By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Photographer: COURTESY
Archbishop Thomas Wenski poses with some of the leaders of the Filipino community after the final Simbang Gabi Mass of 2018, celebrated Dec. 23 at St. Rose of Lima, Miami Shores. The traditional novena of Masses is held each night at a different parish of the archdiocese to prepare for Christmas.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily on the last night of Simbang Gabi, the traditional Filipino novena in preparation for Christmas. The Mass was celebrated Dec. 23, 2018 at St. Rose of Lima Church, Miami Shores.
Tonight’s theme, gratitude for God’s fidelity, fits perfectly with the Scripture readings we have just heard for this Fourth Sunday of Advent.
During Advent, the Scriptures tell us that we can dare to hope because God does keep his promises. In the Old Testament, God’s people hope against all hope. The Prophet Micah, from whose book the first reading is taken, addresses a people that had long endured suffering and exile. Yet he tells them that Bethlehem, a small insignificant town of the small tribe of Judah, will produce the ruler of Israel. Certainly, there was a long time between the giving of the promise and its fulfillment. Yet it is the promise that informs the hope of the people; it is the promise that gives direction to their lives. Thus, when their exile in Babylonia came to an end, a remnant of those who still believe returns to rebuild their lives in the hope that God will keep his promises.
Photographer: COURTESY
Archbishop Thomas Wenski receives offertory gifts from a young member of Miami's Filipino community during the final Simbang Gabi Mass of 2018, celebrated Dec. 23 at St. Rose of Lima, Miami Shores.
In the Gospel reading, we meet an old married couple � and they live in that hope. Zechariah and Elizabeth represent the hope of Israel that did not die � and they see that hope fulfilled in the birth of their son, John the Baptist. John the Baptist, as you know, will be the prophet who will “prepare the way” for the one who is to come from Bethlehem. And it is the fulfilled hope � God’s promise kept to Zechariah and Elizabeth � that is given to Mary as a sign. “Know this too, your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son�for nothing is impossible with God.”
Mary goes “in haste” to see this sign of a hope fulfilled. In the meeting of the old Elizabeth and the young Mary, the Old Testament meets the New Testament, the ancient promise meets its fulfillment in two mothers � Elizabeth, the mother of the last great prophet who will go before the Lord, and Mary, the mother of the Lord himself. This is good news � earthshaking good news; it is a cause for great rejoicing � womb-shaking rejoicing.
So, through Mary, God keeps the promise that Micah � and the other prophets � announced in times past. The promise of God takes flesh in her womb. And as Elizabeth recognizes, Mary is blessed for believing that “the promises made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
In Mary, we can see that God doesn’t just make promises, he keeps them. And in Mary, we see someone who allows the promise of God to shape her whole life � and not just passively but actively by her own “yes” to the promise happening in her. That promise, of course, has a name: Jesus.
Jesus fulfills all that has gone before � the Law and the prophets spoke about him and prepare for him; and Jesus will give new meaning to all that will happen after him. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the center of human history that is now divided � BC/AD.
So, Christmas is about how God kept his promises through his Son Jesus Christ born for us in Bethlehem.
He comes to us as the gift of the Father � a gift that invites from us to have the confidence to make a few promises ourselves. Our life in Christ begins with our making promises � the promises of our baptism in which we renounce sin and Satan and promise to live as children of God, making Christ the center of our lives.
As Advent comes to an end, we thank God for keeping his word to us � and we can best show our gratitude for his fidelity by asking him to help us keep our word to him and each other. God’s gift of himself to us as Christmas is not to be taken for granted. It should be taken with gratitude.
