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| Rembrandt's Dream of Joseph |
This fourth Sunday of Advent is also a particularly festive time of year for children excited for the arrival of Santa Claus and Christmas Day. The symbols of this season can invite us to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas: Emmanuel, God-with-us.
A TREE: the green color symbolizes hope. AN ANGEL: angels sang the glorious news of the Savior’s birth. Look for the good in yourself, in other people in every situation in life. A STAR symbolizes the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah, a Savior. Let’s keep our promises. A CANDLE: the candle symbolizes Jesus Christ, the light of the world, who scatters the darkness all around us. SANTA symbolizes good will. Be generous with what we have.
In Sunday's word of God, Isaiah describes the Hebrew King Ahaz in a quandary: mighty Assyria threatens his kingdom. Should he join an alliance? Or trust in God’s providence?
Isaiah begs him to “ask for a sign from God.” The king refuses. So, Isaiah prophesizes that God will give a sign. A woman will bear a child, Emmanuel or “God-with-us.” Isaiah's point: God never reneges on His promises. Eight centuries later, early Christianity saw the prophecy fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, whose name means “he will save.”
Paul in his letter to the Roman Christian community, introduces himself as an apostle called to deliver a message from God: the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus Christ is gloriously alive, and because He lives, we live, forever. The community, Paul emphasizes, is beloved by God and called to be holy, consecrated to continue the ministry of Jesus until He comes again with glory at the end-time.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Mary is pregnant with a child by the power of the Spirit. Joseph faces a dilemma: it's logical to conclude Mary must have committed adultery, punishable by death according to custom. But Joseph is not about to let that happen. Then, he has a dream, an overpowering experience of the Divine, that convinces him to take Mary as his wife.
Joseph and Mary especially are two people of extraordinary trust in God’s love. Somehow, the power of God broke into Mary’s life, asking her to believe that she would bear within herself a special child. And because Mary was so attuned to God's presence in her daily life, she replied with great faith: may it be it done to me as you say.
These words are easy when things go our way; but not so easy when what is happening is the opposite of what we want. Such turns in life can test our trust in God's unconditional love.
But Mary’s “Yes” gave us the Christmas story: the greatest love story in the history of civilizations.
This Wednesday, remember: Christmas means not simply God in Bethlehem centuries ago, but God within us today. That is the reason for this holy season: to celebrate God's presence in the Christ child and through this God-man, God's presence within us.
