Daily Retreat 12/23/07
2007 Dec 23 SUN:FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (O Emmanuel)
Is 7:10-14/ Ps 23(24):1-2. 3-4. 5-6 (7c. 10b)/ Rom 1:1-7/ Mt 1:18-24
Yet Advent
It is so easy to shortchange our celebration of this fourth Sunday of Advent. Caught in the whirlpool of the commercial holiday rush, you and I find ourselves wondering how we'll manage to get all the THINGS ready in time. Children, tantalized by brightly wrapped presents already piled under the tree, start begging, "Can't we open just one present today?" And here I'm talking about the big kids, you know, the 45 year olds - sometimes, the little kids are even worse!
Already exhausted from the holiday rush, poor pressed parents might even find themselves secretly wishing the big day were already over and done with. Even the Gospel of this fourth Sunday of Advent suspiciously is beginning to sound a lot like Christmas, as if the Church herself were admitting that the holy birthday party has already begun.
Yet today's Gospel passage is not the Christmas reading. True, on Christmas eve, this same passage is read, but with the addition of one more verse, an all important verse that is deliberately omitted for today's celebration, deliberately omitted so that today you and I can focus clearly on the common refrain of all of today's scripture readings:
From the prophet Isaiah: Listen, o house of David...
From St. Paul's Letter to the Romans: His Son, of the seed of David, according to the flesh...
From St. Matthew's Gospel: An angel appeared to him saying, "Joseph, son of David..."
Why do you suppose the son of Jesse, good King David, gets mentioned so often in this weekend edition of the holy press? Clearly, the Church wishes to remind us that Jesus is of the house and lineage of David. And, because of this, in Jesus, all the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, which spoke of the Anointed Descendent of David, are now to be fulfilled. Throughout this season of Advent, the liturgical readings have cycled through these prophecies, piling them up from the first Sunday of Advent. And now, we're reminded, these prophecies, these hopes, these prayers for salvation, are about to be fulfilled!
Advent, as we all know by now, means "coming" - doubtlessly, you all have many THINGS to prepare yet for Christmas, but above all, you and I can be inspired on this fourth Sunday of Advent, to spend these final hours of Advent preparing OURSELVES for the coming of Christ, thereby gaining a new wonder, appreciation and awe for the Lord Jesus' coming in history in fulfillment of the promises to the house of David, making room in our hearts and lives so that the Lord Jesus can come there today, and joyfully praying for the new coming in glory of the holy Shoot sprung from the root of Jesse.
Is 7:10-14/ Ps 23(24):1-2. 3-4. 5-6 (7c. 10b)/ Rom 1:1-7/ Mt 1:18-24
Yet Advent
It is so easy to shortchange our celebration of this fourth Sunday of Advent. Caught in the whirlpool of the commercial holiday rush, you and I find ourselves wondering how we'll manage to get all the THINGS ready in time. Children, tantalized by brightly wrapped presents already piled under the tree, start begging, "Can't we open just one present today?" And here I'm talking about the big kids, you know, the 45 year olds - sometimes, the little kids are even worse!
Already exhausted from the holiday rush, poor pressed parents might even find themselves secretly wishing the big day were already over and done with. Even the Gospel of this fourth Sunday of Advent suspiciously is beginning to sound a lot like Christmas, as if the Church herself were admitting that the holy birthday party has already begun.
Yet today's Gospel passage is not the Christmas reading. True, on Christmas eve, this same passage is read, but with the addition of one more verse, an all important verse that is deliberately omitted for today's celebration, deliberately omitted so that today you and I can focus clearly on the common refrain of all of today's scripture readings:
From the prophet Isaiah: Listen, o house of David...
From St. Paul's Letter to the Romans: His Son, of the seed of David, according to the flesh...
From St. Matthew's Gospel: An angel appeared to him saying, "Joseph, son of David..."
Why do you suppose the son of Jesse, good King David, gets mentioned so often in this weekend edition of the holy press? Clearly, the Church wishes to remind us that Jesus is of the house and lineage of David. And, because of this, in Jesus, all the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, which spoke of the Anointed Descendent of David, are now to be fulfilled. Throughout this season of Advent, the liturgical readings have cycled through these prophecies, piling them up from the first Sunday of Advent. And now, we're reminded, these prophecies, these hopes, these prayers for salvation, are about to be fulfilled!
Advent, as we all know by now, means "coming" - doubtlessly, you all have many THINGS to prepare yet for Christmas, but above all, you and I can be inspired on this fourth Sunday of Advent, to spend these final hours of Advent preparing OURSELVES for the coming of Christ, thereby gaining a new wonder, appreciation and awe for the Lord Jesus' coming in history in fulfillment of the promises to the house of David, making room in our hearts and lives so that the Lord Jesus can come there today, and joyfully praying for the new coming in glory of the holy Shoot sprung from the root of Jesse.
posted by FrPitstick | 12/22/2007
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