RCL Year B Advent 4
II Samuel 7:1-11 and 16, Psalm 89:1-4 and 19-26, Romans 16:25-27, Saint Luke 1:26-38
I know big churches in big cities that are canceling services for this morning, when Advent 4 runs into Christmas Eve. But we’re not doing that here. It isn’t because we’re conducting services to try your patience. It is because today’s Gospel is a big part of the big story.
Today, the Blessed Virgin Mary sets the example for us all. She agrees with God’s call to her to bring “the Son of the Most High”[1] into the world. That’s a big part of the story, a story that is as big as God. She does it with grace and with charm. She does it eagerly when she says “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”[2] She brings Christ into the world joyfully and gracefully.
Think about that, for that is our calling as Christians. We are to make sure that situations which have him not, that people who know him not, that moments in our lives which have him not, have him present. Bringing Christ into the world is our care and our joy not just in this season but in every season of our lives. You will not have to look far or to walk a great distance before you see that person or that situation which yearns for Christ. You can call that your Christmas Moment, the moment just before the Baby comes, the moment given to you right out of the blue to do what Our Lady did—to bring Christ into the world. And today’s Gospel reminds us just how that’s done and just how humanly possible it is to bring Christ into the world. You do it by saying “Yes” to God, by being obedient to his call and to his will, for his will is to be present with us, not for a moment only but for all our lives and into eternity.
This is a big part of a big story. Set your heart to do what Our Lady did, and bring Christ where he’s needed. Make use of every Christmas Moment, just as she did, and see what happens when God finds a new home. See if what happens to you isn’t rather like what happens to the speaker who does the same thing in a verse of our Psalm: “My faithfulness and love shall be with him, * and he shall be victorious through my Name.”[3]
[1] Saint Luke 1:32.
[2] Saint Luke 1:38.
[3] Psalm 89:24.
hs3rd 