December 19, 2004 - Fourth Sunday of Advent - Father Fred Myers

FIRST READING: Isaiah 7: 10-16
PSALM: 80: 1-7; 16-18
SECOND READING: Romans 1: 1-7
GOSPEL: Matthew 1: 18-25

I was telling Andrew earlier this week that my mind was doing flip-flops in the office. I am trying to prepare bulletins for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and I am also trying to remember that it is still Advent - that we are still in the season of Advent and making preparations for Christmas. And so, today, we light the fourth candle in the Advent wreath, signifying for us the love of God. We lit the first candle, the candle of hope, hoping and envisioning what God had prepared for us, what God is preparing for us, and what our lives should be like or can be like. The second candle was the candle of peace - the peace of understanding what God is doing for us. We heard Isaiah say that the rough places would be made plain and the mountains would be made low; it would be a peaceful time, and the lion and the lamb would lay down together. The third candle, which is the pink candle, is the joyful candle - the candle of joy. We rejoice, and we said that many times - Rejoice! Rejoice at this coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And our fourth candle today is the candle of love, whereby we recognize the love that God has for each and every one of us and for the world. "God so loved the world", John says, "that He gave His only begotten Son". Isaiah, this morning, talks about the time when a child will be born, and that, after that child is born, in that child's lifetime, peace will come to Israel.

And then we hear the first story of the birth of Jesus and how that took place, and how Joseph was so torn up by what was going on in his life. Here he was engaged to this girl. She is pregnant, and, now, what does he do? Mary had little or no say in this. In those days, in the first century, it was the male who had all the say and who was in control. Mary could have been set aside because she was pregnant before she was actually married to Joseph. They were engaged, but they weren't married. But Joseph had a dream, and, in this dream, an angel came to him and said, "Joseph, it is O.K., because it is from God - it is from God". And because Joseph loved God so much, he gave his consent. Joseph gave his "yes" to Mary's "yes" to bearing the Son of God. And so, this is a story of love - the love that God has for all humanity, the love that God has for the Holy Family, the love that Joseph has for Mary, and the love that Joseph has for God - and all of this comes together on this particular day.

One of the questions I get asked (and you probably do too) so much at this time of the year is, "Are you ready for Christmas? Are you ready for Christmas?" I often wonder what that means: Am I ready for Christmas? Do you have all your decorations up? Do you have all your presents bought? Do you have all the stuff done? There is a time that we do prepare ourselves for this great celebration, but how do we prepare ourselves for the celebration of the gift of love? We open our hearts. We open our hearts to God's love to us, and we open our hearts to one another to accept love from one another.

I am going to read you something in closing. This is a little homily, and it came from the preacher's name who wrote it and put it in his sermon that I was reading. It is Richard Fairchild, and he stole it from somebody else, so it is O.K. He didn't know who it was, and it is anonymous, but I thought that, for me, it really brought home what this season is all about.

"As you finish your preparations for Christmas, less than a week away now, listen to the words of St. Paul concerning love in a fresh way. Someone, I know not who, wrote a paraphrase of First Corinthians 13, which goes like this: If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shining balls, but do not show love to my family, it is just another decoration. If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully-adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I am just another cook. If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in a nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing. If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir's cantata, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point. Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse. Love is kind, though harried and tired. Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way. Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can't. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes in all things, and endures all things. Love never fails. Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clubs will rust; but giving the gift of love will endure. The gift of love will endure. It is God's love for us that we learn how to love."

AMEN