The Messiah has Come

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

Psalm 80, which we use as the responsorial psalm on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, is a communal lamentation. There is a possibility that this lament is occasioned by the death of King Josiah who reigned over the Kingdom of Judah about 650 years before the coming of Jesus. King Josiah instituted a reform inspired by the newly discovered Book of Deuteronomy. In the face of great resistance, the prophet Jeremiah had been preaching insistently about the need for Judah to return to God. As we know, Josiah was killed in a battle at Megiddo. His efforts at reform died with him. His successor, King Jehoiakim, was not of the same mind as King Josiah. As a result, Judah was overtaken by Babylon and its people were taken into exile. Psalm 80 is a plea to restore the kingdom of Judah by raising up a Messiah who would turn the kingdom back to God.

It is essential for us to understand the context of the word Messiah. In the final stanza of this psalm, the people ask God to help the man who sits at the right hand of God. This is a reference to the king, for the people of Israel regarded every King as a son of God, an anointed one, beloved by God. The word Christ means “the anointed one.” Consequently, at the end of the Advent season the messianic tone of the Scriptures comes to the fore. God’s return will be in the person of the anointed one, the Christ.

The first reading comes to us from the prophet Micah. He foretells the coming of a Messiah born in Bethlehem who will be a shepherd of the people. Micah promises a worthy King under whom the exiles will be reunited with their own people. From the earliest Christian times, the church has applied this prophecy to Jesus as the chosen one of God, chosen to fulfill the promises to the whole people and to the House of David in particular.

The second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews speaks also of the coming of Jesus, under the imagery of sacrifice and priesthood, in the ultimate simplicity of sacrifice which is complete self- surrender to the will of God. It is a theme that we have met in the readings from this particular letter many times throughout the fall, but its new juxtaposition with the proclamation of the imminent coming of the Lord both then and now gives the theme a new relevance. We see that the coming of Jesus is not only an event in the past, but an event that is for us to enter into our own lifetime, in our own present.

The third proclamation from the Gospel of Saint Luke is a story so familiar that there is always the danger that we might not take it seriously. It is all too easy to confuse familiarity with understanding, and acquaintance with assimilation of the message. Yes, it is a story about Mary and Elizabeth who represent the new as well as the ancient covenants with God. John, the baby that Elizabeth carries, rises from within the ancient covenant to testify to the coming Savior. Indeed, the response attributed here to John is reminiscent of the leaping for joy attributed by the Hebrew Scriptures to the poor when they hear the promise of God’s salvation.

The Bible and the liturgy present us with the story that we might place ourselves within it and ask whether we also are ready to leap with joy at the prospect of the Lord’s coming to us. The story questions whether our values and hopes are such that we have cause to rejoice beyond measure at the news that he will shortly appear.

The story of Mary and Elizabeth is too easily seen as one about the past. The tradition of Israel had long been without a prophet, like the elderly and barren Elizabeth. The young community and new tradition of the followers of Jesus brings new hope to the old, bringing it to fulfillment as Mary brings the unborn Savior to Elizabeth’s house. The story bears a message about our relationship as Christians to the traditions of Israel. But it does not stop there. It also suggests that now and always we must be ready to be surprised by the redeeming power of God in unexpected places where for us also Christ will appear.

Consequently, we make the prayer of Psalm 80 our own. We ask that we be made to turn to God. However, we know in our hearts that God will not make us turn to God. Instead, God will invite us to return to a just and righteous relationship. It is up to us to accept the invitation. It is up to us to return to the Lord. It must be our decision to never again withdraw from our relationship with God.

Advent began by remembering that Jesus will return again. The final Sunday of Advent reminds us that when Jesus returns, we must align ourselves with God’s will. If we failed to do so, we will suffer the same fate as the kingdom of Judah which was forced into exile because they did not heed the call of Jeremiah to return to God’s law.