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Reuben's Sermon for The Fourth Sunday of
Advent:
The 4th. Sunday of Advent:
Reuben's Theme: "Say 'YES' to God"
(Advent 4) - MORNING MASS
0930hrs at Saint Peter's Parish Church - Balkwell.
Sunday, 21st. December 2003 Anno Domini.
Morning Mass: Micah: 5.2-5a Ps: 80.1-6
Hebrews: 10.5-10 Luke: 1.39-55
December 21, 2003 Cycle C Advent 4.
Morning Mass:
COLLECT
God our redeemer, who prepared the Blessèd Virgin
Mary to be the mother of your Son:
grant that, as she looked for His coming as our saviour, so we
may be ready to greet Him when He comes again as our judge;
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
FIRST READING
Micah 5.2-5a
A reading from the book of the prophet Micah.
[The LORD says to his people:]
But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little
clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is
in labour has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall
return to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the
LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the
ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.
PSALM
Psalm 80.1-6
RR Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of
your countenance and we shall be saved.
1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock;
shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up
your strength and come to help us. RR
3 Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance
and we shall be saved.
4 O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angered despite the
prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have given them
bowls of tears to drink.
6 You have made us the derision of our neighbours, and our enemies
laugh us to scorn. RR
SECOND READING
Hebrews 10.5-10
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews.
When Christ came into the world, He said, 'Sacrifices and offerings
you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in
burnt-offerings and sin-offerings you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, "See, God, I have come to do your will, O God"
(in the scroll of the book, it is written of me).'
When Christ said, 'You have neither desired nor taken pleasure
in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings'
(these are offered according to the law), then he added, 'See,
I have come to do your will.'
He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.
And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
GOSPEL
Luke 1.39-45, (46-55)
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke.
Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill
country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her
womb.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with
a loud cry, 'Blèssed are you among women, and blessèd
is the fruit of your womb.
And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes
to me?
For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child
in my womb leapt for joy.
And blessèd is she who believed that there would be a
fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.'
And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices
in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness
of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessèd;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and HOLY is
his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted
up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and
sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham
and to his descendants for ever.'
POST COMMUNION
Heavenly Father, who chose the Blessèd Virgin Mary
to be the mother of the promised saviour:
fill us your servants with your grace, that in all things we
may embrace your holy will and with her rejoice in your salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reuben's Theme: "Say 'YES'
to God"
+ In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
About eight hundred years, before Jesus was born, the prophet
Micah wrote that a king would be born in Bethlehem.
No ordinary king.
As we heard in our first reading, "...He
shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in
the majesty of the name of the LORD his God."
In Bethlehem, a small and somewhat insignificant
little town (but the town that produced King David) Mary would
give birth to Jesus Christ - our Lord and Saviour.
"...He shall be great to the ends
of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace."
Mary "she who is in labour"
will give birth to a child - a very special child.
God will become a human being... ...and Mary
will be His mother.
A prophecy from eight hundred years B.C.
In our second reading, we hear - in the letter to the Hebrews
- how Jesus came into the world to do what the burnt offerings
and sin offerings could not do.
Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for all
the sin of all mankind.
Yes, Mary did give birth to a spectacularly special child.
What an honour - yet what a torment.
From the joy of the birth of a son...
to the pain of watching him die...
then total bewilderment which turns into rejoicing,
as all becomes clear at the Resurrection.
Yes, good times and hard times ahead for poor
Mary.
Mary - who said 'yes' to God.
When Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth,
Elizabeth knew.
Elizabeth knew that Mary's baby was the most
special baby ever to be born.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessèd are you
among women, and blessèd is the fruit of your womb.'
Then she asks, 'And why has this happened
to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?'
Yes, she knows all right.
'For as soon as I heard the sound of your
greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy.'
Elizabeth knew already, because Mary had told
her about Gabriel's visit and how she had said 'yes'.
And blessèd is she who believed
that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by
the Lord.'
I get the feeling that Elizabeth had not totally
believed all that had been predicted.
But Mary knew.
Mary knew all the time.
Her faith in God, her commitment, her total
loyalty, gave her the ability to say 'yes' to God.
In the Christian Church today, many are frightened of Mary.
Everyone gets nervous when Mary surfaces.
Why are so many people frightened when Mary
is hailed as:
The Mother of God?
The Star of The Sea?
The Mystic Rose?
The Queen of Heaven?
What is it that bothers us when we hear anyone
ask Mary to pray for us.
We're all quite happy to see Mary, wearing
the corporate colours of the Mothers' Union (blue & white),
in the nativity play.
But anything else and many people start to
sit uneasily in their seats.
And that's what I can't understand.
You see, as Christians, our impossible aim
is to be like Jesus.
Impossible because although Jesus was totally
human, he was also totally God.
Being like Jesus is what we must strive
for.
What about Mary?
She was totally human - yet she committed
herself totally to God.
Saying 'yes' to all that was to happen to
her.
If we can, at least, be like Mary - we have
a chance.
When Jesus was born - God became a human being.
Mary became the Mother of God.
If we can have the commitment and the courage
to say 'yes' to God and do God's will always, we will
have our reward in heaven.
And that is what today, the fourth Sunday
in Advent, is all about.
It's all about Mary.
We pray to God, but sometimes we need help.
We ask Mary to pray with us and for us.
We never pray to Mary - Mary is just a Saint
in Heaven.
We pray to God ALWAYS.
But we ask Mary to pray for us.
Mary - totally human - like us.
Mary - the young girl who answered God's call
with the answer 'yes'.
Mary - The Mother of God.
Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee,
blessèd art thou among women, and blessèd is the
fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the
hour of our death.
Amen.
As we prepare for Christmas, which (despite anything you may
see on the television, hear on the radio or see in the shops)
starts on 25th. December and lasts 40 days taking us right
through Epiphany (when the wise men arrive) until Candlemas on
2nd. February.
As we prepare for this, one of the most important
40 day festivals in the Christian calendar, let us remember Mary
- a young teenager in Nazareth - answering the call of God and
in Bethlehem, being part of the most wonderful thing that has
ever happened.
The birth of God as a human being.
The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour.
The beginning of the salvation of ALL
mankind.
So...
May your Christmas be happy.
May your Christmas be merry.
May your Christmas be peaceful.
But most of all...
May your Christmas be Blessèd and Holy
as we all try to be like Mary and say 'Yes' to God.
+ In the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
© Reuben Condie 2003
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