4^th Sunday of Advent, A               December 23, 2007

The first reading is very confusing.  What is this sign king Ahaz is to ask for, and why does he refuse?  Let me explain.

King Ahaz in Jerusalem was approached by the kings of Israel and Syria to the north.  They wanted Ahaz to join them in a revolt against the superpower, Assyria, over in modern day Iraq.  But Ahaz refused.  Israel and Syria were so angry that they attacked Jerusalem to get rid of Ahaz.  Now the plot thickens.  Ahaz now decides to ask the superpower, Assyria, to protect him from Israel and Syria.  Then enters Isaiah the prophet, who warns Ahaz that if Assyria helps, it will end up making Ahaz its vassal, its servant.  Isaiah says, don’t trust in military alliances for your security.  Trust in God, and ask God for a sign that He will protect you.  But Ahaz refuses, thinking, “I’ll have a better chance with Assyria than with God.”  So, Isaiah promises that God will give a sign anyway.  Ahaz’s royal lineage will continue, says Isaiah, when a young new wife in Ahaz’s harem would conceive and give birth to the next king, Hezekiah, whom Isaiah called Emmanuel, God is with us, since Hezekiah’s birth was to be the sign that God had not abandoned his people.

Would you like a lesson for your life from this story?  How about this?  What are you looking forward to, what are you trusting in to make Christmas secure for you, happy and satisfying?  What will make this a good Christmas for you?  Is it something this world offers?  A gentle snowfall on Christmas morning?  A tree with just the right gifts piled high?  Christmas dinner with all the traditional foods the way you like them?  Every conversation and everything that happens in your family picture perfect, just right?  If you rely on any of these things to make your Christmas day, you will be disappointed.  No thing, no presents, no family members or friends have the power to make you happy.  Only the Lord Jesus reborn in your heart can guarantee you a merry, happy, joyful, safe and secure Christmas.  So, ask yourself, what are you looking forward to as the highpoint of your Christmas.  Celebrating here with one another the rebirth of Christ in your heart?  Or is it something else?

Now, we turn to the Gospel story.  This year's nativity scene in St. Peter's Square, to be unveiled tomorrow, will have a new twist. Rather than the manger or stable in Bethlehem from St. Luke’s Christmas story, the nativity will feature the home of St. Joseph in Bethlehem, reflecting the story of the birth of Christ depicted in today’s Gospel from St. Matthew.  You may not realize it, but Luke and Matthew each have different and unconnected stories of the birth of Jesus.  And, details often conflict.  For example, Matthew knows nothing of Mary and Joseph originally living in Nazareth.  They are from Bethlehem, and it is in Joseph’s home in Bethlehem that Jesus is born.  Only later do they move to Nazareth.

The new Vatican nativity scene very much bears the stamp of Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict, the theologian.  It is a teaching nativity, trying to represent Joseph's experience, his wrestling with the fact that Mary is pregnant, but not by him.  He had no idea the way it would all work out.  So, the scene depicts him pondering all this in his home, amid his work, before it comes to pass.

Joseph is not the central figure in the Christmas story, but his role is crucial.  In the nativity accounts, Mary is always there, but this nativity stresses the importance and blessings that come from having a father figure in a family.

Today when we hear this Christmas story centering on Joseph, let us spend some time thanking God for all the blessings our own fathers have brought to our lives.