Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we almost come to the end of the current season of Advent with this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we are all reminded yet again of the true reason for our great expectations of joy and happiness with the upcoming Christmas season, which is about to come very soon in just a few days’ time. We are reminded this Sunday as we focus on the theme of Love on this last Sunday of Advent, that why we rejoice this Christmas and why we celebrate it all came to rest on the very fact that God’s love for every one of us endures, even throughout time and history, and through what He has done most generously on our behalf, He has sent unto us the ultimate gift of Love in His Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

In our first reading this Sunday, we are reminded through the reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God spoke to King Ahaz of Judah through Isaiah regarding the Sign that He would show to him and to all of His people in Judah, but which Ahaz then refused to obey or listen to. Isaiah told Ahaz to ask God for a Sign, the Sign that God would willingly and generously showed to His beloved ones, to show them the path of Hope and Light out of the darkness. But King Ahaz refused to ask for a Sign, and said that he would not put God to the test. This was followed immediately by a stern rebuke from Isaiah to Ahaz as he and many of his predecessors had disobeyed the Lord and put the Lord to the test so many times, and misled and misguided the people of God down the wrong path that what he had said, was truly a hypocrite’s word.

Not only that, but it might even be seen as King Ahaz not having faith and trust in God, as he would likely prefer to trust more in various things and worldly means to secure his reign and rule rather than to follow the Lord and His ways. Ahaz himself was one of the kings who was considered and counted among the ‘wicked’ ones as he led the people into the path of sin and disobedience, abandoning the Lord their God and worshipping instead the pagan idols and demons, which were placed upon the Lord’s sacred Altar, desecrating the holy places and also neglecting the observance of the Law and commandments of the Lord. Thus, Isaiah proclaimed God’s words that the Sign would indeed one day come, that all those who eventually witnessed it, would believe that indeed, God is the one and only True God, and not all the false idols that Ahaz and the people of Judah had worshipped.

On the contrary, if we remember the Gospel passage today, we heard of the Annunciation of Mary, the moment when the Archangel Gabriel proclaimed the Good News of God to Mary, that she would become the Mother of God, as she had been chosen by God to be the one through whom God’s own begotten Son, the Son of God, Incarnate in the flesh and becoming the Son of Man, have become the manifestation and personification of God’s eternal and ever-enduring love for us. This is the moment when the promise and the words of God that He had spoken through Isaiah before King Ahaz came to be fulfilled, as Mary was the Virgin that God spoke of, who would be bearing a Child, and this Child would be called Emmanuel, ‘God is with us’. This alone has already shown us that the Child that Mary bore within her, is truly not just like any other ordinary children.

Most importantly, as contrasted with the attitude showed by King Ahaz, Mary obeyed the Lord and believed in Him wholeheartedly, although she did wonder why she among all the women had been entrusted with such a responsibility. Yet, what she asked the Archangel Gabriel was made out of natural uncertainty and honest bewilderment as such a great revelation was made before her, not withstanding the fact that Mary was a mere young woman and virgin from the small town of Nazareth in Galilee, a very unimportant place and town, and herself coming from a relatively unknown origin. All of that must have obviously been hard to reconcile at the first moment, when Mary heard of the Good News from the Archangel Gabriel, and hence, her question of how it would be possible for that to happen to her, considering that she was still a virgin, to bear a Son.

God revealed to Mary all that He would do through His Archangel Gabriel, and what is important is how Mary responded to all of that. Unlike King Ahaz who refused to obey the Lord, His will and commandments, His request and wish, Mary gave herself totally to the Lord and accepted everything that God had planned to happen through her. Through her response that she is the ‘handmaid of the Lord’ and that it may be done unto her as the Lord has willed it, Mary’s yes to the Lord made through His Archangel Gabriel was the catalyst that sparked the beginning of the final fulfilment of God’s long awaited salvation and liberation for His people. Through Mary’s acceptance of her role in becoming the Mother of God and Saviour of the whole world, she has shown us all that each and every one of us as Christians, should also obey the Lord, listen to Him and His commands, Law and will.

From our second reading this Sunday, in addition, we have also heard of the words of the Apostle St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Rome in which he reiterated that we all as Christians believe in the salvation which God has generously provided for all of us through His own Begotten and most Beloved Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God made Man. And it is through His coming into this world that has restored joy and hope to all of us. And it is of this same Saviour and Holy One of God that St. Paul had laboured and worked hard to proclaim the Good News of God, the salvation which has been accomplished and fulfilled through Christ. In the same way therefore, all of us are reminded that in our lives and in how we prepare ourselves to celebrate Christmas, we should always exude the genuine faith and love for God, the true reason and Joy of Christmas.

Let us all reflect upon the Scripture passages we have received and heard today, and let us remember and appreciate the Love which God has always manifested to us, and which He has provided to us perfectly in His Son, and as we continue to prepare ourselves thoroughly for the upcoming Christmas season, let us all strive to put the Lord Jesus, the true Reason and Joy of Christmas, at the centre and focus of everything that we have prepared and all that we will celebrate. Let us all continue to do our best to make our Christmas joy be full of the Love of God, and be that source of Love ourselves in everything we do, in our every actions and endeavours to everyone around us, especially to those who have been lacking in love and been neglected, and keep in mind those who cannot celebrate Christmas the way we do.

May the Lord be with us always and bless our journey of this remaining Advent time and season, and may He continue to love us all generously and patiently, as we continue embarking on this journey of faith towards His salvation and eternal life. Amen.