Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle A

MATTHEW 1:18-24
CAN YOU THINK OF THE VERY BEST CHRISTMAS YOU EVER HAD AS A CHILD? I CAN'T. WHAT I DO REMEMBER ABOUT THOSE CHRISTMASES SORT OF BLURS TOGETHER. I DON'T REMEMBER HOW OLD I WAS WHEN I GOT THE TOY GAS STATION THAT OUR NEW KITTEN THOUGHT WAS A LITTER BOX; OR THE TIN BULLDOZER THAT REALLY RAN WHEN YOU WOUND IT UP. I REMEMBER THOSE CHRISTMAS SUPPERS WITH MY GRANDPARENTS. MY SISTER AND I WERE VERY SMALL, AND IMPATIENT. I WOULD RUSH THROUGH MY FOOD SO I COULD GO BACK AND PLAY WITH MY NEW TOYS. SHE DIDN'T LIKE TO EAT AND WOULD LINGER OVER HER FOOD UNTIL MY MOTHER WOULD START TO GET UPSET. BUT IT SEEMED AS THOUGH CHRISTMAS WAS ALWAYS MAGICAL; SOMETHING I REALLY WANTED WOULD BE THERE, AND SOME SURPRISES THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW I WANTED WOULD SHOW UP AS WELL. OF COURSE THERE WERE SOCKS AND UNDERWEAR.
CAN YOU THINK OF THE WORST CHRISTMAS YOU EVER HAD? SO FAR, I HAVEN'T HAD A BAD CHRISTMAS, THANK GOD. SO I'LL HAVE TO HOPE AND PRAY THAT I WON'T, BUT I PROBABLY WILL, THAT'S LIFE.
WE THINK OF THE FIRST CHRISTMAS IN GLOWING TERMS. BUT WHEN YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT, IT WAS A VERY BAD CHRISTMAS. WE HEAR PART OF THE STORY IN THIS GOSPEL. JOSEPH DISCOVERED THAT HIS BRIDE, WHOM HE HADN'T EVEN KISSED YET, WAS PREGNANT. WE HEAR THE WORDS, WE SORT OF APPRECIATE THIS INTELLECTUALLY, BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE THE HORROR THAT JOSEPH FELT, THE SHAME THAT MARY FELT? JOSEPH DIDN'T LEARN SHE WAS PREGNANT BECAUSE SHE TOLD HIM. SHE COULD HARDLY BELIEVE IT HERSELF. JOSEPH LEARNED BECAUSE MARY LOOKED PREGNANT. AND EVERYONE KNEW IN THAT LITTLE TOWN. AND THERE WAS GOSSIP, AND WHEN MARY WOULD WALK PAST A GROUP OF PEOPLE, THEY WOULD SUDDENLY BECOME SILENT AND STARE AT HER; AND THE YOUNG MEN WOULD LAUGH AT JOSEPH – EITHER MARY HAD MADE A FOOL OF HIM, OR HE AND MARY COULDN'T WAIT TILL THEY BEGAN LIVING AS MAN AND WIFE. EITHER WAY, JOSEPH DESERVED SCORN. NAZARETH WAS A SMALL TOWN, AND GOSSIP TRAVELED FAST.
AND JOSEPH TOOK MARY INTO HIS HOME AFTER A DREAM. THEY BOTH KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON, BUT IT DIDN'T HELP MUCH. THERE WAS STILL A CLOUD HANGING OVER THEIR MARRIAGE, AS FAR AS THE NEIGHBORS WERE CONCERNED. WE THINK OF MARY'S PARENTS, SAINT ANN AND SAINT JOACHIM. WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THEM OF COURSE. BUT THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE SAINTS TO BELIEVE THAT MARY HAD CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HER. I SUSPECT THAT JOSEPH DID NOT FEEL WELCOME IN THEIR HOME.
AND THEN THE DECREE CAME FROM CAESAR AND THEY HAD TO GO TO BETHLEHEM. WE PICTURE JOSEPH LEADING MARY RIDING ON A DONKEY, BUT MARY PROBABLY WALKED MOST OF THAT DISTANCE, NEARLY NINE MONTHS PREGNANT. AND IT IS ABOUT 80 MILES FROM NAZARETH TO BETHLEHEM. CAN YOU IMAGINE WALKING FROM SPRINGFIELD TO BOSTON? AND THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. AND WHEN THEY GOT THERE, THE ONLY SHELTER WAS A CAVE USED TO SHELTER ANIMALS. AND JESUS' BIRTH WAS MESSY AND PAINFUL, WITHOUT BENEFIT OF PAIN MEDICINE. IN THIS DAY AND AGE, WHEN A MOTHER GIVES BIRTH TO A CHILD IT'S USUALLY IN A STERILE HOSPITAL UNDER THE CARE OF TRAINED PROFESSIONALS; IN THAT TIME, TO GIVE BIRTH WAS TO RISK YOUR LIFE. IN SAYING YES TO GOD, MARY LITERALLY OFFERED HER LIFE.
SO THE FIRST CHRISTMAS AND THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE WORST CHRISTMAS.
BUT INTO THAT WORST CHRISTMAS EVER A BABY IS BORN, WHOSE NAME IS CALLED “EMANUEL”.
MOSLEMS BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO STANDS APART, WHO IS SO HOLY, SO POWERFUL, SO OTHER, THAT WE ARE NOTHING IN HIS EYES. HINDUS BELIEVE THAT WHEN GOD IS AWAKE, WE DON'T EXIST, BUT WHEN GOD SLEEPS, HE DREAMS US. WE ARE FIGMENTS OF GOD'S IMAGINATION. BUT THE CHRISTIAN GOD IS GOD WITH US, GOD WHO SEES US NOT AS WORMS, BUT AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS. OUR GOD IS WITH US, AND OUR CONCERNS AND PREOCCUPATIONS ARE REAL TO HIM, NOT FIGMENTS OF IMAGINATION. OUR GOD IS WITH US, SHARING OUR HUMANITY. AND THAT IS AMAZING, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
WHEN THE TERRORISTS DESTROYED THE TWIN TOWERS AND CRASHED A PLANE INTO THE PENTAGON, OUR GOD WAS WITH US; WE GATHERED IN CHURCHES AND HOMES TO PRAY AND MEDITATE BECAUSE WE SENSED THAT GOD WAS WITH US WHEN WE WERE FRIGHTENED, UNCERTAIN.
WHEN A LOVED ONE IS SICK, WE TAKE REFUGE IN PRAYER, ASKING GOD TO HELP, BUT PRAYING THAT GOD'S WILL BE DONE. IF GOD IS WITH US HE IS WITH US IN SICKNESS AND PAIN AND SUFFERING, AND IF HE IS WITH US, WE KNOW THAT IN SOME WAY, EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT.
WHEN WE FEEL ALONE AND ABANDONED, GOD IS WITH US. GOD HAS EXPERIENCED LONELINESS AND ABANDONMENT, AND KNOWS HOW WE FEEL. AND BECAUSE HE LOVES US, HE OFFERS HIS PRESENCE SO THAT WE DO NOT NEED TO FEEL ALONE AND ABANDONED.
SO THAT IS WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT OUR FAITH; WE BELIEVE GOD IS WITH US, WE BELIEVE THAT IN OUR WORST MOMENTS HE DOES WHAT HE DID SO MANY YEARS AGO; HE COMES INTO THOSE MOMENTS BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY. HE DOES NOT DREAM US, HE DOES NOT DISTAIN US. HE LIVES FOR US LIKE A MOTHER LIVES FOR HER CHILD. HE SACRIFICES FOR US LIKE A FATHER SACRIFICES FOR HIS CHILDREN.
WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO GET AHEAD. ONE IS TO WORK HARD, TO ACHIEVE, TO ACCOMPLISH. AND MANY OF US WORK TOO HARD, AND WE COUNT OUR DEGREES AND OUR BANK ACCOUNTS AND OUR HOUSES AND SUV'S AND THEY ARE THE MEASURE OF OUR WORTH. AND THIS IS EASILY TRANSLATED TO OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WHERE WE COUNT OUR PRAYERS AND GOOD WORKS, AND MEASURE OUR WORTH IN HIS EYES BY HOW MANY AND HOW MUCH. THE SECOND WAY WE GET AHEAD IS THROUGH GOOD LUCK; OUR PARENTS LEAVE US MONEY, WE WIN THE LOTTERY; WE GET BREAKS WE DON'T DESERVE. AND ALL OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED GOOD FORTUNE AT SOME TIME OR ANOTHER. AND WHEN WE DO, THERE IS SOMETHING IN US THAT REMINDS US THAT WE DON'T DESERVE OUR GOOD LUCK, AND WHEN SOMEONE TELLS US THAT GOD LOVES US BEYOND ALL TELLING, WE SECRETLY SUSPECT THAT THAT CAN'T BE TRUE; WE DON'T DESERVE IT, WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING TO WARRANT IT.
BUT IF WE COULD GET INTO GOD'S MIND, WE WOULD SEE THAT NOTHING MATTERS TO GOD MORE THAN YOU, MORE THAN I. THE VERY DEFINITION OF GOD IS LOVE. GOD DOES NOT LOVE, HE IS LOVE. GOD WANTS TO GIVE US EVERYTHING, HE WANTS TO GIVE US HIMSELF, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT WE DO, NOT BECAUSE OF WHO WE ARE.
WE MAY LOOK OVER OUR CHRISTMASES AND PICK OUT OUR BEST, AND SHUDDER AT OUR WORST. BUT THERE REALLY CAN'T BE ANY BAD CHRISTMASES, OR EVEN BAD DAYS, BECAUSE IN EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIVES, IN MOMENTS OF SORROW AND SICKNESS AND LONELINESS AND PAN, GOD IS ALWAYS THERE, GOD IS WITH US, AND GOD WILL NEVER ABANDON US, NEVER LEAVE US ALONE.