IV Sunday in Advent:[A]: Is 7: 10- 14; Rom 1: 1-7; Mt 1: 18-24

IV Sunday in Advent:[A]: Is 7: 10- 14; Rom 1: 1-7; Mt 1: 18-24

Introduction:  In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah gives a sign from God to King Ahaz of Judah : "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel"(Is 7:14).  Matthew considers this prophecy as one of the most descriptive and definite prophecies foretelling the future messianic king, Christ, to be born as a descendant of David.  In the second reading, Paul also asserts that Jesus was a descendant of David and thus the Messiah: "from David according to the flesh" (Rom 1: 3).  Today’s Gospel, from Matthew, focuses on the person and role of Joseph. In order for Jesus to fulfill the messianic prophecy given by Isaiah, Joseph had to accept Jesus as his son, making Jesus a legal descendant of David because Joseph was a descendant of David.

Anecdote: It was a few days before Christmas. A woman woke up one morning and told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Christmas. What do you think this dream means?" "Oh," her husband replied, "you'll know the day after tomorrow." The next morning, she turned to her husband again and said she had the same dream, and received the same reply.  On the third morning, the woman woke up and smiled at her husband, "I just dreamed again that you gave me a pearl necklace for Christmas. What do you think this dream means?" And he smiled back, "You'll know tonight." That evening, the man came home with a small package and presented it to his wife. She was delighted. She opened it gently. And when she did, she found -- a book! And the book's title was The Meaning of Dreams. Today’s gospel tells us how Joseph had a dream and how he reacted to it.

Lessons: The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehosua, which means 'YHWH is salvation'.  The first Joshua, the successor of Moses, saved the people from their enemies.  The second Joshua (Jesus) will save the people from their sins.  In Hebrew, El is a short form of Elohim, a name for God.  Immanu-El means "God with us."  Emmanuel describes Jesus’ role or vocation.  Jesus' calling is to save his people from their sins and to manifest God's presence. Matthew thus begins his Gospel with the promise that Jesus is God-with-us.  He will end the Gospel with the promise that Jesus will be with us "always, to the end of the age" (28:20). 

Joke: We know that Joseph was suspicious.  Sometimes women are overly suspicious of their husbands.  When Adam stayed out very late for a few nights, Eve became upset.  “You are running around with other women,” she charged.

“You are being unreasonable,” Adam responded.  “You are the only woman on earth.” The quarrel continued until Adam fell asleep, only to be awakened by someone poking him in the chest.

It was Eve.  “What do you think you are doing?” Adam demanded.

Eve said: “I am counting your ribs.”

Practical Applications: 1) Like Joseph, we need to trust in God, listen to Him and be faithful.  Although we may face financial problems, job insecurity, tensions in the family and health concerns, let us try to be like St. Joseph, trusting and faithful. Instead of relying on our own schemes to get us through life, let us trust in God and be strengthened by talking to Him in fervent prayer and by listening to Him speaking through the Bible. 2) We need to experience Emmanuel in our lives and change the world: The good news and the consoling message of Christmas is that the child Jesus still waits today to step into our hearts—your heart and mine—and to change us and the world around us by the beauty of God's love, kindness, mercy and compassion.  Let us take some time to welcome the Christ Child into our heart and lives this week, so that He may change our world of miseries with the beauty of that love. 3) Do we have any gift for our "Birthday Boy?” Let us check to see if Jesus is on our list this Christmas and if we have a special gift in mind for him.     A heart filled with love for God and our fellow-human beings is the birthday gift which Jesus really wants from us. Hence, let us prepare our heart for Jesus, filling it with love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness on this Christmas and every day of our lives. 4) Let us be a Christmas gift to others: The greatest gift we can give to those we love, is to have faith in them, believe in their dreams and try to help them realize them. We need to believe in the dreams of our husband, wife, children, parents, heroes, leaders and friends, then try our best to help them realize those dreams.

Introduction : Fourth Sunday in Advent

Message: Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us”, risen from the dead.  He is the king of glory.

Saints and Events in this Week: 23-Twenty Third-Monday-St. John of Kanty, priest; 25-Twenty Fifth-Wednesday-The Nativity of the Lord; 26-Twenty Sixth-Thursday-Saint Stephen, the first martyr; 27-Twenty Seventh-Friday-Saint John, Apostle, Evangelist; 28-Twenty Eighth-Saturday-The Holy Innocents, Martyrs.