4th Sunday of Advent Year (C)
Mikea 5: 1-4a; Psalm 79; Heb. 10: 5-10; Lk. 1: 39-45
Read: Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah. She went into Zakariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greetings, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; she gave a loud cry and said: “of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Why should I be honoured by a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment that your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Reflect: Wherever Mary is involved – the new Covenant of the Ark – there is an explosion of joy: the Baptist jumps for joy, Elizabeth gave out a loud cry when the Lord visited her in Mary, the poor are happy because the time of their freedom was at hand. To welcome the Lord at His coming does not imply stopping to be joyful, but that one opens the doors to real joy. Mary is said to be blessed because she believed all that she was told that had been said by the Lord. True faith – as Mary had – does not need one to see and verify. It is based on listening to the Word.
Faith shows itself when the one who believes does what this Word tells him to do without any conditions. One needs to have a lot of courage to believe in God’s promises to builders of peace, to those who do not repay evil with evil, to those who offer their lives for the love of others, and that these will indeed take place. Mary shows us that, although we do not understand how the Lord is working within us and with us, it still makes sense that we continue always to have faith in the words of the Lord: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” (Luke 11:28) Mary believed that the Lord did not come to those who are perfect but to those who are convinced that they need Him.
Pray: My soul praises the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour. Because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant. Yes, from now onwards all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Act: Let us recognise what God wants of us when determining the choices that we make daily.