This Sunday's Message
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Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 19, 1999
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!" Nathan answered the king, "Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you." 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. 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.'"
Second Reading--(Romans 16:25-27)
Now 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.
Gospel Reading--(Luke 1:26-38)
In the sixth month, 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, favored one! 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.
Pastor's Message: Angel
Could it be that we never see angels with beards because men who get to heaven actually make it only by a close shave? But surely, if humankind is just a little lower than the angels -- then the angels had better reform fast! Alas, perhaps the hardest lesson for a married woman to ever truly learn is that only an angel should keep-on harping.
MY DREAM IS YOURS (1949) stars Doris Day who plays an aspiring singer trying to make it big singing on the radio. One of the tunes Doris croons is a very cute little number called I'LL STRING ALONG WITH YOU: "You may not be an angel / Cause angels are so few / But until the day that one comes along / I'll string along with you / I'm looking for an angel / To sing my love song to / And until the day that one comes along / I'll sing my song to you / For every little fault that you have / Say, I've got three or four / The human little faults you do have / Just make me love you more / You may not be an angel / But still I'm sure you'll do / So until the day that one comes along / I'll string along with you."
In this Sunday's gospel, the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she was to be the mother of the Son of God. "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; hence, the holy offspring to be born will be called Son of God" (LK 1,35). This encounter between Gabriel and Mary has long been known in the Church as the Annunciation -- the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would be the Mother of God. Some people think Mary had absolutely no say in the whole matter. To the contrary, Mary actually had all the say. For always, God leaves the course of our lives up to us. Never-ever will God force us to know, love and serve Him in this world or to be happy with Him forever in the next. That is totally a matter of free choice on our part. So then, the Redeemer of all humankind -- Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of man -- was freely conceived and freely nurtured in the human womb of a young Jewish woman named Mary and, subsequently, was freely born of her. This Jesus brought together in one person two distinct natures -- one divine and one human. And this fantastic union of the two natures will never again cease to be. Truly Jesus' free intention for doing this unique and wonderful thing was to redeem humanity from the mortal wounds of sin and death, and so to bring all people of all times into personal intimacy with His Heavenly Father. Thus, this Jesus has freely revealed to all human beings that God is their Father, as well.
And so, our gospel on this Fourth Sunday of Advent speaks of the angel Gabriel being sent by God to a girl named Mary. "Rejoice, O highly favored daughter! The Lord is with you" (LK 1,28). And God is also with us. A truth we should never doubt! But, God still leaves the direction of our lives to our own free volition. And so, when we enter eternity, we will be completely cognizant of just how much God was present in us during our earthly sojourn, and how much He influenced us to do good and to avoid evil. Prudent are we then to freely string along with Him all life through!
Fr. George Griffin