Word to the Wise
Sunday, December 21, 2014 - 4th Sunday of Advent - B
[2 Sam 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Rom 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38]The angel Gariel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. [Luke]
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2014 FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
[2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38]
The angel Gariel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. [Luke]
We are so familiar with these opening lines of the story of Jesus' conception and birth in the Gospel of Luke that we might miss the significance of the words, "of the house of David." The same identification is made on Christmas at Midnight Mass when the gospel tells us that Joseph took Mary with him to Bethlehem to register for a census because he was of the "house and family of David." Why is it important to notice this? The first scripture of today gives us a clue! The Jewish and early Christian community knew that the messiah would come from the promises made to David. That explains the genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew and in Luke. Jesus is the fulfillment of a promise made to Abraham and to David.
Promise and fulfillment are key elements in any kind of hope! When we gaze on the manger scene we see the fulfillment of that ancient promise. But it is very important not to see it as something that happened long ago, but rather something happening now. The great Dominican mystic, Meister Eckhart, is quoted as saying, "What good is it to me that Christ was born so long ago if he is not born again every day in my heart?" Jesus is not the fulfillment of a promise made to somebody else. He is the promise and fulfillment of today and of each and all of us. AMEN
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