GOD'S WORD IN DAILY LIFE
19 December/Sunday/4th Sunday of Advent – C
Mic 5:1-4/Psa 80:2-3,15-16,18-19/Heb 10:5-10/Luke 1:39-45
By Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD
First Reading Micah 5:1-4
He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord
The Lord says this:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
the least of the clans of Judah,
out of you will be born for me
the one who is to rule over Israel;
his origin goes back to the distant past,
to the days of old.
The Lord is therefore going to abandon them
till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth.
Then the remnant of his brothers will come back
to the sons of Israel.
He will stand and feed his flock
with the power of the Lord,
with the majesty of the name of his God.
They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power
to the ends of the land.
He himself will be peace.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 79(80):2-3,15-16,18-19
Lord of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hear us,
shine forth from your cherubim throne.
O Lord, rouse up your might,
O Lord, come to our help.
God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
the vine your right hand has planted.
May your hand be on the man you have chosen,
the man you have given your strength.
And we shall never forsake you again;
give us life that we may call upon your name.
Second Reading Hebrews 10:5-10
God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will
This is what Christ said, on coming into the world:
You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation,
prepared a body for me.
You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin;
then I said,
just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book,
‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’
Notice that he says first: You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.
Gospel Acclamation Luke 1:38
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the handmaid of the Lord:
let what you have said be done to me.
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 1:39-45
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
Reflection
The Gospel Reading is the account of the visitation of Elizabeth by Mary. Reading this narrative a few days before the celebration of the nativity of Jesus helps us relive the joy of Elizabeth when she encountered her Lord through the visit of her cousin, Mary. Luke informs the reader of two things that happened to Elizabeth when she heard the greetings of Mary. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, which is an expression of her divine possession. Apart from that, the child in her womb leaped for joy. This is not strange in Jewish tradition because the Jews are familiar with the idea that unborn children may take part in world events occurring around them. Such participations anticipate their later positions in life. For example, in Gen 25 we read about the struggles of Esau and the twin-brother Jacob in the womb which is in anticipation of their position in life. In the case of our Gospel Reading, we can say that Elizabeth responded to the greetings of Mary while the unborn John the Baptist responded to the presence of the unborn Jesus. These two observations are confirmed by Elizabeth when she said to Mary “why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.” Elizabeth’s words came from her inspired interpretation of the movement of the unborn child in her womb. In other words, the Holy Spirit that filled her at the greeting of Mary was her source of inspiration. Other than that, we would find it difficult to explain how she got to know that Mary was “the mother of her Lord”. The intense nature of what she said reveals the depth of the inspiration she received.
There is also a double blessing in the greeting of Elizabeth that is worth our attention. She said: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb”. Similar formulae are found in two forms in the Old Testament. It is either a two-lined blessing in which the second line reveals the cause of the blessedness or a double blessing where God is blessed as the source of the blessedness of the human person who has been blessed. It is not easy to say which of the two forms is used in the Gospel Reading because there are elements of both forms in the formulation. We can say that Mary’s blessedness is in bearing the Messiah who is blessed because of his unique role and identity. Although Elizabeth speaks about the blessedness of mother and child, the nature of their blessedness remains unspecified in her own words. It is only betrayed in the question that she asks in Luke 1,43: “And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” Her question reflects reverence in the face of God’s action and presence. It also expresses further what she meant by the blessedness of Mary and the unborn child. She revealed her joy at being visited by the one who is bearing the messianic child.
The encounter between the two women and their unborn children reveal what should be our own reaction to the birth story of Jesus. The approaching nativity of Jesus should bring joy to all who hear that our Saviour is at the door. His advent is a blessing for all who welcome him because it introduces the divine presence into our lives. His coming is also an occasion to bless God who in his bountiful mercy has decided to reveal his goodness to humanity. Our sins do not merit us such a great gift but God has blessed us with his only begotten Son so that we may have the fullness of life in him. As we await the Christmas event, we are invited to bless God and thank him for the great gift of his Son.