Fourth Sunday in Advent

Mi 5:1-4a
Heb 10:5-10
Lk 1:39-45

Now is the time for us to believe that what the Lord has promised will be fulfilled. Mary chose to believe. She accepted what God wanted to accomplish through her, and thus made possible the birth of Jesus, the day we now prepare to celebrate. Mary heard God’s call, and allowed God to work through her. Now is the time for us to hear that same call, and to allow God to work through us. God can and will work through us, but it must be our choice. The Lord is fast coming, and the time for preparation draws to a close. Now is the time to decide. Do we allow God to work through us, or not? The time to prepare ends, the time to decide arrives. Will we accept the one who is coming? Elizabeth asked Mary, “how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” We may well ask how does this happen to us that the Lord of the universe come to us? It happens because we are the children of God, God’s own creation. God comes and soon. The time for preparation draws to a close. Now is the time to believe, to accept, to know that what God promises will be fulfilled.
Deacon John
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Dec. 24, 2006