4th Sunday of Advent, Year C: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima
Theme: God fulfils his promises even through unworthy instruments.
Readings: Mic 5:1–4a; Heb 10:5–10; Lk 1:39–45
Dear friends in Christ, as we draw closer to Christmas, the church, through the readings of today, invites us to focus on the channels through which God fulfilled His promise of the Emmanuel to us. These readings also inform us that God will always fulfil his promise to us if we look upon Him with the eye of faith.
The prophet Isaiah in chapter 55 verse 8 told us that God’s ways are not our ways. Often, the ways of God defy the socially accepted ways of men. We have noticed that the ways of men have always been to accord places of honor to the rich and also to count the rich before counting the poor. Sometimes, we also think that God will also follow that same logic of men in favouring the rich before the poor. But, as it is, the ways of God are different from the ways of men. Many times, God chooses the poor and the weak in the place of the rich and the strong to teach us some values. A vivid illustration of this is in the anointing of David as king of Israel.
In today’s first reading, the divine choice of the weak and the poor was evident. There were twelve tribes in Israel, each of them had big clans, but God chose the smallest of all the clans to bring forth the eternal king of Israel; God decided to give the whole of Israel a king from the smallest of the clans of Israel, the clan of Bethlehem.
This divine choice of the weak and the poor is also seen in the gospel of today in the choice of Mary as the mother of the Saviour. Of all the queens, princesses, wealthy ladies, and wealthy families in Israel, God decided to choose Mary, a poor lady, a lady without a history and public recognition, a lady without a husband, to be the mother of His only Son.
These two vivid examples of God’s choice tell us that God’s blessings are not for the rich alone; they are not only for the strong; they are not also for the beautiful alone, nor are they only for the publicly recognized entities of our society. They tell us that our God also has a special option for the poor. In His Magnanimity, God also favours the poor, the weak, and the ugly; He is the God of us all. He often chooses the poor, the weak, and the ugly to teach us not to despise these people as we organize our society and family affairs and also to demonstrate to us that His blessings are gratuitous; they do not come because of human merits. Thus, God can choose anyone for the manifestation of His glory. He can choose you; He can also choose me.
Another lesson we can extract from the first reading and the gospel of today is that God’s promise will always be fulfilled, no matter how slim the chances of its fulfilment are. The prophet Micah prophesied in Israel between the years 740 and 787 BC; that was during the reign of king Jotham. Between the prophecy of Micah about the choice of Bethlehem for the birth of Christ and its fulfilment, there was a period of great difficulties, slavery, suffering, and destruction of Israel by her enemies on two occasions, in the year 721 BC and in the year 586 BC. Also, before the birth of John, there was a long time of barrenness in the life of Zechariah and Elizabeth, despite Zechariah’s active priestly service in God’s house. But at the end, the promise of God was fulfilled in these two cases.
Sometimes, difficulties force us to think that God’s promises can never be fulfilled in our lives. Often, the number of years of suffering and pain pushes us to believe that we have been abandoned by God or that God’s words are in vain, but the stories in the first reading and the gospel of today teach us not to lose hope in God and His promises. God’s promises may take days or years to be fulfilled, but the truth is that it must surely be fulfilled. So, no one should allow the difficulties of this life to lead him/her into sin.
The second reading of today from the letter to the Hebrews opened to us the humility of Jesus Christ before the plan of God the Father, Christ’s humble submission to do the will of His Father. It invites us to be ready and obedient to God, as Jesus was, so that God can manifest His love even through our weaknesses.
Another lesson for this Sunday comes from the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth as we read in the gospel of today. In that visit, the child in the womb of Mary encountered the child in the womb of Elizabeth when Mary greeted Elizabeth, and both Elizabeth and the child in her womb were filled with joy. As you all know, Christmas is a time of visits: it is a time that God visits us and also a time that we visit our friends and families. What Mary did in the gospel of today remains a challenge to us as we visit other people this Christmas. Jesus visited Mary, and she carried Him to her sister, Elizabeth. Let us also take Jesus to other people this Christmas through our visits. Let our visits have the capacity of throwing other people into joy. Let us allow the Christ in us to encounter the problems of those we visit this Christmas, so that they will have a reason to smile, a reason to be filled with joy. Let us open ourselves to them just as Mary opened her arms and embraced Elizabeth, so that the joy of Christmas will wipe away their sorrows. Let us share our joys with them as we visit them.
Peace be with you.
Rev. Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima