December 22, 2013

Fourth Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 10
Reading 1 IS 7:10-14

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”

The prophet Isaiah is speaking the word of God get Ahaz. When it says the Lord spoke to Ahaz, it means that Isaiah is telling Ahaz what God said.

Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.

Then Isaiah proclaimed the prophecy of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, born of our Lady, St. Mary.

Responsorial Psalm PS 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (7c and 10b) Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.

R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.

In this Advent season, we are waiting for our Lord to enter into his creation. Everything is the Lord's. Therefore let everything and everyone give the Lord glory and praise.

Reading 2 ROM 1:1-7

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,
but established as Son of God in power
according to the Spirit of holiness
through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is a mystery here about the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus Christ. There were two types. The prophecies of the suffering servant. And the prophecies of the Son of Man coming in the clouds to bring about the final judgment. All of these things were prophesied in the Old Testament about Jesus Christ.

Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith,
for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is a mystery here about the body of Christ which we are. We will belong to Christ are in Christ and members of his body. It is a total mystery then we are one with the son of God.

Gospel MT 1:18-24

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.

St. Joseph did not know how Mary had come to be pregnant. Therefore, to avoid scandal, and to avoid that she should be punished, he said about to divorce her privately.

Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.

However, St. Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, came to him in a dream and explained to him that the child in her womb was brought about by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

And further, St. Gabriel revealed that the child to be born was the son of God.