December 23, 2012

Fourth Sunday of Advent

An Advent devotion.

Lectionary: 12

Reading 1 from the Holy Book of Micah
Mi 5:1-4a

Thus says the LORD:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.

This is the great prophecy of the coming of the Lord which was revealed to the Magi when they were following the star:

Matthew 2:4-6
King James Version (KJV)
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
and the rest of his kindred shall return
to the children of Israel.

This is a prophecy of the birth of Christ but also of the birth of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Heavenly Church, the Body of Christ, wherein all who love God will be gathered at the end of the world.

He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
and they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace.

This is an explicit reference to coming of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Redeemer.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19.

R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

This is a beautiful Psalm which I don't remember ever having read before.  It evokes great imagery of God, turning towards His people, remembering us and coming to our  rescue.  Which of course, then evokes the coming of Our Lord in the flesh.

Reading 2 from St. Paul's epistle to the Hebrews
Heb 10:5-10

This is an excellent follow-up to the Psalm we just read.

Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"

God coming in the flesh to rescue His people from their sins.

First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in."
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will."
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this "will," we have been consecrated
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

He fulfills the first covenant and replaces it with a greater Covenant wherein only one Sacrifice is necessary, the pure oblation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
Lk 1:39-45

We just read this yesterday, but it is so beautiful, who can get tired of it?

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.

After receiving the message from the Angel Gabriel, that she was to give birth to the Son of God, Mary rushes to the aid of her aged cousin Elizabeth, whom she was informed had conceived a child.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

Unbeknownst to her, Mary brought with her a gift, a shower of the Holy Spirit.  Literally, St. Elizabeth and her son, St. John, are baptized with a shower of grace from the Holy Spirit.

cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And thus inspired by God, St. Elizabeth is the first amongst many generations of human beings to proclaim the blessedness of Our Lady.  Giving us an example to follow.

And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

She is also the first human being to address her by her Title, Mother of God (i.e. Mother of my Lord).

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

And she confirms what the Church has always taught.  That she and her son were filled by the Holy Spirit at the sound of Our Lady's voice.

Sincerely,


De Maria