FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT Readings of the day: Is 7:10-14; Ps 23 (24); Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24.
The passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah (cf. 7:10-14) requires a few words of context. News have just reached Jerusalem that the army of Damascus and the army of Samaria have joined forces in the mountains of Ephraim and are marching against the small kingdom of Judah. Faced with the looming danger, "his (the king's) heart and the hearts of his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken before the wind" (Isaiah 7:2). But the prophet does not tremble because he knows that God is able to save his people. He goes to meet the king, who is making his way around the ramparts to inspect the fortifications, and invites him not to be afraid, to have faith, not to seek alliances elsewhere, but to trust only in the Lord. To persuade him to do this, God is even willing to give him a sign, but the king has already decided to ask the Assyrian government for protection and refuses the sign, hypocritically citing a religious reason: "I do not want to put the Lord to the test" (v. 12). The reality, however, is that the king does not have the courage to trust solely in the Lord.
It is in this precise context that Emmanuel's announcement takes on its full significance. Faced with the king's incredulity, the rebuke: "Is it not enough for you to weary men, that you now weary my God also?" (v. 13). But then comes the surprise; we would expect the prophet to continue with words of threat and punishment, but instead he continues with a word of hope: "The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (v. 14).
To the disbelief of the king and the people, God responds by promising the birth of a child who will be "God with us." Here lies the wonder of Christmas, which is also the wonder of God's love: God does not distance himself from our disbelief but conquers it by drawing close, becoming a brother to sinful men.
The evangelist Matthew recounts that Jesus was born in the most pure womb of the Virgin and by the power of the Spirit (therefore his origin comes from above), yet he is also included in a genealogy, and among his ancestors are righteous and sinners, believers and unbelievers. And this is the great consolation, the rock on which Christian hope rests, a theme that constitutes - in the light of the prophet's passages the guiding thread throughout the Advent season: despite our infidelities, despite the increasingly aggressive forces of evil, God does not cease to be Emmanuel, God with us. A simple and consoling name. God has emerged from his distance and invisibility, becoming visible and concrete, reachable. Having come among us in human form, the Son of God wants us to continue to seek him among men and to welcome him as a man. Since the Son of God became man, any other search for God is no longer possible, because God not only became man, but also remained among men.
However, there are three things we must not forget. The first is that we must not remain closed in the past. To the people of his generation, Isaiah kept repeating: "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old!" (43:18). It is not the past that must return. There is an attachment to the past, a nostalgia for what "once was," which prevents us from grasping new possibilities. Anyone who dreams of redoing the old ways is not a builder of hope.
Then we need the courage to admit that the situation we find ourselves in is also caused by our own personal responsibility. To always and only place the blame on others is simplistically hypocritical. In reality, the responsibility belongs to everyone, and we have the situation we deserve. Only those who allow themselves to be questioned have understood Christmas and are bearers of hope.
And finally, the man who shapes his hope on Jesus Christ knows that good and evil ultimately touch everyday events, everyday life. To believe that everything is played out where the destinies of peoples are decided is a temptation and an illusion. History will change only if every man takes his destiny, his daily world, into his own hands, renewing it. Hope rises from the base rather than descending from the top.
Happy Sunday!
†John I. Okoye
Bishop of AwguAwgu diocese diaconate ordination
20th December 2025
