Although we may face financial problems, job insecurity, tensions in the family, health concerns, insurance concerns, and all the stress that surrounds the holidays, our hearts still know that we are called to be trusting and faithful – in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. In fact, instead of relying on our own schemes or will-power or ingenuity to get us through life, this holy season of Advent is inviting us, anew, to trust in God and be strengthened by talking to Him in fervent prayer and by listening to Him speaking through His Holy Word. Similarly, the grace of the Sacraments can provide us with abundant help, not only in preparing the way of the Lord, but walking that way, again, with trust and faith.
The Fourth Sunday of Advent offers us the examples of Mary and Joseph, who gladly and joyfully cooperated with God’s plan for salvation. They received Emmanuel (God-with-us) in welcoming the Son of God into their lives and into the world. Lo’ and behold, God’s Son fundamentally changed their lives and changed the world. The Good News and the consoling message of Christmas (soon to arrive) is that the Christ Child still waits today to step into our hearts and to change us (and the world around us) by the beauty of God’s love, kindness, mercy, and compassion.
For reflection: A father was trying to teach his six-year-old son how to shoot a basketball. The father shot a couple of times, saying, “Do it just like that, son; it’s really easy.” The little boy tried very hard, but he couldn’t get the ball ten feet into the air. The little fellow got more and more frustrated. Finally, after hearing his father talk about how easy it was for the tenth time, the boy said, “It’s easy for you up there. You don’t know how hard it is from down here.” — We can never say that about God! When Jesus took on flesh, became one of us, and lived among us, He walked where we walk, He suffered what we suffer, and He was tempted as we are tempted. He also loved as we hope to love, He forgave as we hope to forgive, and He was filled with joy as we hope we will be one day. He is Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”
