December 21, 2014 - Fourth Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 11

Israel's first King, Saul, has fallen from grace and God has replaced him.  King David has finally, by God's grace, overcome King Saul and all his enemies are dead.  At this point, King David has a pang of conscience.  He is living in grand palace.  But God is living in a small wooden box, the Ark of the Covenant, which is covered by a cloth tent.

So, King David wants to prepare a place for God.

Reading 1 2 SM 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16

When King David was settled in his palace,
and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
“Here I am living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God dwells in a tent!”

In the OT Jewish system, there was a group of men whom God had selected through whom He would communicate to the Jews.   Kings would consult these men before they did anything in order to discover God's will.  Nathan was one of them and he was King David's confidante.  Therefore, David told him what he was planning to do.

Nathan answered the king,
“Go, do whatever you have in mind,
for the LORD is with you.”

And Nathan advised the King to go ahead because God loved King David and supported him in all his plans.

But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?’
“It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.

But God told Nathan to go back to King David and tell him that God would build a house for David, but that David should not build a house for God.

And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.”

The house which God would build for King David would be permanent.  I don't think King David was aware that the house to which God was referring is the Catholic Church.  The House of God which was established by Jesus Christ, the Son of David.

Responsorial Psalm PS 89:2-3, 4-5, 27-29

R/ (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness. 

R/ For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.” 

R/ For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.”
R/ For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

God kept His promise to Abraham and to David.  He brought up a Son from their loins who would bring His people to the promised land.  That Son of Abraham and Son of David, is Jesus Christ.

Reading 2 ROM 16:25-27

Brothers and sisters:
To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen.

To God be the glory, forever and ever! Amen!

"What is the mystery kept secret for long ages?" you might ask.  I think its a reference to Jesus Christ the incarnate God.  The reason I say this is because the Early Church Fathers said that Jesus Christ was hidden in the Old Testament and revealed in the New.

Jesus Himself said, "You search the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. (John 5:39)."

Alleluia LK 1:38

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

ANGEL GABRIEL
1. an angel is a messenger of God. That is what the word, angel, means.
2. this angel, Gabriel, is one of the four angels that stands before the throne of God.

WAS SENT FROM GOD
1. God sent this angel to Mary.
2. Since this angel is a messenger of God's, God sent Him to deliver a message.
3. Therefore, the angel was not speaking on his own, but was communicating God's message to Mary.
4. If we skip down to verse 28, we see that this was a message of praise (i.e. blessed art thou).
5. Therefore God praised Mary through His Angel.

That is very significant.  Protestants wonder why we "make such a big deal about Mary".  Well, we make a big deal about Mary because God first made a big deal about Mary.  It is God who, through the Angel, is praising Mary.  There is no higher praise than the praise of God!  Its a big deal!