Things don’t always seem to be what we believe they are or should be based on our viewpoint. This Sunday’s readings and Gospel are indicative of that, especially in light of God’s plan for our lives. It often seems contradictory, because our beliefs propagated by what the world has put into place don’t always agree with God’s. The question for us is: “With whom do we place our trust, man or God, no matter how difficult the situation, if we seek eternal life”?
In our first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, King Ahaz of Judah has a dilemma in how to protect his kingdom and take advantage of a situation that will bring him more power. Isaiah tells him to put his faith in God so he need not fear whatever happens. Ahaz chooses what he believes will best serve his needs, forfeiting an opportunity from God to choose a sign indicating compassion and mercy for all who trust in God. His decision led to the prophecy that Jesus is coming to be the savior of the world.
St. Joseph, a devout and righteous man and the Blessed Mary’s betrothed in St. Matthew’s Gospel, also is faced with a problem of what to do about her pronouncement to him that she has been impregnated by the Holy Spirit with the Son of God. Because betrothal considers Joseph and Mary to be married prior to the actual ceremony, Joseph could make a case against her and have Mary stoned to death or at best be ostracized. His own thought was to quietly divorce Mary and send her away until the child was born to spare her any shame. God‘s idea was totally different so he sent a dream to Joseph instead telling him to marry her to fulfill God’s plan for man’s salvation with Jesus’ birth. Joseph acceded to God’s dream knowing it was the better choice for all concerned.
My personal relationship with God began as a young child when we lived in the same house as my grandmother on my dad’s side did. She was a daily Mass goer who openly talked about Catholicism and brought me to church on Sundays because my parents were not practicing their faiths; dad in Catholicism and mom as a Lutheran. It became more pronounced from fourth to eighth grade at a Catholic elementary school and for two years at seminary high school. Being close with God gave me comfort during years of separation my parents had due to their differences in being life giving.
Getting married in my early 20s and adding four children within our first five years brought me more in focus with what needed to be done to raise a family. My relationship with God waned and eventually I stopped practicing for five years. Our family move from Illinois to California at my age of 30 brought me back to practicing my faith because I didn’t have answers for my dilemmas that offered permanent solutions. God did and continues to do so.
Do I have it all together? No! But I am closer than I have ever been because God’s plan makes more sense in all the areas of my life that tend to cause angst. Practicing my faith teaches me that my decisions affect everyone and everything, not just me. God’s promise of eternal salvation, if I choose to follow Him, gives me a path that provides comfort and solace to face difficulties head on and find solutions that are realistic and useful.
Anticipation and preparedness are the watchwords for this fourth Sunday of Advent. As disciples of Christ we know that the reasons Jesus came to earth was for us to fulfill the purpose of our creation by using our gifts and talents to promote His Gospel teachings for the purpose of salvation by Jesus for us. We prepare for that by transforming ourselves from our sinful ways, offering peace, practicing social justice and rejoicing that God has selected this path for our journey.
King Ahaz and St. Joseph are models for what not and what to do,
respectively. Denial of God ways leads
to God’s denial of us as well and the loss of eternal life. Acceptance of God’s plan for us helps us to
cope with a world that denies God through sinful behavior and leads us on
journey which offers a faith of love, mercy and forgiveness.
Let us take this last week of Advent by looking at ways we can trust in God’s messages. Read scripture about how people came to accept Jesus, assess how people who are in need are helped and by having an active prayer life throughout our day. If we are faithful to this, we will be able to welcome the baby Jesus on Christmas as the one who was handpicked by God the Father to save us all.
Reading 1: Isaiah 7: 10-14
Reading 2: Romans 1: 1-7
Gospel: Matthew 1: 18-24
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