4th Sunday of Advent Cycle A
Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24.
December 19, 2010
Sr. Phyllis Jaszkowiak
HOPE! God is with us!
Today’s readings tell the stories of two men: Ahaz the king of Israel and Joseph
the
lowly carpenter of Nazareth.
In the first reading we get just a small glimpse of Ahaz. The context is that
Israel is being
menaced by her neighbors, who were very powerful. Isaiah tells the king to rely
on the
God of Israel and ask for a sign of what he should do.
Ahaz throws a royal tantrum and says “NO, I won’t ask for a sign.” He couches it
saying he doesn’t want to tempt the Lord. But perhaps, he hoped in the wrong
things,
treaties with neighbors instead of listening deeply to God. Or perhaps he wants
to do
things his own way and get the most he can for himself in whatever treaty he
makes with
his neighbors. At any rate, he makes it quite clear that he does not want God’s
opinion
on this matter. Isaiah tells him there will be a sign anyway; a virgin will bear
a son and
shall name him Emmanuel.
In this story, and in the other stories of Ahaz, we meet a selfish, greedy man,
one who
looks out for himself only, is not concerned with others, or what is best for
the common
good.
Joseph, on the other hand, faced with a dilemma, looks to the law to see how
best to
protect Mary from death by stoning or shunning by the community. He decides to
divorce her quietly. The law permitted a public hearing in cases when a woman
became
pregnant out of marriage, and Joseph does not want that to happen to her.
Then Joseph goes to sleep, has a dream, and wakes up. In spiritual language this
going
to sleep, dreaming, and waking up, is a metaphor for becoming aware of the
Living God,
who dwells within us, and following God’s command rather than the law. Joseph
has a
direct experience of God, wakes up to what the Spirit of God is doing through
Mary and
himself, and realizes that to fulfill the law he has to go beyond the law.
Joseph is open to the working of the Spirit of God within him in contrast to
Ahaz who is
not open.
This story of Joseph also tells us that the work of the Holy Spirit can emerge
in human
life as scandal. Mary’s pregnancy is a scandal. This fact establishes a tension
between
tradition and experience. What tradition labels scandal, Joseph is told to call
Spirit.
Tradition says to divorce Mary; the dream experience says to take her into his
home.
Joseph follows the dream and his heart where the Spirit dwells.
During his life, Jesus will be considered a scandal. We who are followers of
Jesus will
need to ask ourselves, ”Is he a scandal to be rejected or a manifestation of
Spirit to be
welcomed?” To really answer this question we, too, have to wake up, be open to
God
working within all life. We must discern the voice of God amid the cacophony of
human
noise, then obey that voice and enact it in time and history. It means we now
perceive the
divine dimension of what is happening. It is not scandal but Spirit, and we are
invited to
go beyond the law into the life of God.
Teresa of Avila, in her treatise on prayer ‘The Interior Castle’ says in this
spiritual castle
there are seven mansions. Most people usually travel to the third mansion and
then get
stuck. The third mansion is a place of virtue, of following the law, living a
good life.
But we are invited to go further, to experience the Living God directly, to go
beyond law
into the life of Spirit, until finally we are united with God. It is from there
that we live
our life. It is the life to which Jesus invites us when he says the greatest
commandment is
to love God with one’s whole mind, heart, soul and body, and the second is like
it, to love
our neighbors as ourselves.
Sometimes this is seen as scandal by others. There is a story told by Fr. John
Shea, of
Joseph and Jesus working in the carpenter’s shop. Joseph is trying, like all
fathers, to
pass on to Jesus what he has learned in his life.
“As with all parents, Joseph talks too much. But the boy is an exceptional
listener
to the one speaking:
“Remember, Jesus, whatever we’re making, along with it we’re always making a
home for Spirit. Your mother thinks a home for Spirit is like an empty cup. But
I favor a spacious room with a large window for sun – and a door that is hard to
find.
“Once something happened and I was tempted to judge and punish. But I held
back and waited, and a deeper door opened – the door that is hard to find. I
was led into a room of sun, a home for Spirit. Your mother and you were there,
and a presence of light who talked to my fear. I sensed all distances had been
traversed, all separations connected. It was a dream, but it was not sleep. The
dream awakened me. It took the beam out of my eye. I saw that making a home
for Spirit is an endless adventure, like you growing up, my son. When you see
the loveliness, Jesus, embrace it. Take it into your home. Do not hesitate and
do
not ask questions. Argue with everything, Jesus, but be obedient to love.
The boy listened.”
(From “The Spiritual Wisdom of the gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers:
On Earth
as it is in Heaven, Year A” by Fr. John Shea)
When we open ourselves to God, as did Joseph, we follow the Spirit and we have
Hope!
Because God is with us.