Saint Patrick Parish: Kokomo, IN – December 20th,
2020
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