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4th Sunday of Advent

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This 4th Sunday of Advent we focus on the Incarnation:  God made manifest through the birth of Jesus.  Nothing captures this moment better than our Gospel, but as we will see, our other readings would suggest that this meeting between God and his people has been coming for some time…

The Word for the 4th Sunday of Advent
2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27-29
Romans 16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38

To better understand our readings for this week, I think we should first look at our Gospel.  In a story that is unique to Luke’s Gospel, we hear the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to announce God’s plan for the birth of his Son.  It’s not hard for us to imagine Mary’s amazement in this moment.  Not only is this humble girl from Nazareth (already likely anxious over her betrothal to Joseph) being approached by an angel, a messenger for the Lord, but the angel’s message is almost unbelievable:  God has chosen her to bear his Son.  But Mary isn’t naive and challenges Gabriel about this plan.  After some further explanation Mary eventually agrees and says “yes.” (“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”).  Every Christian is familiar with this story, but I often wonder if our familiarity with it drowns out the shear amazement of the moment.  Not only has God concocted this incredible plan for reconciling with his creation, but the whole scheme depends on whether this young unwed peasant girl from Nazareth is willing to go along with it.  The miracle is two-fold:  First,. God’s plan, and second, Mary’s “yes” to this plan.

As for the first part, God’s plan, we see this has been in the works for some time.  This is evident in our first reading from the 2nd book of Samuel.  David, God’s chosen, is now king of Israel and settling into his new “palace” (of cedar, not stone, so don’t let your imaginations get too carried away).  But David is troubled – he now has his palace, but what of God?  Should the arc still be in a tent?  David wants to build a palace (think “temple”) for God, but God wants David to dismiss this idea.  To dissuade David from this plan, God has Nathan remind him about the greater mission – where they’ve been, where they are going, and the goal to establish a kingdom dedicated to the Lord.  This was the promise God made with David and though it took some time, it’s the promise he fulfilled in our Gospel.  Our Psalm echoes that covenant as we sing, “For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.”  We offer the Lord our praise while he offers us his protection.

Our second reading comes from the conclusion of Paul’s letter to the Romans.  In this short passage we hear echoes of our Psalm – that it is through Christ we find strength and from that grace we continue to bring not just Israel, but all nations to give praise to God.

This then has us circling back to our Gospel from Luke.  As we can see now, this miracle of the Annunciation is part of a plan that’s been a long time coming.  God wanted David to establish a kingdom that would draw all nations to the Lord.  But over the generations David’s successors lost their way, so God must step in once again, and through Mary delivers us the King of Kings, his son, Jesus.

Final Thoughts:
In reviewing our first reading, it’s easy for us to misinterpret what’s going on.  David has built his house, and now he proposes to build a house for God.  Seems like a nice idea.  But we would be mistaken.  God doesn’t want a house.  God doesn’t need a house.  It is God who is offering David a house and a kingdom.  It is God who cares for us.  God doesn’t need us to reciprocate.  Instead he wants David’s kingdom to be a beacon to other nations, not through building temples and palaces, but by bringing people to the Lord.  God is looking for a different kind of Kingdom.

Our readings from Samuel and Paul lead us to think of kings and thrones and majesty, which are all valid images for Christ.  But let us not forget that like David himself, Jesus was born of humble, ordinary means.  Just like David.  Just like us.  That is the miracle of Christmas.  If a shepherd like David, or a carpenter’s son like Jesus, can bring entire nations to the Lord, so can we.  Not through battles or revolutions, but by loving God and sharing that love with our neighbors.  Merry Christmas indeed!

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