SUNDAY HOMILIES FOR YEAR A

By Fr Munachi E. Ezeogu, cssp

Homily for 4th Sunday of Advent - on the Epistle
Home > Homilies > Year A > Advent 4 Gospel

The Reason for the Season

Isaiah 7:10-14 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24

A teacher wants to know how each of her students celebrates Christmas.

She calls on young Patrick Murphy, "Tell me Patrick, what do you do at
Christmas time?" Patrick answers, "Me and my twelve brothers and
sisters go to midnight Mass and we sing hymns, then we come home,
and we put mince pies by the back door and hang up our stockings.
Then we go to bed and wait for Father Christmas to come with toys."
The teacher asks another student, "And you, Jimmy Brown, what do
you do at Christmas?" Jimmy replies, "Me and my sister also go to
Church with Mom and Dad and we sing carols, and after we get home
we put cookies and milk by the chimney and we hang up our stockings.
We hardly sleep waiting for Santa Claus to bring our toys." Realizing
there was a Jewish boy in the class and not wanting to leave him out of
the discussion, the teacher asks Isaac Cohen the same question, "Isaac,
what do you do at Christmas?" Isaac replies, "Well, we go for a ride and
we sing a Christmas carol." Surprised, the teacher asks him, "Tell us
what you sing." Isaac goes on, "Well, it's the same thing every year. Dad
comes home from the office. We all get into the Rolls Royce, and we
drive to his toy factory. When we get inside we look at all the empty
shelves and we sing, 'What a friend we have in Jesus.' Then we all go to
the Bahamas."

A visitor from Mars arriving on planet earth at Christmas time would

have a hard time figuring out what it is we are celebrating. With all the
snowmen and icicles on our lawns and decorations, the Martian might
think it is just a winter festival. With Santa Claus and his elves and
reindeer everywhere, the Martian might think that Christmas is a feast
in honour of a fat bearded man dressed in red. And with all the
shopping, eating, drinking and exchange of presents, the Martian might
think we are simply having an end-of-year holiday. People celebrate
Christmas today in various ways and for various reasons. On the last
Sunday before Christmas, the church offers us the second reading from
Paul’s letter to the Romans to help us to ask and reflect on the important
question: What are we celebrating at Christmas? What is the reason for
the season?

Today’s second reading is the opening paragraph of Paul’s letter to the

Romans. In this short paragraph Paul tells us about himself, about the
 Romans, and more importantly, what his letter is all about. Paul tells us
it is all about the Good News of what God has done for us in His Son,
Jesus Christ. This is exactly what we celebrate at Christmas. Jesus
Christ is the reason for the season. Christmas is the feast day of his
birth. Who is this child whose birth the whole world celebrates? The
second reading helps us to articulate an answer.

The child whose birth we celebrate at Christmas is:

a. a child “who was descended from David according to the

flesh” (verse 3). We must never forget that God acts through
human beings to fulfil His purpose. The story of Christmas,
therefore, is not just the story about God and Jesus but also the
story about Mary and Joseph, about the shepherds and the magi,
the story of how human beings cooperate with God.

b. a child whom God Himself declared to be God’s beloved Son

especially by raising him from the dead (verse 4). He is the one
who speaks God’s word, the one to whom we must listen.

c. a child through whom we receive grace (verse 5). G-RA-C-E

stands for God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense . “The law was
given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ” (John 1:17). This is the child through whom we receive
God’s abundant blessings much more than we ever deserve.

d. a child through whom we receive our apostleship (verse 5), that

is, our calling as God’s servants. In Jesus we receive divine
riches and privileges (grace), but we also receive a divine calling
to serve God in our neighbour (apostleship).

As we pray for the blessing of the new-born Child at Christmas, let us

also ask him to show us how we can serve God with gladness and joy
all the days of our lives.
SUNDAY HOMILIES FOR YEAR A
By Fr Munachi E. Ezeogu, cssp
Homily for 4th Sunday of Advent - on the Gospel
Home > Homilies > Year A > Advent 4 Epistle

The God Who Comes

Isaiah 7:10-14 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24

Children are great. A kindergarten teacher tells her class the Christmas
story of the Shepherds and the Three Wise Men. At the end she asked
them, “Now tell me, Who was the first to know about the birth of
Jesus?” A little girl shoots up her hand and answers, “Mary.” Of course,
Mary. How could anyone miss that. But adults miss that because adults
tend to expect more complicated answers. The child’s answer is so
simple and obvious that we miss it! We have this tendency to associate
God with the phenomenal and the spectacular, such as the host of angels
or the guiding star, so much so that we fail to notice God’s presence and
action in the ordinary and normal things of life, such as in pregnancy
and birth. This child’s inspired answer reminds us to take a second look
at the “ordinary things of life” that we take so much for granted and see
God’s hand in them.

Our gospel today begins with a seemingly casual statement: “Now the
birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way …”(Matthew 1:18).
But for the average Jew of Jesus’ times this statement would be a shock.
Why? Because popular Jewish belief in those days did not expect the
Messiah to be born of a woman as a normal, suckling baby. Though the
scribes and scholars were aware of the prophecy that the Messiah would
come from Bethlehem, the average person held to the popular theology
which says that “Three things come wholly unexpected — the Messiah,
a godsend, and a scorpion” (Sanhedrin 97a). The Messiah was expected
to drop suddenly from the skies, full-grown in all his divine regalia and
power. His landing space, of course, was no other than the Temple
mount. Now you can understand why Satan tempted Jesus by proposing
that he jump down from the pinnacle of the temple.

The Jews found it hard to reconcile these expectations with the reality
of this man Jesus whom they knew to be born and raised in their
midst. “We know where this man is from; but when the Messiah
comes, no one will know where he is from” (John 7:27). They found
the ordinary ways of God’s coming, God’s presence and God’s action
among His people too simple to be true.

Like the Jews of old we also wait for the coming of God among us, for
our Immanuel (God with us). Maybe we should take a moment and ask
ourselves, how do we expect God to come among us? How does God
work among us? This is necessary because sometimes the problem is
not that God is not with us, the problem rather is that we do not
recognize the ways of God’s presence and action among us. We are
often enough like Jacob in Bethel who awoke from his sleep and
exclaimed, “So the LORD is in this place – and I did not know
it!” (Genesis 28:16).

The coming of the long awaited Messiah, the light of the world, the
king of the Jews and the desire of the nations, not through clouds and
 lightning but through the nine-months pregnancy of a country girl,
through thirty years of the normal human process of infancy,
adolescence and adulthood, reminds us that God comes in ordinary,
normal, daily circumstances of life. God comes to us in the people we
see around us being born, growing up, ageing and dying. It is often
hardest to see God in the people who are familiar to us, not to talk of in
our own very selves. But if we see the incarnation of the Son of God as
a bridge between heaven and earth, between the divine and the human,
between the order of grace and the order of nature, between the sacred
and the profane, maybe we will begin to discern the presence and action
of God more and more in our daily lives.

A Nigerian proverb says, “Listen, and you will hear the footsteps of the
ants.” Today we are challenged to listen and hear the footsteps of God
who comes into our lives in ordinary ways, through ordinary people and
at ordinary moments of our lives. No need to look up to the mountain
top or the depths of the ocean, for “In him we live and move and have
our being” (Acts 17:28).

Weekly THIS AND THAT for December 20, 2009: Catholics

Against the Tide
This and That:
Preparing for Christmas: Catholics Against the Tide

As we prepare next week for the celebration of Christmas I am reminded that it hasn’t always
been easy to be a Catholic, nor is it in some parts of the world today. There are outcries from
atheists, agnostics and other groups these days to do away with symbols of Christmas. We’re to
drop the greeting of “Merry Christmas” and use “Seasons Greetings.” Christmas trees are now
“holiday trees” and please, no singing of Christmas Carols, though Rudolph and Frosty are just
fine. And what ever happened to “Christmas Vacation”; “Winter Break” doesn’t seem to make it. It
looks like “In God we Trust” has come off of some of our coinage, and the list goes on and on.
Catholics and other Christians are going to have to rely on their own initiative to keep Christ in
Christmas; the culture certainly isn’t going to do it. The following is a story of how our fellow-
Catholics supposedly did it for 271 long grueling years in England and left us an important legacy.
I say “supposedly” because its authenticity has been questioned. Nevertheless it’s a good story and
if they did it so can we!
Fondly,
Father Nicholas

It is a fact of history that from 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to
practice their faith openly. The story goes that someone during that era wrote this carol as a
catechism song for young Catholics. It can have two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a
hidden meaning known only to members of our Church. Each element in the carol has a code
word for a religious reality that the children could remember.

➢ The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ

➢ Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments

➢ Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love

➢ The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John

➢ The five golden rings recalled the Torah or the Mosaic Law, the first five books of the Old
Testament

➢ The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

➢ Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit – Wisdom,
Understanding, Right Judgment, Fortitude, Knowledge, Reverence, Awe of God

➢ The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes

➢ Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience,
Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control

➢ The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments

➢ The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples

➢ The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed

One thing is certain this Christmas, there is no doubt that the culture has gone secular. And while
there is no persecution of Catholics in America today, thank God there is the freedom to teach our
children the meaning of Christmas openly. Use that gift well this coming week. Don’t count on
others, the school, the community, the sports teams, advertising, TV, or the marketplace. You
might begin by telling them the story of “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

4 T H
S U N D AY O F A D V E N T, C Y C L E A

T E R R A N U O V A H E R M I TA G E

DECEMBER 22, 2013

J O S E P H : A S L E E P A N D FA I T H F U L

B Y ( R E V. M S G R . ) N I C H O L A S P. A M AT O

M Y S L E E P I N G O N A H O M I LY

Often enough, probably once a month, I find it difficult to get the focus for my
Sunday homily.

I work on the readings early in the week. I ask myself: what are these passages,
especially the Gospel, saying to me and to us?

Sometimes it just doesn’t get clear to me. And then what I do is re-read the
Scripture passages and any commentaries I have read on them before going to
bed, maybe on Wednesday evening.

I just sleep on it. And then, almost always, I wake up in the morning and it’s clear.
It is suddenly clear what I want, or rather what God wants me to focus on and I
start forming the homily. Sleeping on it has a way of helping me to see it as I had
not seen it before and of making it all clear to me.

Joseph Sleeping on His Dilemma

I wonder if his is something like what happens to Joseph in today’s Gospel.

Joseph and Mary are betrothed. In that culture, this was much more than
engagement.

Betrothal meant that they were married, but not yet living together. In fact,
betrothal could only be ended by divorce.

Joseph comes to know that Mary is bearing a child and he knows that the child is
not his. The law calls for Mary to be publicly shamed and punished.

But Joseph still has feelings for Mary. So, he decides to divorce her quietly,
without any accusation against her.

But something tells Joseph to take time with his decision. So he decides to sleep
on it and see what he thinks in the morning.

He wakes up and now things look different and clear to him. Something within
him tells him to trust Mary.

Joseph actually feels that God is calming him and telling him to trust and go
ahead with the marriage. And that is what he does.

Joseph Responds

Joseph is a great example for us here.

Joseph doesn’t just react out of anger and hurt and pride. He doesn’t react
hastily.

Instead, Joseph takes time to be with the situation and take it inside himself. He
gets in touch with what God is saying within him.

He deals with the situation and does not avoid it. He is decisive and not rash.
He is reflective, deliberative, and not reactive. And, of course, the result is
wonderful.

Joseph cooperates in bringing God’s Son into the world. What a wonderful
example Joseph is for us in how he does this.

I have to ask: how much more of God’s presence and peace can enter our world if
we respond to situations as Joseph does? Step back – think – pray – sleep on it –
get in touch with what God wants – what a good, positive, helpful process this is!

Joseph Respects

Joseph shows one more trait here that I don’t want us to miss.

Joseph is a religious man and respects the religious law. That law tells him to
divorce Mary.

But, the passage says that, at first, he decides to do this quietly. Why?

Because he doesn’t want to expose Mary to shame and disgrace. So, he is going
to live up to his faith and his principles, but in a way that is not self-righteous and
is not destructive of Mary.

Well again, what a good example Joseph is for us! Sometimes, in the world of
religion, in Christianity, we think that we have to “stand up” for what we believe.

And sometimes, unfortunately, this “standing up” means a “putting

down.” Sometimes we equate “standing up” for something we believe is right
with “putting down” others whom we think are wrong.

I think this is an unfortunate religious approach. It is not the way of Joseph or of

Jesus.

It is not the way that Pope Francis is modeling and calling us to embrace. Joseph’s
example today, even in his original way of dealing with the situation, is a great
example of being able to “stand up” for something and of respecting the other
person at the same time.
This is a helpful example in dealing with situations in our families. It is helpful for
us as persons or for us as a Church in dealing with some issues in our society and
culture today.

Conclusion

Joseph, a great model for what it means to know God’s will and to bring God’s
presence and peace much more effectively into our world today.