Homilies

4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT: TURNING FEAR INTO JOY

INSOFAR AS THE GOSPELS are concerned, there are two annunciations about the birth of our Lord Jesus. First, there is a recorded Annunciation to Mary (Lk 1:26-38) by the Angel Gabriel. The other account is the Annunciation to Joseph which can be seen in Matthew’s gospel (Mt 1:18-24). Here, an angel announces the good news about the birth of Jesus to Joseph in a dream.

Today is the last Sunday of Advent.  We read in the gospel that Joseph was afraid to take Mary into his home, until an angel appeared to Joseph in his dream and told him, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.”  Likewise, the angel instructed Joseph to give the name Jesus to Mary’s son.

First, considering the prevalent culture of the time, Joseph must have been in a difficult situation. His was an embarrassing situation because Mary, his betrothed, was with child. Being a man of honor, the best thing he could do was to quietly divorce Mary. But an angel prevented him from pursuing his plan. The angel explained to him how the conception of Jesus would take place. Just as Mary followed the will of God for her, Joseph did the same by taking Mary as his wife.

Second, we can easily relate to the readings today. In another plane, we can surmise that Joseph must have been afraid to acknowledge Jesus as his son.  That is definitely a tall order. Thus he decided to divorce Mary quietly. Joseph woke up and decided to take Mary into his home.  After we realized that there is nothing to be afraid of, because “all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said”, we then take the good news into our home, into the streets, into our work.  We delight in the promise of God that salvation will be with us through the Emmanuel.

Third, let us reflect further on this. Sometimes we are paralyzed by our fear to take responsibilities on God-given task to us.  We are afraid to take care of God’s creation; we are afraid to reach out to those who are in need; we are afraid to take good care even ourselves.  Fear stops us from being creative and productive co-workers in God’s creation.  Why? Perhaps because we are afraid of what other people might say or because of the lifestyle we have.

And not only in creation! Some are afraid to serve the Church despite the gifts they have. They want others to do it and want themselves as simple members. Or some parents may be afraid of taking responsibilities toward their children. They simply leave the responsibility to their relatives or even to their yayas.  This gospel passage comes as a challenge for us to willingly and actively participate in the building up of God’s kingdom here on earth. Let us pray for the transformation of our fears. May our fears be turned into joy!

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