20 December 2020
Fourth Sunday of Advent
“Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.”
Today begins the 4th week of Advent and the Church’s liturgical gaze turns with great intensity and focus upon the great mystery of the Incarnation. This week, the first third of the joyful mysteries of the Rosary are encountered in our Scriptures beginning with today’s Gospel relating the mystery of the Annunciation. In Evangelium Gaudii – Pope Francis’ first exhortation – he called all Christians to a renewed encounter with Christ and the Joy that is received from this. Francis wrote that the prophets in the Old Testament reveal that the time of the Messiah, the time of Christ’s coming, would be a joyful one for God’s people. How do our readings today, and this week, invite us to contemplate and imitate joy?
Today’s readings invite us into the joy of gift giving. There are four gifts offered in today’s readings. In the first reading, David seeks to offer God a gift of a physical dwelling – what would eventually be the lavish temple in the city of Jerusalem. It’s a gift of something to God in gratitude for all that God has done for David. God, in return, manifests his intention to give David something greater, to give David a legacy, a great name and an everlasting kingdom. God gives to David a relationship and security of his dynasty.
In our Gospel reading, God comes to Mary and offers her the gift of himself. It is more than a relationship, it is a gift of profound intimacy and union, the gift of his very self. He says, “will you take me?” Mary returns to God (and to the world) the gift of her yes. It is not a one-time gift, but a gift of commitment in the face of both her love and joy, but also in the face of the unknown. Her yes transforms her, literally into a dwelling place for God on earth greater than any temple that David could have built. The greatest gift we can offer to the Lord is the one thing he does not have – our yes to His plan for us. This yes is the source of Christian joy, and it is the joy our readings invite us to contemplate and imitate today.