4th Sunday of Advent; Year C

 As you stand on the threshold of fulfillment of our redemption, may you be filled with grace to allow Christ, the Word made flesh, to transform your life in a way that is personal and enriching in goodness; so that you continue to recognize his abiding presence in the events of your life and in your needy neighbor.    Happy Christmas  +John I. Okoye.

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Micah 5,1-4a; Hebrews 10,5-10; Luke 1,39-45: 4th Sunday of Advent; Year C) 

This oracle of salvation of the first reading notes that  salvation will come from an insignificant village, the Bethlehem which is associated with Ephrathah, a clan related to Caleb and located in Judah. Because it was the place of David’s origin, the reference is rich in early royal importance that is quite distinct from any association with Jerusalem, the dynastic capital of the reigning royal family. The ruler promised here is not to be understood as the successive Davidic king but as a new Davidic king, fresh and totally committed to God as the young David had been. Bethlehem (meaning house of bread) in Ephrathah (meaning field of fruit) may not have been militarily significant, in contrast to Jerusalem; but it represented fruitfulness, and it produced the most prominent king Israel ever knew. This new ruler will be called forth for God and strengthened by God to rule. The image used to depict his rule is that of a shepherd who leads, protects, and provides for those in his care. Although David had been a lowly shepherd, the shepherd image had royal connotations. Kings were frequently characterized as shepherds because of the responsibility they had for their people. This promised king will shepherd in the strength and majesty of God. The image also suggests a personal relationship, for shepherds knew their flock quite well and the sheep recognized the voice of their shepherd. Elements in the oracle suggest that a time of tribulation will precede the birth of this ruler. First, the Lord will give up some people, presumably to suffering. The promised ruler will be firm yet gentle, as a shepherd is. The people will be secure, no longer threatened with banishment (they shall remain, v. 3). There will be a reign of peace (shalom), prosperity, safety, and good health. This prophecy is an affirmation of hope in the future, a hope grounded in the goodness of God rather than in human accomplishment.

The second reading from the letter to Hebrews consists of a contrast between the sacrificial ritual that was formerly observed and the sacrifice of Christ. Throughout the reading the author places various phrases in the mouth of Christ, thus giving Christological authority to his own theology. He tells us that Christ proclaimed these statements upon his entrance into the world, suggesting that what is contained here is the precise reason for the incarnation. The statements themselves focus particularly on the excellence of Christ’s physical body (soma). Christ’s words are a commentary on Ps 40,7-9. Four different sacrifices are mentioned: animal sacrifice; meal offering; burnt offering and sin offering. Together they represent the entire sacrificial system. In the original psalm they are contrasted with an attitude of obedience toward God, demonstrating that interior obedience is preferred over mere external ritual. As it appears in this passage, the contrast is between those sacrifices and the body of the psalmist. Applied to Christ, his sacrifice is preferred over other sacrifices because of the preeminence of his human body as compared with the bodies of the sacrificial animals. Christ’s compliance with the will of God is clearly stated, but here the specific focus is the offering of his body and not merely his obedience. In his commentary on this christological reading of the psalm (vv. 8-10) the author of the letter makes explicit the contrast between adherence to the law and Christ’s obedience to God’s will. He claims that Christ annuls or takes away the first (external adherence) in order to establish the second (internal obedience). He then moves in his theological development from Christ’s obedience to our own sanctification. By freely offering his body in sacrifice, Christ identifies his own will with the will of God. We are sanctified through this same sacrifice, not through any sacrifice required by law. For it was through his human body, a body like ours, that he demonstrated his obedience. Finally, the preeminence of Christ’s sacrifice of his body is stated again. He offered himself once for all (v. 10). The former sacrificial system required a variety of offerings to be repeated time and again. This multiplicity of sacrifices indicates the inadequacy of any single sacrifice. Because he was offering his own body, Christ offered himself only one time and in only one way, and it was enough. It is through this sacrifice that we are sanctified.
The major significance of Mary’s encounter with Elizabeth is the faith- filled avowal of Elizabeth. Mary’s greeting to Elizabeth was a customary salutation, but its effect was profound. It caused the child in Elizabeth’s womb to leap with joy. This is reminiscent of the joy that filled David as he leaped before the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God in the midst of the people (cf. 2 Sam 6,14-15). Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed her faith in the child Mary was carrying. In the cases of both David and Elizabeth’s unborn child, it was their realization of being in the presence of God that caused them to rejoice. It is as if Mary is the ark and the child within her is the glory of God. In response to this wondrous experience, Elizabeth exalts first Mary and then her child (v. 42). The word translated blessed (eulogeo) means to extol or to speak well of. Elizabeth does not pronounce a blessing over them. Instead, she recognizes the blessedness they possess and she praises it. This blessedness is derived from the dignity of the child, a dignity Elizabeth acknowledges by referring to him as her Lord (kyrios). As David had wondered how the ark of God could come to him (cf. 2 Sam 6.9), so Elizabeth wonders how the mother of her Lord should come to her. Mary is here called blessed (makarios) for having believed what had been spoken to her by the Lord, a reference to the annunciation (cf. Luke 1,26-38). In this case it is faith, not some work of righteousness, that is extolled. She believed she would conceive and bear a son, and it had come to pass. It is this son that she carries in her womb that precipitated the events recorded in this passage. The way this good fortune will be manifested in Mary’s life is not stated; she is merely called blessed.
In many ways the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent anticipate Christmas. They get us ready for the imminent future, giving us glimpses into the mysteries we will be celebrating. On this Sunday we are on the threshold of fulfillment, filled with anticipation of his coming, while we celebrate his presence in our midst. There is always excitement at this time of the year. It is as if everything is filled with promise. Animosities are set aside; estrangement dissolves into reconciliation; the whole world seems gentler; and we are filled with the spirit of generosity. In the days just before Christmas the possibility of newness is almost palpable. The spirit of the season seems to have caught hold of us even before the actual day has arrived. Today we stand on the threshold of fulfillment. The future God has prepared for us is open before us, even though we have not yet stepped out into it. We can see some of its contours, and it is very inviting. On this Sunday we are invited to pause at the threshold and gaze for a moment into this future. This invitation is extended to us so we can appreciate the gift being given to us.

Both the reading from Micah and the one from Luke place us squarely in history. The child belongs to a particular people in a particular place at a particular time. The incarnation takes place in human history, thus affirming the fundamental goodness of human life and concerns and sanctifying them even further. The child comes from simple people, from a place that is relatively insignificant, thus underscoring God’s preference for what is ordinary. The reading from Hebrews tells us that in God’s plan redemption is dependent upon incarnation. The body that was offered for our salvation, the body that consecrated us through having been offered up, was the body that grew in the womb of Mary. The extraordinary salvific deed of God was accomplished through his coming into the world as one of us. The obedience Christ played out through his body fulfilled for us the promises made by God.
Advent is the season when we stand on the threshold of fulfillment. However, it is the fulfillment of an event that has already taken place. We remember it, we ritually reenact it so we never take it for granted, so we never forget that it is in and through history that the marvelous deeds of God are accomplished. Each year we pause to celebrate these events, not because they have not yet occurred but because they have happened and are happening now before our eyes. The celebration of anticipation is also the celebration of fulfillment, fulfillment of the promises made, fulfillment of our redemption, fulfillment of our transformation. Blessed are we who believe that what was spoken to us by the Lord has been fulfilled! Happy Sunday! Happy Christmas! + John I. Okoye

(graphics by charles)