4th Sunday of Advent
Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran
On this last Sunday before Christmas, the Liturgical readings speak about the preparations that God made for His Son to be born among us, and one of us. We wait for his coming into the world and into our lives. During this advent, we have been thinking of Mary bearing Jesus in her womb. We remember Jesus growing silently and invisibly in Mary’s womb.
The first reading from the second Samuel, speaks of King David, the peace and comfort he had found in Jerusalem, and how he wanted to build a temple for the Ark of God. The Lord spoke to Nathan the prophet and told him that David did not need to be in charge of everything, but was reminded that God himself had been with him every step of the way to peace. God himself will take care of his house, like everything else that David had succeeded in doing. We too, are not in charge of our successes, we should let the Lord lead us and prepare us for the work in his house.
In the Second reading, St. Paul reminds us that each one of us is the temple of God. Through his teaching, God makes known to us His mysteries. God spiritually prepares the minds of the believers who hear the proclamation of Jesus. It is Jesus who revealed God’s mystery that was kept secret for centuries and which has now been revealed to His people.
In the Gospel, Mother Mary is described as “full of grace,” filled with God’s favor and graciousness, something which she has in no way earned. God prepared her to be a worthy dwelling place for His Son. At the same time, Mary exercises her right to freedom of choice. A request was made of her and she freely responded with a wholehearted “Yes!” “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me.” Mother Mary’s “Yes” changed the world. Her obedience to God’s call changed the lives of all of us.
Obedience is not popular in today’s world. When people want to be independent, obedience is understood wrongly: the word obedience is associated with weakness. True obedience requires courage because it can involve going against social expectations. When Mary said yes and desired that God’s will be fulfilled in her, a great event took place in history. The Son of God took human nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. The Angel had told her that it would be the savior of the world. He would be the King but the nature of kingship was not clear to her. However, she understood one thing clearly: the person whom she would carry in her womb would change the world.
With courage and generosity, we need to say “yes” to God. True obedience comes from the choice we make to follow God’s will. We need the courage to be obedient because sometimes it can go against social expectations. True obedience also aims at putting oneself in the service of God.
We need to learn God’s plan for our lives. The Good News in today’s Scripture message is not only that God is making provision for the salvation of His people, but also that He has a plan for each person. In many cases, our work for God seems rather ordinary, but each ordinary task that we carry out fits into God’s plan in a way that we cannot yet understand. God desires not only the skill of our hands and talents but also the love of our hearts. The Babe in the Manger reminds us of what God has done and is still doing for us. What are we doing for Him in return? Let us show our gratitude to God by living as true followers of Christ.
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