4th Sunday of Advent Reflection

Brothers and sisters,
We are close to Christmas.  In just a few days we will be entering into the Christmas season.  The word of God is seeking to open our hearts to the mystery which we celebrate each year.
Today in our Catholic faith we celebrate the 4th week of advent.  It is during the 4th week of Advent that we finally arrive at the greatest celebration of all history, the celebration of the Birth of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Through the birth of such a great redeemer the light of the world was turned on and remains on.

It is during this week that our focus is turned to the historical Jesus.  It is of great importance to us as Christians to understand that the coming of Jesus was foretold.
In the first reading from the prophet Micah, we are reminded of the promise that God made to all humanity; the promise of a shepherd that was coming from humble beginnings.  During the time that Micah wrote this passage, the world was a complete mess; Jerusalem was surrounded by Assyrians and constantly being harassed.  The prophet Micah makes a promise on God’s behalf that he would bring peace to the people.  It is ironic that the prophet Micah would point out that this great leader would come from the smallest and most insignificant tribe of Judah, Bethlehem.  Like many scriptures, the ones that seem the weakest of all, are the ones that bring about great leaders and happenings.  He says, “From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.”  Jesus’ origin comes way before the annunciation to the Virgin Mary.  His birth was foretold of old.  He was promised to be born of a virgin as it says in the prophet Isaiah, “The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.”  Jesus was promised to come forth from the virgin and bring about peace to all mankind.

This brings us to the Gospel. In the Gospel, Mother Mary, pregnant with the Child Jesus, travels a long road to visit her cousin Elizabeth.  Elizabeth, a woman of advanced age, which was thought to be barren, unable to conceive a child, had also been visited by the spirit of the Lord, through the words of the Angel Gabriel.  Through the spirit of the Lord, St. Elizabeth conceived the precursor, the one who was to announce to coming of the Lord, St. John the Baptist.  Mary, a young teenage girl, had conceived a child through that same spirit who would bring about our salvation.  Like the weak and small that the prophet Micah spoke of, Mary and Elizabeth, both were the personification of weak and small.  Both of these women were thought to be insignificant.  But through them came two great figures of our Christian faith.  It is interesting that Mother Mary, because of her humble yes to God through the Angel, was able to carry with her the spirit of the Lord. So much ,that when she greeted Elizabeth, the child in her womb lept for joy causing St. Elizabeth to add to the structuring of one of the most loving prayers we know today, the Hail Mary.  It was because of the greeting of Mary to Elizabeth, and the movements of the spirit in Elizabeth because of the words of Mary, that she proclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
 
With this begins the importance of Mother Mary’s role in our faith.  Mother Mary is always carrying the spirit in her bringing her greeting to all her children, reminding us that she is always with us and that she is always willing to share the Holy Spirit with us.  Mary, the perfect disciple of her Son, Jesus, continually points us in the direction of her Son.  She calls us to humbly answer yes to the will of God and to never be afraid of what is to come.

Many times I have heard people speaking to the idea that women are oppressed and put down by Holy Mother Church, that they do not have an important role in the church.  This gospel, as well as all the gospels, where Mother Mary is present, shows that this is not the case.  It was because of the great and loving answer of the Our Mother Mary, that salvation was brought into the world.  It was through her yes that “the word, Jesus Christ, became man and dwelt among us.”

My brothers and sisters, let us conclude this last week of Advent and begin the Christmas season, with a heart full of the spirit.  May we, like Elizabeth, allow the spirit to speak to us and allow our hearts to leap with Joy; and like Mary, say yes to the perfect will of God and in turn, glorify the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, spreading always the loving spirit of God to all mankind.
AMEN