JESUS, THE PROMISED MESSIAH
( Is 7:10-14, Ps 24, Romans 1:1-7, Matt 1:18-24)
The second part of Advent which is from 17th to 24th of December lays more emphasis on the immediate preparation for Christmas. The emphasis is on the commemoration of the birth of the Messiah, the Word which took flesh to dwell among us (Jn 1: 14). The readings point to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah who was promised to the Israelites by the prophets. The fourth candle which represents love also deepens the theme which is the love of God shown to humanity for sending His only beloved Son, our Messiah to come and deliver us from the slavery of sin, our greatest enemy ( Jn 3:16). And the fact that we have to show this unconditional love to ourselves. But the last Sunday of Advent reminds us to intensify our preparations to receive Christ in our lives during Christmas.
The first reading is centered on Isaiah’s prophecy about the Promised Messiah, who shall be borne by the Virgin Mary. But this prophecy came in a context when some nations threatened Jerusalem during the reign of Ahaz. King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel made allies to destroy Jerusalem. Ahaz who was the king was very much afraid which included the people. The Lord sent Isaiah to go and encourage the king and his people that, God will not leave them in the hands of their enemies. In other words, God was going to fight on their behalf and deliver them from the hands of their enemies. But the king was still not convinced, so God through the prophet asked him to ask of a sign. Which God will perform to prove to him that He will fulfil His promise. The fact that He will never fail in His promises. The king refused to ask but God himself gave him the prophecy of the virgin’s birth as a sign, which concerns the Promised Messiah. From the times of old He has always fulfilled the promises He made to His people Israel. He promised their father Abraham an offspring who was going to fulfil the promises He made to him, and this offspring was Isaac the only son of Sarah (Gen 17: 19). This covenant continued with Jacob till David and this continued to their deportation to Babylon. And from there to the time of the Messiah as is indicated in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew (Matt 1:1-17). Even in exile, God did not abandon His covenant with them. He still used His prophets to encourage them that He has not forgotten of His covenant He made to their ancestors of faith; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God is really and truly a covenant keeping God.
The gospel affirms the prophecy of the prophets of old that an offspring of David will come as the Messiah to save His people. A Messiah whose name shall be called Emmanuel (which means God with us). Meaning God will never abandon His people. He is always with His people. Because of His promised to David, Joseph who is the foster father of Jesus came from the lineage of David. God does not make a mistake in whatever He does as sometimes we humans with our limited minds might think. Before time memorial, He prepared Mary and Joseph as the parents of our saviour to be in line with His covenant with the people of Israel. Some biblical scholars have affirmed Mary to be from the tribe of Judah and hence a lineage of David. All these point to the fact that, God kept to His word to choose from the generation of David to become the saviour of His people. He could have chosen different people to achieve this purpose of which the Israelites couldn’t have said a word. But He chose to keep to His promise which He made to the patriarchs of Israel. He is faithful in all His dealings with His people.
Of course, as I indicated in my previous reflections, the Israelites were expecting a Messiah who was going to deliver them from the Roman oppression. This has been their experience with God anytime they are under oppression of any of the powerful nations. He sent Moses to lead them out of slavery in Egypt. Afterwards, He sent judges to lead His people and also to fight against their enemies until the people ask for a king to lead them as was the case of other nations. God continued to raise people at all times to lead and fight for them against their enemies. Their greatest enemy as at the time of the coming of the Messiah was the Romans, and they tried many times to set them self-free. They engaged the Romans in three major wars all to set themselves free from Roman oppression. But Jesus made them to know that their greatest enemy is not the Romans but rather sin, and that was the purpose of His coming. He was rejected as the Messiah by the Jewish authorities because, He did not meet their expectations, but some did recognize Him because of the wonders and miracles He performed.
My dear friends in Christ, God never fails in the promises He has made to us. Because sometimes we wait for long and receive no response, we give up and think God has abandoned us. The Israelites also waited for long for the coming of the Messiah, but one day they experienced the promise made to them. As Christians, we need to have the virtue of patience and fortitude. We should not easily give up in our prayers and in our expectations from God because, God will one day fulfil His promises in our lives. He has done it before in our lives and in the lives of others. Look at what He has done for people. Is it not marvellous in our eyes? Your very life is a miracle because since the beginning of the year till now many have passed away but you are still alive. It is by God’s grace that is why you are still alive. Be grateful to God for what He has done. You had a covenant with Him from January, and tell me that He has not been faithful to you. Do not be ungrateful just like some of the Israelites who failed to recognize the Messiah even when they were expecting Him.
I would like us to also learn something from Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. Mary was betrothed to Joseph in marriage. But he realisedthat Mary was pregnant before they came to live together. And besides he had not had any affair with her. And according to their custom, that was adultery in which Mary was supposed to be stoned to death. But he decided not to disgrace her publicly, but to make everything secretly without bringing shame to Mary. Both of them (Joseph and Mary) had to endure a lot in bringing this prophecy to a fulfilment. The will of God comes with a lot challenges, which demands perseverance to the end. Joseph protected the image of Mary without exposing her. Some of us would have easily spread the news to others to disgrace Mary. We should learn to bear with one another’s weaknesses. No one is perfect, so even if a brother or sister does something wrong, we should take our time to deal with the person. Mostly, we rather resort to tarnishing the image of the person rather than protecting. What the person is doing or has done that you think you are an angel, I promise you one day you will even do worse than that. I have so many examples to give in this regard. And I know you too have many examples to give. The very people who were condemning their brothers and sisters, when they gave them the same opportunity they did worse than them. So, we need to take our time and assess the situation very well before commenting on it. The best way is to see how you can help that person to come out of that sinful situation. Sometimes we need to only say a word of prayer for such people. But that doesn’t mean we cannot correct people or criticize them when they go wrong. Our criticisms should be aimed at bringing transformation in their lives. This is what we call fraternal correction.
Again, for the will of God to be done in our lives, then we need to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Joseph was docile to the voice of God, hence he allowed the will of God to be done in his life. He acted according to the instructions of the angel. Some of us are following our own will in our lives. We do not do proper discernment to know what God expects from us. We need to be in constant touch with God. It is only by doing this that the will of God can manifest in our lives. Hence, the need to spend some quiet time with God always or daily. Some of us have become too noisy to the extent that, we do not have time with God. Our phones and other things are not permitting us to have this deeper relationship with God. To have an intimate relationship with someone, there is the need to be in constant touch with that person. The more we are in touch with Jesus, the more we fall in love with Him; and this allows Him take charge of our lives and direct it according to His purpose.
Mary wondered how she was going to conceive because she did not know a man (Lk 1:34). And besides who was she to become the Mother of God? But the angel indicated that with God all things all possible (Lk 1:37). God is able to do everything beyond our human understanding. We only need to trust Him because it is only God who can be trusted and fulfil our promises. If He did it for the people of old then He will also do it for us, just have strong faith in Him as your Redeemer. How prepared are we to receive this promised Messiah? May God grant us the grace to always trust His promises in our lives and receive Him in a worthy manner. Let us also show true love to our neighbours in this Yuletide. AMEN.
BE DOCILE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. GOD IS WITH YOU. DON’T BE AFRAID.
I WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR IN ADVANCE! TAKE CARE OF YOUR LIFE IN THIS PERIOD BECAUSE YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO GOD. I ALSO WISH ALL TRAVELLERS TRAVELLING MERCIES TO OUR VARIOUS DESTINATIONS DURING THIS YULETIDE.
REV. FR. AKAKPO MATTHEW
