24 December 2023 – 4th Sunday of Advent (Year B)

by Fr Joachim Robert

Dear friends,

As we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Advent, we are once again reminded of the rejoicing that we experience at the coming of God becoming man. And as we, at this threshold of our Christmas journey, of God who comes to dwell in and among our midst, we come with a heart of rejoicing because we know that the Lord has done great things. And we are able to witness that blessing with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving.

And as we approach this fourth Sunday, dear friends, our Gospel reading gives us the story of the Annunciation, how God announces to this virgin that she was to be the mother of God and after the angel announces this, Mary accepted that invitation and her heart was full of rejoicing of what can and will do in her life. But was she aware? Perhaps she did not know the full story but she said ‘Yes‘. She said ‘Yes‘ to the invitation of the angel because she was faithful and God was faithful.

And as we look at that story of the incarnation, dear friends, the story of God becoming Man through the invitation of the angel Gabriel, we see that the story gradually reveals itself from the Annunciation to the final end of what happens this evening at the celebration of Christmas. 

In our lives, dear friends, very often we choose to plan many things. And I am sure during this time of Christmas, there are so many things to do. There are so many things that we preoccupy ourselves with and so many things have happened that makes us distracted and we get disillusioned. 

And as we prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus during this celebration, we are called to be focused on the crib. And I would like to share with you on four reflections:-

First of all, to look at Mary and Joseph. If you look at the crib at this point of time, you see Mary and Joseph, their eyes are fixed on the child. But we know that Jesus has not been born. If we look at the crib today, we see we are called to focus our attention on Jesus but very often we are unable to find Jesus because our life is full of distractions. And because of those distractions in life, dear friends, we lose sight of God, we lose sight of Jesus and we get disillusioned and other things in life becomes more important than our relationship with God.

But Christmas, once again, becomes an invitation for us to keep our focus on Jesus rather than focusing on the distractions that is around us. So the first call is that invitation to keep our focus on Jesus, just like how Mary and Joseph fixed their gaze on Jesus.

If you take a look at both of their lives, Mary at the announcement of the Angel Gabriel, she was not sure of what was to be expected. She was fearful, she did not know of the uncertainty that is to come. She was young and she lived in a cultural context that was not so hospitable for those who are with child without marriage. And as we put ourselves into that life of Mary, dear friends, many of us can resonate with her because we are uncertain of the future that we hold, because of the rejection perhaps that we will face, the uncertainty of the world that is around us and that fearfulness that we have in order to take that step forward or not.

And I am sure, dear friends, at this stage and at this part of our lives, many of us can relate with Mary, with all her struggles and obstacles that she perhaps would have to deal with. 

And on the other hand, Joseph too, he was a man of few words, he was silent in terms of what he had to deal with. And coming to know that she was with child, also made him restless. And I am sure as well like many of us, we too are unable to speak because of the deep hurt perhaps or the deep sense of isolation, rejection or perhaps the way of how people have treated us.

But as we look at the story of Mary and Joseph, both of them were confronted with circumstances of their life, similar to so many of us. And sometimes perhaps even pain, anxieties, death of a loved one, illness that perhaps have stricken around our way and distracted our whole focus on Jesus. But this invitation of Christmas, dear friends, makes us look at these two images of Mary and Joseph, to keep our focus on God once again.

And when we are focused on God, we need to remove that blindness and to allow Jesus to be reborn in the manger of our hearts because very often, dear friends, Jesus is already present in our situation but we are unable to recognise Him being present.

And this Christmas is an invitation for us to prepare the mangers of our hearts, to make that a worthy place of God’s dwelling even though it may be imperfect. But the perfect love of God continues to make us come to a deeper understanding of what God can and will do in our lives.

And the second image I would like to focus on is the image of the Angel. When the Angel comes to announce that Jesus was to be born and they sang ‘Glory to God on high and peace to people of goodwill’, with a heart of gratitude, with a heart of thanksgiving, they sang praises to God because of what God has done for humanity.

In the same way in the First Reading of today, we see in the second book of Samuel how David wanted to build a house for God. But God’s plan was far, far greater than the plan that David had for God. And very often, dear friends, in our own circumstances of life, we are unable to acknowledge, unable to see because we are in that pain. We are in that situation that we are unable to see with clarity with what God perhaps is allowing that process to happen to make us see in greater light. But God had a greater plan for David. He wanted to make a kingdom for David and God wanted David to prosper.

And even in those situation, dear friends, we see how the First Reading continues to make us realise of how impossible it has been for people to understand what is God’s plan. But the Gospel resonates and tells us that nothing is impossible for God because with the assuring presence of God in our lives, we are able to go through our difficult moments, our challenging moments because He wants to make a dwelling in our lives. But are we able to recognise, are we able to embrace that invitation that God gives us, at each and every time we celebrate the Eucharist?

And today as we look at the crib again, that rejoicing with the heart of gratitude, that invitation that God gives to David once again to see where he has come, as a shepherd man, to see how he has led him out and to see where he is, we see, dear friends, that in his own capacity that would be unthinkable for David. But God made the impossible possible. 

And in the same way, God has been able to do that in the life of Mary and Joseph. God has been able to do it in the life of David and I am sure God will be able to do it in our own lives too. That if we put our faith and trust in this God who loves us, He is able to bring us to greener pastures, to make us realise that with Him everything is possible.

And the last thing I would like to focus is the invitation of the shepherds. God did not come to announce the story of salvation to many great people but He chose shepherds to announce the Gospel and the Good News. In the same way, dear friends, He has come to announce it to you and I. People who perhaps we to find insignificant but God wants to make a dwelling in our lives. But are we ready? Are we ready to embrace that invitation that He gives us?

So first call is to focus our gaze on Jesus, like Mary and Joseph.

The second thing, dear friends, that we need to do is to contemplate the silence in the invitation that God gives us like Joseph but be filled with a heart of gratitude, with a heart that is full of faith, not in resignment but trusting that His plan is far greater than our plan.

And to also embrace with a heart of gratitude every journey that God has put along the path of our lives. And how the impossible has become possible through His guidance and by the angels that He sends along the way.

And lastly to have the humility of heart to embrace everything with God. Because we know with the humility of heart, with the simpleness of what has happened in the manger, God wants to make a dwelling in you. And like Mary in this Gospel today, let us say:
‘I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what You have said be done to me.’

Let us ask, dear friends, as we prepare for Christmas this evening, as we prepare the mangers of our hearts to make it a worthy dwelling place for God, let us ask ourselves what is God’s invitation for us this Christmas so that we are able to not only have the celebration for ourselves but also to look at the people who are in the peripheries, those who perhaps may need that voice of God to speak in and through you.

If you take a look at what is happening in the Middle East where God was born, where Jesus was born, they are unable to celebrate Christmas. Are they also part of our prayers? Are they part of our own celebration of Christmas and are we making a space for them in our hearts so that together we can celebrate God becoming Man and dwelling among us?

Click below to listen to the homily and watch the video:-

Click to live-stream Mass on 24 December 2023