The Sacrifice of saying YES: 4th Sunday of Advent

4^TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT: GOSPEL

Matthew 1:18-24

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins”.

All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Gospel Reflection - by Theresita Joseph

About a week ago, amidst mindlessly scrolling through Facebook newsfeeds, I came across this picture of an unfamiliar Nativity scene. Baby Jesus resting in the arms of St Joseph, whilst his Mother Mary is by his side, softly sleeping. It touched me because it reminded me of the somewhat 'unsung hero' role of St Joseph as Jesus’ father, and of the reciprocal love shared between St Joseph and Mother Mary as the Holy Family.

Growing up, I have been fortunate to have a loving dad who was by my side from day 1. My dad is my role model and my best friend, and witnessing his kindness, honesty and devotion to my mum has taught me so much about the beauty of marriage and parenthood. I’ve recently started to think about how too, Jesus must have shared such a close bond of love with his earthly father St Joseph. St Joseph truly cared for Jesus; he watched and helped him grow from a fragile baby into a young boy and then later into a man just like him. Indeed, much of Jesus’ human nature and qualities would have been inspired by St Joseph, as it was God Himself who chose St Joseph to be His father.

In today’s Gospel reading, St Matthew reminds us what we should learn about real compassion and commitment to God through St Joseph. I’m sure St Joseph was pretty excited to be married to Mary until he found out that she was already pregnant with a child that was impossible to have been his. He must have felt hurt, embarrassed, even angry. Yet despite this, St Joseph did not want to let Mary come into any danger by exposing her to the public, where according to the law at the time would be accused of adultery and stoned, so he instead decided for her to be let of quietly.

Through this decision, St Joseph proved his merciful and forgiving nature that had made him God’s choice to be the son of Jesus. We then see that after his visitation from the Angel of the Lord, St Joseph chooses to completely believe, and out of complete trust, surrenders his own desires and plans to God. Not only this, but he immediately acts upon what he has been told; and takes Mary as his wife. St Joseph demonstrates how to let God use his life as a vessel for others; little did he know what God had in store for him and Mary, and indeed for future generations, yet it was his first YES that allowed all to be possible.

Think about future moments that you might still be excitedly waiting for – your ideal job, your wedding day, your first home or your first child. Moments that you continually picture in your head, hoping that they turn out exactly how you would desire them to. What if God was to come in and change them? God doesn’t promise that what we want will happen, but He does promise us that His plans are always for good and to bring us hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Are we prepared to let God into our dreams and let them be done according to his plan, even if they do not turn out how we want? Do we truly believe that God has a better plan in store for us, even if we can’t see or understand it?

So, in the final few days before Christmas Day, take time to reflect upon the mystery of Christ’s birth which God had so beautifully planned out, and the inspirational Holy family that Jesus was born into. Pray to be more like St Joseph; to have the courage to put aside our own desires in place for God’s will for us, and to carry them out full of kindness and love. Let us enter into this Christmas season (and new decade!) with open hearts and open minds; ready to let God surprise us with the joy He is waiting to share with us.

Choose to Rejoice: 3rd Sunday of Advent

3RD SUNDAY OF ADVENT: GOSPEL

Matthew 11:2-11

 'A greater than John the Baptist has never been seen'. John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?’. Jesus answered, ‘Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’ As the messengers were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: he is the one of whom scripture says: ‘Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way before you.’ ‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.’

GOSPEL REFLECTION - by Jade Broadley

I love John’s determination in this Gospel. There he is, imprisoned, soul-searching, and still waiting in hope for his Saviour to come. He has gained his own followers over the years and many have looked to him to pave the way and give them a reason to hope. But he knows that there is someone greater than himself out there, someone who he recognized even as a baby in the womb, when Mary visited his mother Elizabeth.

This third Sunday of Advent tells us ‘Gaudéte, rejoice!’ because, as John discovered from his disciple’s reports, the Lord is near and He is doing amazing things! Imagine John’s excitement when his friends returned from their mission with the news of what Jesus is doing: the blind can now see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and THE DEAD ARE RAISED TO LIFE. WHAT.

I don’t know about you but often I find myself thinking that when certain things are worked out - when I have a house, a husband, my 2 perfect children, have won the lottery and I’m fully healed, then I’ll really be able to rejoice! Isn’t it so easy to fall into this lie? All. Of. The. Time.

Henri Nouwen (my top guy of 2019) says in contrast that joy is “the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing - sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death - can take that love away.”

John’s example from today’s Gospel, of waiting in expectant hope and rejoicing in the coming of our saviour motivates me to do the same, before things are perfect (or in order as I’d like them to be!) The reality of this Season is that God chose to be born into the mess of this world, into a stable to a teenage mother in less than perfect circumstances. He chose to love, and in response we choose to rejoice!

Nouwen, reflecting back upon his life said “I remember the most painful times of my life as times in which I became aware of a spiritual reality much larger than myself, a reality that allowed me to live the pain with hope ... Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

May today be a day where we choose to rejoice as we remember that the Lord is near!

Prepare the Way for the Lord - 2nd Sunday of Advent

2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT: GOSPEL

Matthew 3: 1-12

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’”.

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Gospel Reflection

by Simeon Elderfield

John the Baptist is one of the more interesting characters in the Gospels, appearing in all of them. Only in Luke is John’s early life discussed, and greater detail surrounding John’s baptism of Jesus is found in the Synoptic Gospels than John’s Gospel. Flavius Josephus, writing contemporaneously, describes John’s actions, saying he ‘was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness.’

From a Catholic perspective, it is clear that John was a prophet, indeed, the last of the Prophets and his message could not be any blunter. At this point, Jesus’ adult ministry has barely begun and John’s mission is to prepare the people of Judea for what they are about to witness. In today’s Gospel John is sarcastic: when the Pharisees and Sadducees approached, his words are dripping with irony, ‘Brood of vipers, who warned you to fly from the retribution that is coming?’. But his sarcasm doesn’t obscure his message about what true repentance is. He also brooks no arrogance, pointing out the irony in their beliefs; ‘if you are repentant, produce the appropriate fruit, and do not presume to tell yourselves, “We have Abraham for our father,” because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones.’

As a person, John exudes self-awareness of his state, preaching from a place of authority as prophet but profoundly humble in his comparison with Jesus as he says, ‘the one who follows me is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’ Out of all the people blessed with the foreknowledge of Jesus’ work, John the Baptist shows us best how we can approach our faith in the confidence of God’s plan. For death, where is thy sting? The answer is that it’s lost in the knowledge of our logos.

In the end, John died for his faith. Herod took his head, but not his spirit and in his violent death, he continued to be that most exemplary counterpart to the life of Christ. Pope Benedict XVI describes John as ‘the prophet who concludes the Old Testament and inaugurates the New, by identifying Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, the Anointed One of the Lord.’ The great saint, Augustine of Hippo, characterizes the complementary natures of John and Jesus by saying ‘John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning. John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning, Christ is the Word who lives forever.’ Without the word, the voice is meaningless. Without the voice, the word cannot be spoken.

Perhaps this is what we might take from John’s example? That we are called to be the present voice for the living word of God. In our words and deeds, we can give voice to the truth that we have been privileged to have revealed to us. The cost of being the voice may be high, but through our proclaiming of the word, we will change the world. Our voices may only last for a time, but the truth we have been given to share will last for eternity. I invite you to ask yourself what truth God has given you to share? Undoubtedly, we all possess the faculties to do so, otherwise, it would not have been given to us. Use them to the fullest! If you don’t know how to find others who can guide you. But be confident that when we surrender our voice to proclaiming God’s word, we do his work.

Are you ready Christ? First day of Advent

1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT - GOSPEL 

Matthew 24:37-44

And as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark. And they knew not till the flood came, and took them all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then two shall be in the field: one shall be taken, and one shall be left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill: one shall be taken, and one shall be left. Watch ye therefore, because ye know not what hour your Lord will come. But know this ye, that if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open. Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come.

Gospel Reflection - Mollie Ricketts 

‘Are you ready for Christmas?’ is a question that constantly is floating around at this time of the year, but today’s readings pose another more pressing question: are we ready for Christ?

Amongst the chaos leading up to Christmas, filled with deadlines, pressures and stresses, this Gospel holds such power to instantly put our lives into perspective. Are we ready? Far too often these worries and struggles of the world overtake our spiritual lives and prevent us from focussing on our one true purpose in this life: preparing our souls for the coming again of Christ.

St Matthew speaks such simple but powerful truth: ‘you do not know on what day your Lord is coming’. As humans we are constantly trying to control and manage our lives to suit us, but today’s readings directly challenges this. We need to put all our trust in God, and focus on the things of eternal life: our salvation and the salvation of others. It is so incredibly easy to become dragged down by the way of the world; the readings today remind us that this will not prepare us. Of course this is a lot easier said that done, but we know that we will only obtain true peace and joy when we are doing the will of God.

The element of uncertainty in St Matthew’s words can be a daunting prospect. St Matthew isn’t giving us a date or time frame but an awareness to be alert and prepared. Often it is tempting and somewhat easier to invest ourselves in the events and things of the world which we know are certain like the General Election or the festivities of Christmas, and live in denial. However, by ignoring St Matthew we are living in denial about the reality of our salvation and the state of our souls, or are we procrastinating until we feel it is ‘the right time’? The events of the world will pass but the way we live our lives and the state of our soul is our only true reflection of how we have lived our life in God’s eyes.

St Matthew’s words are not intended to frighten us but provide us with hope; hope that the coming of Christ is approaching. In a world filled with sin and darkness, we are being called to ‘cast of the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light’. We are being called to become a real follower of Christ. Today’s readings remind us perfectly of our mission: to be prepare our soul for the second coming of Christ.

Advent provides a perfect time to re-centre our focus on Christ. Have we forgiven those who have hurt us? Are we at peace with ourselves, God and others? Are we trying to help those in need, spiritually and materially, and bring about God’s kingdom on Earth? Are we living out our faith in a way which is pleasing to God? We only have today so let us be ready for Christ. The time is now.