December 23, 2012 – Fourth Sunday of Advent
Mic 5:1-4; Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; Heb 10:5-10; Lk 1: 39-45
We have arrived at the Fourth Sunday in Advent — the last Sunday before Christmas. The nativity of the Christ child is impending and the readings remind us of the promises of God and of the way that Jesus was to enter the world.
All of the readings are filled with commitments. It is important that we understand this commitment. Living as a steward requires a commitment, a willingness to perhaps make sacrifices, maybe not to the extent of Jesus, but certainly as a sign of our trust in God and our understanding that we are indeed called.
It is what Elizabeth says that points to Mary as the perfect steward. “Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” From the moment the angel was before Mary, and she said “Yes” to God, Mary became not only our Blessed Mother, the Mother of God, but she also became an example to us of the ultimate steward.
Throughout this Advent season we have been preparing for the arrival of the Christ child, but we have also been spiritually preparing for our own answers and our own responses to the questions and calling of God. Are we prepared to say, “Yes?” Are we prepared to give of ourselves in ways that serve others, that show our love for our neighbor, that capture that “spirit of Christmas?”
