BIBLE STUDY #68
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
December 18, 2011

READING 1
2 SM 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16

When King David was settled in his palace,
and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
"Here I am living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God dwells in a tent!"
Nathan answered the king,
"Go, do whatever you have in mind,
for the LORD is with you."
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?'

"'It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever."

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
ROM 16:25-27

Brothers and sisters:
To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
LK 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.

"Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Our Gospel today is the Annunciation, the announcement of the birth of Jesus given to Mary by the angel Gabriel, an angel who appears four times in Scripture and each time brings a momentous message from God, which is the mission of angels: 1) he interpreted to Daniel the vision of the ram and the goat (Daniel 8:16-17); 2) he explained the vision of the 70 weeks in Daniel 9:21-22; 3) he announced to Zechariah the birth of John, forerunner of the Messiah, and 4) he announced the birth of Jesus to Mary.

Mary is a “virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.” This is important, because the Messiah is to come from the house of David. We see in the first reading that God says to David, “I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.” This is thought to be a prophecy concerning that the messiah is to come from David’s lineage and is referring to Jesus.

Gabriel addresses Mary with the words: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." Mary is troubled by these words out of her sense of humility, not thinking that this description is appropriate for her.

Gabriel then tells Mary that she will bear a son, name him Jesus, “he will be called Son of the Most High, he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." In other words, she will be the mother of the Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God.

That’s kind of a lot to take in all at once. I think most of us would be a bit overwhelmed by this kind of message. Would we believe the angel’s message? Would we even believe in the angel at all? Mary questions the angel for clarification: "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" Notice that she doesn’t question that it is really Gabriel, nor does she question if it is possible at all. She just wants clarification of how it will happen.

Gabriel explains and even tells her about Elizabeth, her cousin beyond childbearing years, who will give birth to John the Baptist, almost as if he is trying to convince her to say yes, since nothing is impossible for God. Implicit in the dialogue is that Mary can say yes to God, or can turn him down. God respects our free will and would never force us to do anything against our will.

More importantly, I think, is that when one says yes to something or someone, they are more committed. When one makes a conscious decision to follow a certain path no matter what, they will be much more likely to follow through to the end. A good example is marriage. When 2 people fall in love and marry, I would hope that they would be committed enough to do what is necessary to make that marriage work. I certainly see plenty of that around here.

When Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word," it didn’t guarantee her an easy life without any pain or hardship, nor did it guarantee that she would understand everything, nor did it guarantee that she would always get her way. Following God’s call brought her faith and a closeness to God that can’t be broken by anyone or anything. It brought a peace and a happiness that can only come from God. Sounds a lot like a good marriage, doesn’t it?

In the first reading, God has given David victory over his enemies and now gives David time to rest. David wants to build a temple for God because "Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" He also wanted to build a temple so it would be a unifying factor for the country (David had recently brought Judah and Israel together to form the country of Israel), and to have a permanent and central place of worship. Nathan the Prophet tells him to go ahead, but God has other ideas. God doesn’t want to be limited to a temple or to be confined in any one spot. The temple was not to be in David’s time. God then builds a house for David; not of brick or stone, but of people. The house of David will last forever bring about a Messiah.

God is different than the pagan gods of shrines and high places. God was intimately involved in David’s life: all of David’s fame and success is due to God’s presence in his life. God wants to guide and inspire us also. Do we let that happen, or are we too self sufficient?

Mary did not clearly understand what she was undertaking but she trusted God and said yes anyway. God guided and directed her in her life. When we give ourselves to God, we don’t know where that will lead. We may not understand until after the fact, if at all, but we follow anyway because God works in mysterious and even sacramental ways through us. We all have a place in God’s plan of salvation. Like Mary, let’s say yes and help bring about the kingdom.

The second reading from Romans is Paul’s farewell address to the church in Rome. Even though he didn’t write a gospel per se, he considers his preaching good news, hence the term gospel in today’s reading. He preaches that justification and salvation are God’s gracious gifts given to us through Jesus Christ. These gifts are not limited to any one group of people, but are available to all people.


Fr. Phil