By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, CSSp
4th Sunday of Advent (Isaiah 7:10-24; Romans1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24)
Dear friends in Christ,
We are close to the actual celebration of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a birth like no other, for several reasons. His coming was widely prophesied. Various generations waited for him with eagerness. His birth took place in an extraordinary manner, and those who encounter him are filled with gratitude. Today is the fourth and last Sunday of Advent; a time for preparation for the great feast of Christmas. The readings invite us to develop the right attitude to life situations and to adopt principles guided by true love of God and neighbor in our decision making.
The first reading presents us with King Ahaz. He was the son of Jothan and the father of Hezekiah. Ahaz became king at the youthful age of 20 and was disrespectful of the ordinances of the God of Israel. He got involved with occultic practices to the extent of making his own son walk through the fire of Moloch, copying the abominable pagan practice of the Phoenicians. Troubles soon befell him. His kingdom (Judah) was attacked and annexed by the Edomites and the Philistines. When the king of the great Assyrian Empire of the time terrorized all the nations in the region, forcing them to pay tribute, the Kings of Syria and Israel joined forces to stop him. But Ahaz would not join them. They, therefore, decided to unseat Ahaz and replace him with an Aramean. Finding himself hard-pressed from all sides, Ahaz sent men of noble birth with gold and silver taken from the Temple of God to make a pact with the Assyrian King. Offering the pagan King of Assyria treasures from the Temple of the God of Israel was a great abomination. It was while this situation of unrest threatened Jerusalem that the prophet Isaiah approached the faithless King Ahaz with the proposition mentioned in the first reading.
Situations have ways of impinging on our faith. It is sometimes difficult to hold the fort in the face of imminent danger. That is when faith and reason seem to contradict each other. Ahaz got himself into trouble. But instead of turning to God, he went further away from God by seeking the solution in the wrong place. God was actually saying to him, ‘ask me for a sign that will guarantee you that I am God, the only one that will save this city – and not the Assyrian king.’ Though Ahaz had no faith in God, God was not willing to abandon Ahaz and his people. He is a faithful God. Even if we are faithless, he remains faithful….(2 Timothy 2:13). Isaiah assured the King that God himself will give him a sign: a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call him name Immanuel. Immanuel means “God-with-us”. Paul noted in Romans 8:31 “If God be for us who can be against us?” and speaking about the troubles that afflicted him, Paul declared that we always have victory through Jesus (Romans 8:37). God’s faithfulness to Ahaz manifested in the latter’s own lifetime. He lived to see the kingdoms that threatened Judah laid low while Judah enjoyed prosperity.
Joseph, on the contrary, gives us a glimpse of what it means to be God-fearing. We see him in the Gospel faced with a difficult situation. He was upright and law abiding: a righteous person. Heartbroken to see that his betrothed was pregnant prior to their marriage, and knowing that this would result in the death of Mary should it be known that he was not responsible for her pregnancy, he decided to take the middle course: divorce her secretly, thereby saving her life and protecting her family from shame. In our present society, one would expect some kind of revenge for such a “betrayal”. But such was not Joseph. He is a reminder to us that while observing laws and maintaining personal prestige is important, the salvation and welfare of the other (inspired by true love) is more valuable. As Paul noted in 1 Corinthians 13, love is the only thing that endures. God is love (1 John 4:7).
The dilemma of Joseph became even more complicated when the angel told him in a dream that the pregnancy was a divine action, something unheard of in his days. In those days, dreams were viewed as avenues for divine communication. Joseph believed the message he got from the dream and acted accordingly. There was no crisis between his faith in God and his rationality.
Juxtaposing Joseph and Ahaz highlights some important points for consideration on this last Sunday of Advent. Ahaz, unlike Joseph, was impious and therefore got himself and the people of Judah into so many religious, social, security and economic crises. His egocentric approach to the problems he encountered made him make the wrong decisions which took him farther from God. As we approach the birth of Jesus during these last days of the year, it is important to review the principles that have guided our decisions over the year. Are these principle in conformity with Christian principles? Otherwise, we could be professing one thing while doing another.
Joseph placed the welfare of Mary over and above his ego and other personal considerations. Guided by love, he was able to understand the spirit of the law of Moses and the ultimate desire of God for humanity. Love is the driving force of the incarnation (God taking flesh in Jesus Christ). John 3:16 puts it clearly: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
As we conclude our preparation for welcoming the newborn king, Jesus Christ, let us be reminded that the ultimate desire of God is to be with us forever. Isaiah gave the virgin birth of Immanuel (God-with-us) as an assurance to Ahaz. The angel of God repeated the same to Joseph in the Gospel reading of today. What can be more beautiful than God being with us at all times?
During a visit to a dying old man, the man said to me: “I had everything I needed. I had a good life, good job and enjoyed the company of many friends. When I became sick, my friends gradually ceased to visit. My wife had died earlier, but I have a son in America.” Then he sobbed. I could see great pain in his face. When he lifted his eyes, he said, “But here am I dying lonely. I have not heard from my son for so long.” It then became clear to me that nothing can replace the presence and care of a loved one, especially in times of difficulty.
God never deserts us. His desire to be with us led Him to take flesh and be born of the Virgin Mary. Besides, Jesus’ last words to his disciples on His ascension were, “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20).” It is for us, therefore, to welcome Him into our lives and allow Him operative space through a life of love and obedience to His words.
May the birth of Jesus Christ bring many blessings to us all. Amen.