Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent, the last Sunday of this Advent season that we
use to prepare to celebrate the Incarnation of the Son of God.
The Incarnation is a mystery.
This is the mystery that was hidden from all ages that St. Paul talks about in his letter
to the Romans that we read in the second reading.
Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of
Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret from
eternity, which is now made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets.
So this mystery of the Incarnation is the object of our meditation during this period
of Advent and of our celebration during the Christmas season.
And as St. Paul says, it was first made manifest by the
scriptures of the prophets, first revealed to us by the prophets.
And that's what we see in the first reading of today's Mass, the incident between the
prophet Nathan and David, David who wanted to build a house for the Lord, and Nathan
who at first proposes to him this as a good and holy thing to do.
But then he comes back and it is now the Lord.
The Lord who comes to Nathan and says, go and tell my servant David this.
And part of the message is, and when thy days shall be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy
fathers, I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy loins, and I will
establish his kingdom. He shall build a house to my name, and I will establish the throne of his
kingdom forever.
I will be to his kingdom. I will be to his kingdom. I will be to his kingdom. I will be to his kingdom.
I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.
Now this prophecy, of course, refers partly to Solomon, who was the son of David and received a
kingdom, except his kingdom was not everlasting. He was a son to God, and God was to him as a
father, in the sense that he was very dear to God, as the scripture says, very much loved by God.
But this prophecy, perhaps unbeknownst to the prophet himself, refers above all to Christ, when he
talks about being a son of David, an everlasting kingdom, and a son of God. And this is why Christ
is called in the Gospels, the son of David. They were expecting this to be something of the Messiah,
that he would be a descendant.
And of course, it's only Christ who has an everlasting kingdom, who built a house to the name of God, his
father. This house being the church, which is the kingdom of God here on earth, and will last forever, will last
until the end of time here on earth, and then for all eternity, when the world comes to an end. I will be to him a
father, and he shall be to me a son. Now, Christ fulfills this part of the prophecy perfectly and literally. He is
truly, by nature, the son of God. Now, we see that this mystery comes to its fulfillment in the reading that we have in
the Gospel, the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to Our Lady. And we see that the Archangel Gabriel uses the
very same words that our Lord gave to the prophet Nathan. He covers the three same characteristics that were
prophesied by Nathan. That is, that this son of Mary is a son of David, he will have an everlasting kingdom, and he is also
the son of God. As the angel Gabriel says, the Lord God will give him the throne of David, and he will have an everlasting
kingdom, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Therefore, the child to be
born will be called holy, the son of God. You know that St. Joseph was of the house of David, so our Lord, legally speaking, is of the
house of David. But also, as St. Paul says, again in the Romans, I believe it's 9.5, he says,
according to the flesh, that Jesus Christ is a descendant of David, according to the flesh. That means our Lady as well was of the
house of David. And he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. There is the announcement of the
everlasting kingdom, the church. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the son of God. And exactly, our Lord is the son of
God by nature. Now, St. Paul goes on to say that this mystery, now announced by the archangel Gabriel, is to be made known to all the
nations, to bring about the obedience of faith, to God the only wise through Jesus Christ, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever.
So, see, these are the things that give glory to God, making the mystery known.
So, as to bring about the obedience of faith, this all redounds to the glory of God. The mystery has been made known by the preaching of the
apostles and their successors. And we see for what scope? To bring about the obedience of faith. Not merely to bring people to faith, that is, not
merely to impart the knowledge of this mystery, but as a logical
consequence, to bring about obedience to all that this mystery entails. Obedience to the law, the commandments given by the son of God and
proclaimed by the church, his kingdom. And we see that Our Lady, in the gospel reading at the time of the Annunciation, also fulfills this, these words of St.
Paul.
The obedience of faith is there than Our Lady at the moment of the Annunciation. And in fact, this is what St. Elizabeth praises Our Blessed Mother for when she comes to make her visit. Blessed is she who believed in that which was revealed to her.
The obedience of faith. Our Lady believed in the words of the Archangel Gabriel, that what he pronounced would be fulfilled in her. And she gave her full,
an entire
assent
to that which she knew by faith.
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me
according to your word.
And so,
we see Our Lady as our model
during this period of Advent
and during the time of Christmas,
in which we celebrate
the mystery of the Incarnation.
Let's meditate
deeply on this mystery so as to
deepen our faith,
to understand it
ever more profoundly.
And let's give our entire and complete assent
to all that the faith entails.
Let's imitate Our Lady
into her perfect obedience.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.