Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A – Dec 18, 2016
Readings: Is 7:10-14; Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1-2,3-4,5-6; Rom 1:1-7; Gospel Mat 1:18-24.
Theme: Lessons from the Emmanuel & Joseph Effect!
Friends in Christ, the joy of last Sunday being Gaudete or Rejoice Sunday has led us to the last Sunday of Advent. The four Sundays of Advent have given us four weeks of intense preparation for the Lord’s nativity. Today, the Prophet Isaiah (Is 7:10-14) brings us glad tidings that a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son who shall be named Emmanuel. Isaiah’s prophecy is amplified in the gospel (Mat 1:18-24) which presents the circumstances leading to the saviour’s birth culminating in naming him, Emmanuel – much like Isaiah’s Emmanuel which means, God with us. What do we make of this? Well, our reflection will be based on the Emmanuel-Effect in the light of God’s omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience while drawing lessons from the Joseph-Effect.
1. God’s Omnipresence: The last Sunday of Advent puts before us the Emmanuel-Effect. It reveals God’s abiding presence among us. There is no doubting the fact that God is ever present with us. Of course, he is not physically present as he was over two thousand years ago in Bethlehem where he was born but his spirit is at work in the Church and among believers. That is not all, we are reminded not to lose sight of God’s omnipresence in the sacraments – the visible presence of God in the Church which gives us new life, provides us with the bread of life, confirms our faith, grants us healing, forgives our sins, raises ministerial priests to shepherd the Church and unites man and woman to adorn the domestic Church with the jewels of offspring. We must allow his presence to be felt in our private and public lives. We must also be seen to live out the Emmanuel-Effect as we approach Christmas.
