Saturday December 18

 

 

THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT

 

IMMANUEL

                                                       

Introduction

         When the kings of God’s people had not fulfilled their mission of guiding the people to God, the prophet Jeremiah announces that God would do away with them and become himself the shepherd of his people. But he will make this new beginning through a man, a virtuous shoot of the house of David. Through him, God would become his people’s integrity, the cause of our fidelity.

         In the New Testament, as Matthew tells us, Jesus is this Son of David through Joseph and Mary and at the same time, God’s own Son. He is indeed “God our integrity,” and Immanuel, “God-with-us,” Jesus, whose name means “Savior.”

 

Opening Prayer

Lord, faithful God,
in Jesus, you have given us someone
taken from our human flesh and blood,

a man, yet your Son,
through whom you want to restore
integrity and fidelity among us.
With him, help us to give to you
and also to one another,
the proper and adequate response
of faithful, serving love,
that you expect from your people.
Be our God for ever
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Reading 1: JER 23:5-8

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”

Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”;
but rather, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north”– 
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19

(see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous deeds.
And blessed forever be his glorious name;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

 

Alleluia

Alleluia, alleluia.
O Leader of the House of Israel,
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: MT 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. 
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. 
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly. 
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. 
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her. 
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.” 
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.” 
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home. 
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.

 

Intercessions

–       Lord Jesus, give us the integrity and the sense of justice that keep escaping us, we pray:

–       Lord, may we learn from you to have pity on the weak and the needy, as you are good to us and merciful, we pray:

–       Lord, as you are with us, make us also stand by the side of our brothers and sisters in their spiritual and materials needs, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

God, our Father,
only someone untouched by sin
could love you as you deserve
and make us, sinful people

capable of responding to your love
as your sons and daughters.
Let these offerings be the sign,
that we expect your Son with hope
and that we are willing to follow him
on his loyal way of obedience to your will
and commitment to your justice and love.
Accept us in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord, saving God,
we give you thanks for accepting us
in your Son, Jesus Christ.
In him, you make us both
those who are saved
and those who have to save themselves
and their brothers and sisters.
Make us fully aware
that we are your messianic people.
Help us to respond to your initiative of love
with all our cooperation.
So that one day all humanity may belong to you
and honor you as the Father of all
through our brother, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Blessing

Do not be afraid, God is with you. We live in his hands, for he has given us Jesus, our Savior and friend. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Government is a noble profession. The fact is, however, that it often disappoints. Advent points to the arrival of a new and different government, the reign of God, our heavenly king. It is repeatedly asserted that this future monarch will be just and will rule with wisdom. These characteristics appear clearly in the Jeremiah reading today. The repeated emphasis on qualities of honesty and uprightness only highlight the fact that these attrib­utes were absent in kings of the past.

The era of the messiah was to be clearly God directed. The name given to the child of Mary is Emmanuel, “God with us.” Jesus will be a king of a different kind. While presiding over a realm, he will be, as another prophet states, a king mild and hum­ble, seated upon a donkey. This is a king who spent his life doing good while teaching what true goodness means. As our “window on God,” this is a king who avoids any form of pomp or acclaim; he is die champion of compassion, forgiveness, and concern. These qualities in God were known to Israel in the past, as Jeremiah states today, when he brought his people out of Egyptian bondage and centuries later freed them again from the captivity of Babylon. But never was the nature of God more evident than in these final days, with die Word incarnate who gave his life that we might live.

To aspire to public office is certainly highly commendable. It has its inherent dangers—compromise of principles, graft, cor­ruption in different forms. But it is always heartwarming to see men and women elected to public office who maintain a posture of faith and moral principle. In the face of temptation, such men and women stay their moral course. Public office is a chance to enhance the reign of God, especially in concern for the neediest people in society. It tells us that Emmanuel is still with us.

 

Points to Ponder

Faith and politics

The reign of God today Jesus as Emmanuel

Jesus as son of Mary Jos Joseph, the upright spouse.