Deacon Tom Anthony

Fourth Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 12

Reading 1 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.
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.
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.

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.

Reading 2 Heb 10:5-10

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.'"

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.

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 1:39-45

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.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with 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 how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
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."

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 Jesus came into the world by the Will of the Father so that we all could be redeemed through His love. The only thing standing in the way of receiving this love is us and our propensity to do what we want instead of what God wants. We were created out of His Love and that love is an intricate part of us even though we don’t recognize it at times. Just because we don’t feel it does not mean that it is not there. His Love permeates throughout all of creation and is a testament to who He is: our God and creator of the universe. God’s Love, coming from Him and defining who He is, cannot be overcome or defeated. With God’s Love nothing is impossible. We can do all things. As the Psalm says,

“If God is with us, who can be against?”

This statement should serve as the foundation of our faith and should also be the preeminent thought in our mind when we say and do all things. As it is with most things, the more we do things with the understanding of God’s Love the more we will be accustom to its presence in our lives. We will then be able to recognize, acknowledge, and feel it. We will be capable of comparing our existence first without the influence of His Love and then with its company. Let us ask ourselves a question: “Are we better off with or without God’s Love in our lives?” The answer is obvious and really doesn’t need the input of others to figure it out.

The Season of Advent is almost over. Our time of contemplation of what is to come is almost complete. Over these next few days a transition of sorts will take place. No longer should there be an expectation but more of an acknowledgement of where we stand regarding our relationship with Jesus Christ. Compared to where we were a year ago can we say with confidence that we have grown? Has our faith become more important to us? Do we know that Jesus loves us completely? Answering these questions truthfully can offer a challenge or a validation of sorts. We can always do better but we can also do much worse. Sometimes just trying is enough because any attempt at getting closer to Jesus bears fruit. It is up to us how much fruit we will allow to ripen.

Representative in this season have been four words: hope, peace, joy, and love. Loving God and letting God love us brings us to a deeper understanding of the other three. We wait in expectation for the Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. An inner peace can come as we begin to understand that whatever obstacles that we face in our lives will be defeated by the mere presence of Him who created us. There is joy in knowing that He is with us now and that we will be with Him forever. All this leads to the perfect love that is pouring over us even as these words are read. Jesus Christ is the same as yesterday, today, and forever. Love never fails and love always conquers everything else. What greater love is there than that which created us, protects us, and sacrificed everything for us?

Deacon Tom