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FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
December 22, 2013
GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 1:18-24
This is
how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
FIRST READING: Isaiah
7:10-14
The LORD
spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Psalm 24: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Response: Let the Lord enter; he is king of
glory.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
Response: Let the Lord enter; he is king of
glory.
Who can
ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
Response: Let the Lord enter; he is king of
glory.
He shall
receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
Response: Let the Lord enter; he is king of
glory.
SECOND
READING: Letter of Paul to Romans 1:1-7
Paul, a
slave of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,
but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness
through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,
but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness
through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Source: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122213.cfm
Source: http://www.churchofepiphany.com/news/2013/dec/16-liturgy
REFLECTION:
This
is the Fourth
Sunday of Advent. We are called to trust in the harmony of
God’s plan. Like Joseph and Mary in today’s gospel, we, too, are called to
cooperate in the divine plan of salvation. But this calls for a deep trust that
the Spirit of God is at work even when things don’t seem to make sense, and the
situations in which we find ourselves are very challenging. It can take a lot
of intention and attention to trust that God will bring good and something
altogether new out of difficulty and even tragedy.
Is there a situation in your life that requires you to
relinquish control and open yourself to the new and unexpected that God can
bring out of it?
Let
us with hopeful joy celebrate Emmanuel, our God who is with us in everything
and whose promise of salvation can be trusted!
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