Question of
the Week |
December 23, 2007
The faith of Mary and Joseph allowed them to say "yes" to God.
How does my faith shape my response to difficult situations in life?
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December 30, 2007
Joseph listened to God and obeyed.
Why do I think listening to and obeying God is hard at times? |
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That's Not Fair
For the boys and girls present today, how many of you have brothers or sisters? Almost all of you have brothers or sisters. Has it ever happened to you when
We have an example of that today in the gospel. Joseph had his own plan with Mary. And then he gets this visit from an angel that life is going to be very different. He is going to take Mary and he is going to be the foster father to Jesus, who is going to be the Son of God. Now, that was a pretty big deal. I mean he could have said well, I was not planning on this. That's just not fair. Why don't you pick somebody else to do that? But instead Joseph obeys. He wakes up from the dream and he obeys the angel and he does exactly what the angel said.
Joseph had a choice too. He had a choice to do what the angel wanted him to do or he could have pouted and said that's just not fair. Instead he chose to do exactly what the angel asked him to do.
In the next couple of days, there will be a lot of food served and there is just a slight chance that in one of those dishes your brother or sister might get more than you. And the temptation is to say what? "That's not fair." Right? I want you to resist that temptation-I want you to think and say, well, that's okay. There is another chance that when Christmas comes on, and you open up those gifts, and you see other people's gifts, they might have just one more box than you, or one more package than you and the temptation might be to say "that's not fair." But you are going to resist that temptation aren't you? And you are going to say: "That is okay. You can play with my toys and I'm sure you will let me play with your toys in time." That is going to be hard. Isn't it?
It is going to be really hard but that is what we are going to try to do. We are going to share our toys with others and we are going to share what others allow us to share with them. But our role is really to share because we have so much.
But that is not the real message of Christmas. The real message of Christmas is that Christ is the true gift and He is always with us. Sometimes, life is not fair and we received some tough breaks. It is not just the portion of our meal that's unfair or the Christmas gifts that's unfair, but life itself. As Christians we try not to pout and whine at God and say that it's not fair, but instead know that Christ is always with us and will always help us no matter what happens. That Christ, the Emmanuel, Christ is with us no matter what.
As adults, we are meant to outgrow those words "that's not fair" and, as we grow older, we ought not to pout and whine. Yet sometimes, we still do exactly that when some things happen to us as adults. When someone gets a promotion or a job that you always wanted, we say "that's not fair." Or when somebody gets a nice car or a nice house, and seems to get everything they want, we whine, and say "that's not fair." Sometimes, when we get sick, sometimes very sick, we turn to our God and complain and say "that's not fair". Or maybe even worse still, when we lose a loved one, we turn to God and we say, "That's not fair."
Sometimes life is really not fair at all and the message of Christ in today's gospel about Joseph reinforces not so much, what happens to us, as much as how we react to what happens to us. We have a choice. We can choose to be trusting in God and to always remain faithful. We are called to remember that God-Emmanuel; God will always be with us especially in the difficult times of life when life is really not fair to us.
So, in these last few days of celebrating the Emmanuel, the Christ, who will be with us, we promise to recommit ourselves to the choice of always choosing Christ, to always choose that message that even in the midst of things that are not fair in life that we follow the Christ who is always within us. |
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Fourth Sunday of Advent
Psalm: Sunday 44
Reading 1
Is 7:10- 14
The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
"I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!"
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24:1-2, 3- 4, 5-6
R. (7c and 10b) Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
Reading II
Rom 1:1- 7
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,
but established as Son of God in power
according to the Spirit of holiness
through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith,
for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel
Mt 1:18- 24
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home. |
