On this fourth Sunday of Advent, God’s Word leads us to the very heart of the mystery of Christmas: God comes to dwell in our humanity, and he does so in a humble, unexpected, and discreet way.
In the first reading, Isaiah proclaims a striking sign: “Behold, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,” that is, God-with-us. This sign is not a display of power; it is the gentle presence of God drawing near his people in the midst of fears and threats. This text also reveals that King Ahaz refused to ask for a sign in order not to tempt the Lord. For the believer, it is the Lord Himself who will give a sign, since the signs we ask for can sometimes be tainted by selfishness. The sign from the Lord remains full of love and goes beyond our imagination: the moment of Emmanuel’s birth, “God-with-us,” through the Virgin Mary.
Following this line, Psalm 23 (24) echoes the coming of the glorious Lord, the King of glory, whose is the world and all its wealth, the earth and all its inhabitants. It is an invitation for us to be a people who do not surrender their souls to idols while awaiting the Lord’s coming, and who earnestly seek the Lord with a pure heart and innocent hands. At the same time, the psalm proclaims: “Behold, the people who seek your face, Lord.” Advent has taught us to seek this face, to enlarge our longing for God, and to purify our hearts so that they become a welcoming dwelling. Let us be filled with the imminent presence of the Savior.
The second reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (1:1-9) emphasizes that the Apostle of the Nations reminds us that Jesus is both true God and true Man. Descended from the line of David, He shares in human nature in every respect except sin. Through Him we have a divine filiation that gives us grace and the apostolic mission to spread the name of Jesus to the whole world and to bring the obedience of faith. We have thus received grace and the mission to bear witness to it.
As for the Gospel from Mt 1:18-24, it opens us to the generation of Jesus, a way of showing us that Christmas is at our door. This Jesus who takes flesh is the perfect fulfillment of God’s promise, acting through the Holy Spirit for his beloved people. The Lord saves this people by the birth of Jesus from the womb of the Virgin Mary pledged to Joseph, son of David and man of silence. The Evangelist invites us into Joseph’s inner silence. Everything seems to collapse for him, but in the depth of night, God speaks to him. Joseph agrees to welcome an event he does not fully understand. He chooses to obey, to trust, to open his life to a plan greater than himself. And it is through this quiet “yes” that Emmanuel can enter our history. Thus, the Lord tells us as he tells Joseph through the angel: “do not be afraid.” There is thus a need for great assurance in God, since the events that happen in the life of the believer are to bring to completion the word of the Lord spoken through the prophet. It is therefore important, for God’s beloved, to keep the faith on this Sunday, for “behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.” Let us remain awake and today ask for the grace of a ready heart like Joseph, the grace of a trust that allows God to act. Then the Lord will be born in our homes, in our relationships, in our world which so greatly needs peace.
Sr. TCHOUGNIA NELLY CONSTANCE, OP
