Homily: 4th Sunday of Advent – Cycle B
Friends, as we celebrate today the 4th Sunday of Advent—which,
this year is literally the “twilight hours” of the Advent season, as the great feast
of the Nativity of Our Lord begins later today—we encounter once again the archangel
Gabriel, who, apart from John the Baptist, is one of the most prominent figures
of the Advent season. These two feature
so prominently in this season because it is a season of preparation and their
messages are those that help us to prepare: the archangel announcing what is coming
and the prophet calling to prepare for the One who is to come. We’ve heard much about John the Baptist these
last two weeks, and so perhaps today, as we wrap up our Advent preparations (pun
intended), we can focus on the archangel and on what he has to teach us.
Now, the word “angel” comes from the Greek word “angelos,” which means “messenger,”
“envoy,” or “one that announces.” Thus,
in its most basic meaning, and “angel” is “one who announces a message”. Of course, the most important messages are
going to be sent with the most important messengers. Therefore, we see that it is Gabriel, an archangel, who is sent to carry God’s
most important message to Mary. For it
was Gabriel who was sent to Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, to announce the
conception of John the Baptist; and it was Gabriel who was sent to Joseph tell
him that he should take Mary into his home, in spite of the strange circumstances
of her pregnancy; and it is also thought to be Gabriel who spoke from the tomb
of Jesus, announcing that “the one they were looking for was no longer there; but
that he was risen.” Scholars have argued
that this evidence indicates that Gabriel is indeed the “archangel of
archangels” (ranking above Michael and above Rafael). There is no need to argue that point, however,
because it is not Gabriel’s particular abilities
that make him great, but rather it is the greatness
of the message that he carries that sets him apart.
Gabriel’s message, as we’ve heard in today’s Gospel reading,
is that the beginning of the fullness of time is at hand. He is announcing that, after generations of
waiting, the Promised One of God is about to appear. (Let’s pause and consider that message for a
moment, realizing that this makes Gabriel an evangelist as well… one who brings good news!) /// You know, the
amazing thing about the Annunciation is that so many things had to line up for
it to happen. Kind of like a
supernatural game of chess, God had been waiting for all of the pieces to line
up so that he could enact his perfect plan for the salvation of mankind. Ever since the first sin of Adam and Eve, God
had been moving among us, revealing himself and his plan for the salvation of
man to us and encouraging us to learn to walk in his ways. He waited as our sinful inclinations caused
us to drift away from his plan and then he waited as his grace slowly led us
back into it, so that, in his perfect timing, his favored one, Mary, could be
born free of sin by an extraordinary act of grace and thus be ready to receive
the message that the angel Gabriel would bring to her on that glorious day.
The angels, too, waited anxiously for God’s perfect plan to
come to fruition (I mean, inasmuch as angels can wait, being spiritual beings that live outside of time). And so, when it came time for this great
message of the Incarnation to be delivered to Mary, the angel Gabriel arrived
in haste (like an evangelist) to deliver it.
When he greeted her, Gabriel did not do so as if his message was some
sort of subpoena proclaiming that she must comply with God’s will. Rather, his greeting came with an
acknowledgement of her sublime dignity as one highly regarded by God. Mary, on her part, received the message with surprise,
seemingly unaware of the dignity that God had bestowed upon her. And while certainly the message that God’s
only Son was to become man and be born of Mary is the primary message that Gabriel carried, it seems also that he carried
a secondary message of significant importance, and it is this: “O lowly
handmaiden of the Lord. Rejoice! You
have been highly regarded by God.”
This angel, who already knows the blessing of being regarded by God, was
eager to bring this message of great joy—this good news—to Mary. And so we
see that the message itself is a blessing, a blessing that opens the door for
an even more abundant blessing: the Word become flesh in Mary’s womb. ///
In many ways, we are experiencing another time of waiting,
much like the ancient Hebrews experienced as they were waiting for the coming
of the Messiah. Jesus Christ, the
promised one of God, has come and has brought us salvation through his life,
death, and resurrection. He ascended
into heaven and waits now, until the fullness of time comes to completion—that
is, until all of the pieces of God’s wonderfully mysterious plan come into
place—when he will come again to usher in a new heaven and a new earth and to
call his chosen ones home. This
anticipation of his coming is what we have been remembering in these past three
weeks of Advent. As we turn now and
focus our attention on our remembrance and celebration of Christ’s first
coming, we find ourselves with a perfect opportunity to cooperate in putting
into place those pieces that will lead to Christ’s second coming.
You see, part of our calling as Christians is to be angelos: to be angels of the Lord. There are many people around us who have
never heard the message that Mary received from the angel Gabriel: that they
are highly regarded by God. Yet, I
suspect that every day we are given the opportunity to give that very message
to someone. In the book of Genesis, it
tells us that “God looked at all he had made and said, ‘It is very good.’” Therefore, in a special way, because each of
us is made in the image and likeness of God, God looks on us with favor and
invites us all to receive a message similar to the one Gabriel carried to Mary:
“Hail, favored one! God desires to dwell
in you, if only you would let him.” Now,
I don’t believe that I exaggerate when I say that each and every day God gives
us a chance to say to someone, “You are important here. Your life matters, because God has a
beautiful plan for your life.” Perhaps
even now we are aware of someone who needs to hear that message. If so, then I invite you to make a commitment
right now to carry that message to them in these days of celebration. If not, then I invite you to pray today and
throughout these next days that God will reveal to you the one to whom he wants
you to bring this message: the joyful message of Emmanuel, God’s favor with us. And when you feel the prompting of the Holy
Spirit—in other words, when you feel moved to share this message with someone
that you encounter over these days—I encourage you to respond just like Mary
did: Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum,
Let it be done to me according to your Word.
My sisters and brothers, as we complete our preparations to
celebrate our remembrance of the coming of Christ—that is, as we prepare not
only our homes, but our hearts as well—let us also heed our call to be angels
of God’s favor to those around us. If we
do, then our joy on Christmas Day and throughout the Christmas season will be not
only the joy of knowing our Savior has come, but also the joy of knowing that his
return to us is close at hand: a return to us made present even now, here in
this Eucharist.
Given at St. Patrick Parish: Kokomo,
IN – December 24th, 2023
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