The Virgin Shall Conceive: Reflections on the Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle A

If you haven’t already read the readings you can find them here.

Isaiah 7:10-14
Psalm 24
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-24

Christmas is only a few days away; so close you can almost taste the hot chocolate and the candy canes. In today’s readings we sense that closeness. We hear of the prophecy of the virgin birth, the Davidic and kingly nature of the Messiah, the words of the angel, the nature of Joseph, the descendant of David, and the work of the Holy Spirit. All point to the final Sunday of preparation for the coming of the Son of Man in Bethlehem, the Bread of Life comes to the House of Bread.

In the first reading we see Ahaz, a descendant of David (we see his name in the list of Jesus’ ancestry in Matthew 1:1-17) being asked by the prophet Isaiah to ask for a sign. Although a Davidic king, Ahaz was not one of the better ones but still shows some fear of the Lord by declaring that he would not tempt the Lord. However, Isaiah speaks for the Lord and declares “the Lord himself will give you this sign.” And the sign is the prophecy of how the Messiah will enter the world. “... the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”

Emmanuel (Immanuel in some translations) means “God with us,” a clear reference to the Messiah. From The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, [Immanuel] “signifies both of His natures [human and divine] in one person.” The themes of Davidic and divine kingship will be common threads in today’s readings.

In the responsorial psalm God (The Lord) is hailed as the King of Glory. Reading between the lines detailing God’s ownership of “the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it,” we get a sense of what C.S. Lewis was pointing out in The Screwtape Letters. Here Screwtape, the experienced demon, discusses the difference between God’s perspective and those of the devil. “In the long run either Our Father [Satan] or the Enemy [God] will say ‘Mine’ of each thing that exists, and specially of each man. They will find out in the end, never fear, to whom their time, their souls, and their bodies really belong—certainly not to them, whatever happens. At present the Enemy [God] says ‘Mine’ of everything on the pedantic, legalistic ground that He made it: Our Father [Satan] hopes in the end to say ‘Mine’ of all things on the more realistic and dynamic ground of conquest, ...”

However, the responsorial psalm notes that God is our savior from Whom we shall receive blessings. And while the word “race” is used and may be taken to mean the Jews, it can also be a generic term referring to the “human race,” thus encompassing even the Gentiles, who are also dwellers in the earth. The key is to be seeking the face of the God of Jacob, Whom we call Father, as we were taught by Jesus. Nevertheless, like Jesus, we must aspire to clean and humble hearts since, in order to stand in His holy place, we must be those “whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.” Thus the Church teaches that no sin can enter heaven.

The selection from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, though brief, covers a lot of ground. It sets the stage for the multiple teachings we find in this landmark letter. In a few (three) sentences Paul speaks to Jesus’ Davidic and divine Sonship, His being the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, the action of the Holy Spirit, the Resurrection, the grace of apostleship, the obedience of faith, and the inclusion of the Gentiles. It is through these graces and God’s faithfulness to His promise that we are called to obedience and holiness.

The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible explains Paul’s goal with this letter to the Roman church, experiencing tension due to being comprised of both Jewish and Gentile Christians. “For this reason, Paul argues at length for the unity and equality of all peoples in Jesus Christ (3:28-30) and challenges believers of every nationality to welcome one another as servants and worshippers of the same Lord (10:12, 15:7-12).”

In the gospel acclamation we again hear the prophecy of Isaiah, “the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel,” preceded and followed most appropriately with “Alleluias.”

The gospel again affirms the Davidic and divine genealogy of Jesus. As the angel Gabriel addressed Mary by her title, “Full of Grace (Luke 1:28), here the angel of the Lord includes a title when he speaks to Joseph, addressing him as son of David. He then relates to Joseph the divine origin of the child in Mary’s womb, “For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.” Joseph, a righteous man, had been considering quietly putting Mary aside (divorcing her) so as to avoid putting her to shame.

The angel also explained that Joseph was to name the child Jesus, “because he will save his people from their sins." The name Jesus means “Savior.” This was important information for Joseph to know as it was the duty of the father to name the child. It also gave Joseph a sense of the importance of the Child, besides His divine conception. At this point Luke repeats the refrain of the prophecy of Isaiah, “ Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."

We never hear a word from Joseph and so we probably wonder what was going on inside his head at this point. Luke doesn’t tell us, but Joseph, like Mary, believed in and trusted the Lord. “When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.”

There are a couple of key items that people often misunderstand but are cleared up in this passage. First, people sometimes misconstrue the idea of the virgin birth, which relates to the birth of Jesus. Additionally, the angel reaffirms Mary’s virginity by restating the prophecy in addition to telling Joseph the origin of the baby in her womb. Also, many don’t understand that in the Jewish tradition of the time once the betrothal took place, the couple were considered to be married although consummation had not yet taken place. Here Luke tells us that after Joseph’s encounter with the angel, he “took his wife into his home.”

As Americans we do not have an earthly king. However, as Christians we have a King whose “kingdom does not belong to this world.” (John 19:36) Too often we overlook the fact that we are pilgrims in a foreign world. Jesus has called us out of this world. Advent is a time to recognize that fact as we look forward to our journey of meeting Jesus, getting to know Him (the remainder of the Liturgical Year), and being redeemed and saved by Him through His life, death, and resurrection, as alluded to by St. Paul in the second reading.

During Advent we should be preparing to meet Jesus, not only at Christmas, but also when we participate in the mass, in our neighbors (everyone we meet), at our death, and at His second coming. Use the remainder of Advent to open your hearts and let the light of Jesus shine inside you for all to see.

“And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.” (Jn 3:19-21)