Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream... (Mt 1:20a). Such was his intention when, behold, the angel

Transcription

1 Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream... (Mt 1:20a). Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream... (Matthew 1:20). 4 th Sunday in Advent December 19, 2010

2 First Reading: 2 Kings 16:5-9; Isaiah 8:5-8; 7: Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel came up to wage war on Jerusalem; they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time the king of Edom recovered Elath for Edom, and drove the Judeans from Elath; and the Edomites came to Elath, where they live to this day. 7 Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up, and rescue me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me." 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria. 9 The king of Assyria listened to him; the king of Assyria marched up against Damascus, and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir; then he killed Rezin. *** *** *** 5 The Lord spoke to me [Isaiah] again 6 Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and melt in fear before Rezin and the son of Remaliah; 7 therefore, the Lord is bringing up against it the mighty flood waters of the River, the king of Assyria and all his glory; it will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks; 8 it will sweep on into Judah as a flood, and, pouring over, it will reach up to the neck; and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel. 10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. 13 Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

3 Second Reading: Romans 1:1-7 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Gospel Reading: Matthew 1: Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife.

4 Homily We needed to expand the first reading a bit or else its relationship to the other readings will not be apparent. The story of Ahaz, who was King of Judah, the Southern Kingdom of the Jews, was a descendant of David, but he was weak and corrupt. During his sixteen year rule, he sacrificed his infant son by fire to a pagan god, Moloch (2 Kings 16 3). Around 735 BC, Judah was about to be invaded by Assyrian armies, and on another front, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was in a coalition with Syria to attack Judah. Now this put Ahaz in a tough spot, having to decide which way to turn. Israel and Syria could overtake him or he could turn to Assyria for help, or he could listen to the prophet, Isaiah, who had said that if he trusted Assyria, they d sweep through like a raging river and overtake the Northern Kingdom. Isaiah was not only concerned about maintaining Judah s integrity but in awaiting the fulfillment of God s promise in the coming of Emmanuel, the ideal king to come. Remember, also, in this era, that proper political power and religious authority were seen as coming from the same source, authorized by God. Isaiah told Ahaz that he would have an heir to replace the boy that he killed. So how did Ahaz respond to the prophet s advice to trust in God s providence rather than to align himself with worldly rulers? He says that he would not put God to the test. Ahaz declined to wait on the Lord because he knew he had already lined up help from Assyria and chose to trust his own strategies. God had provided a sign that a child would be born who would help the Davidic succession. Remember, that Ahaz had killed a son who was heir to the Davidic throne. While Christians have interpreted Isaiah 8:14 as prophetic of Jesus birth, most likely historically, the child was perhaps Hezekiah, the promised son of Ahaz. Ahaz was told that the child s mother was pregnant and that the child would be a boy (I Kings 16:3). Jewish tradition didn t consider Isaiah s sign of a young woman (later translated parthenos -- virgin -- in the Greek Septuagint version which was used by the evangelists) as referring to Mary. We should note that the prophet was thinking only of the immediate political situation with Judah and her neighbors. Isaiah was certain that God would soon intervene in Judah s favor and assure the continuation of the Davidic line. There were only two good kings of Judah after David who might be referred to as Emmanuel God is with us, (or, God is with His people) and Judah s people would have seen in Hezekiah a renewal of God s promise to David. Ahaz himself, however, seems to have had more trust in making war, and as a result Judah suffered its prophesied fate of defeat. The Gospel writer of Matthew saw beyond Isaiah s prophecy and the Emmanuel here is Jesus, God s new revelation of himself. We don t know how much of the Matthew story is historical or factual, but we know that his message and intent was to demonstrate Jesus as the fulfillment of Jewish hopes in God s promise that God comes to us still. In the Gospel reading, Joseph has a dream to accept Mary as his spouse. The story of Joseph and his dream may be in part symbolic as it reminds us of another Joseph, the Joseph of the Exodus story. Joseph first dreams to accept Mary. He later has another

5 dream, that the child is in danger, so he and Mary go to Egypt just as the Joseph of the Exodus did. King Herod was a threat to the child Jesus and sought to kill all male children below age two, just as the Egyptian Pharaoh sought to kill all the Hebrew babies. In the latter case, Moses was spared, and Joseph was able to keep Jesus safe. While many of the Christmas stories focus on Mary, Joseph is a very important part of this story. He should be contrasted with Ahaz, who decided to rely on his own control and tactics to try to gain his desired result. In contrast, we see Joseph relying on something quite different. He accepted the surprising and unexpected message of God to him in a dream even though it meant dealing with a myriad of tumultuous life circumstances. It meant trusting in the unknown and an uncertain future.. Remember, that the angel in the dream told him not to be afraid, that is to be confident in following God s direction. And it would require courage to follow God. In that era, it would not have been normal for one man to marry a woman with child by another man, as it would be interpreted as taking something that belongs to another. And, on the other hand, if such a man didn t step forward, then his own honor is damaged. By law he could return her to her father, but this would expose her to death. And if she s not a virgin, he would not be able to display publicly the tokens of virginity (Deuteronomy 22:13-21) on his wedding night, thus exposing himself to shame. Mary herself headed for the hills to visit Elizabeth. Joseph was told in a dream that it was through the Holy Spirit that the child had been conceived. But remember, the events being described are before the Christian era, and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as Christians came to think of it was still a work in progress. In Jewish thought, the Spirit of God had several functions. One was to bring truth into awareness. Another was to create in the beginning of the world, and also to carry out God s work in re-creation, an ongoing continuing creative process. It is worth considering the process that Joseph goes through in his life. Receiving God s wisdom and direction through dreams was an honored process throughout biblical history, and in fact, is even today viewed as a valid conduit of understanding. The field of psychoanalysis has used dreamwork, and other psychologists also use dream analysis as a means of self-understanding. Of course, then and now, we may convince ourselves of meanings that are not accurate. The science of dream work has evolved in ways that provides validation. And in our own spiritual development, there are a number of means by which we can learn how to discern and in prayer receive assurance that we are not relying on whim or imagination. Dreams are an outflow of our brain and psyche which may give us important information but it does not usually give us literal truth. There is a time-tested process where we may receive life-changing information through a number of means, through what St. Ignatius of Loyola called discernment. We ve been talking during Advent about taking time, waiting, and growing into full maturity of spiritual development learning not to rush to conclusion, but to allow full awareness to unfold. During discernment we examine our own internal reactions ( movements of spirit ) and especially during lectio divina [prayerful guidance received during reading scripture], contemplation, meditation, and prayer. As we develop a regular discipline of

6 time devoted to meditation and prayer, we can find the roots of trust of God s purposes for us within ourselves just as Joseph did. Joseph opened himself to a mystery which led to his life s work. We have arrived at the place in Advent where we consider God s plan for us. The Emmanuel of Advent and Christmas is the God who is with us, who is actually among us as we share in our lives together, work together to place ourselves in the service of God s plan. The holy child. By the Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost over the bent world broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings. Brightly caring, watching, always at hand, warming the world with love. God with us. God, be with us, be born in us soon, soon. Quote: Gerard Manley Hopkins from God s Grandeur; poem from St. Louis University Liturgy website