(Listen to this homily here).
Last week I preached about two words—reflect and
rejoice. Today I want to leave you
with one: fulfillment.
Listen
again to the words we heard from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “To him who can strengthen you, according
to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation
of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the
prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known
to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith…”
The
mystery kept secret for long ages is God’s rescue plan for us. I loved Bishop Sirba’s image from the
homily he gave at our parish mission—a GPS. When we take a wrong turn, a GPS recalculates and puts us on
the right path. This is what God
has done for us since the very beginning.
After
the original sin of Adam and Eve, God already began to reveal His plan of
redemption. In the first book of
the Bible, Genesis, from the third chapter and fifteenth verse God says, “I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise
your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
God
continues this rescue mission over centuries. Slowly—very slowly—He builds up His family. In Adam and Eve He had a couple. Through Noah He had a family. In Abraham he acquired a tribe. In Moses He built a nation and in David
He established a kingdom. Each
step of the way God forged covenants with His people, promising them land,
protection and redemption. We
heard one example of these promises in 2nd Samuel today: “The LORD also reveals to you that
he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I
will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and
I will make his kingdom firm. I
will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.”
Keep
these words in mind and listen to the voice of the angel Gabriel, whose
appearance to Mary comes at the brink of fulfillment: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and
you shall name him Jesus. He
will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and
the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and
he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no
end.”
Jesus,
the Son of the Most High. The son
of David. The ruler of God’s house
and family. The Messiah. Emmanuel—God is with us. Fulfillment.
God,
be with us as we conclude the season of Advent that we may be prepared for the
coming of your Son into our hearts.
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