“Imagine It, Admit It, Rejoice in It”
Fourth Sunday of Advent – A
By faith we know that Jesus the Savior is always with us as the sign of God’s unconditional love.
Have you seen any signs that Christmas is near? Hear are a few I’ve picked up on a sign in a department store advises, “Make this a Christmas you Spouse won’t forget! Charge everything!”
For many people throughout the centuries, their faith has been strengthened and even founded on seeing signs. Some people have prayed and asked for a sign that God is with them in difficulties, and others were simply given signs that they may come to a deeper belief. Signs are all around us. Signs give us information, they move us in the right direction, and they even keep us safe at times. To see the extraordinary in the ordinary requires faith and that is precisely what Matthew presupposes in telling us this wonderful story of God’s mystery.
Imagine this: Mary chooses to believe that she will give birth to a son while remaining a virgin. Whatever Gabriel looks like, Mary sees him as a sign that God will do the impossible by becoming an infant in her maiden womb.
The message: God is with us!
Imagine this: Joseph chooses to believe that his beautiful young fiancée, with whom he has not had marital relations, is pregnant. But she hasn’t been unfaithful to him. Whatever the dream angel looks like, J oseph sees him as a sign that he has not been deceived. Jesus the Savior will one day be calling this ordinary carpenter “Daddy.” The message: God is with us!
Imagine this: A woman who is dying of cancer has few friends or relatives to comfort her. It’s Advent. She’s depressed. Her husband opens a Web sit for her, hoping that caring strangers will respond. They do. She is lifted by a circle of cyberspace companions. As one says, “Who would have thought that such an impersonal medium could be used this way? By logging in and sharing our memories, our computers are growing a soul.” The message: God is with us!
Let’s admit this: There are times when we are so busy taking care of business, we unwittingly act like King Ahaz. He was so distracted by worries about eh security of his kingdom, he didn’t even ask for divine help. He tried to go it alone.
Let’s admit this: We sometimes say by our actions: “I will not ask for a sign! God has more important things to do than to deal with my personal concerns. I’ll manage somehow.
Rejoice in it: Mary had a baby. Joseph named him Jesus because he saves his people from their sins. That includes you and me, yes, and the surly boss, the uppity neighbor. The disloyal friend. The street person begging for a hand-out. The prisoner on death row.
Rejoice in it: Whenever we refuse to make an enemy, turn away an insult with a smile or a joke, speak up for a victim of racism or abuse, steer a teen away from drugs, support the culture of life rather than death, we are signs. God is with us!
Rejoice in it: Angelus Sibelius said it well. “If in your heart you make a manger for his birth, / then God will once again / become a child on earth.” Be a manger for Jesus!
Christmas is just around the corner. It’s a good day to read the signs – and be the message for a God who loves us beyond reason.
Isaiah 7:10-14
Rom 1:1-7Matthew 1:18-24