It’s not very often that we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent one day and Christmas the next. The last time this occurred was six years ago in 2017 and it won’t happen again until 2028. As I have heard from so many, it seems that Christmas has come much sooner, even though it’s on the 25th of December, as it is every year. As we end the Advent Season and jump right into Christmas, allow me to reflect on the significance this time has for all of us.
Last Sunday, we heard about St. John the Baptist’s encounter with some of the Jewish leaders as he was baptizing those who came to him at the Jordan River. As you know, the ancient Israelites believed that their God dwelt in their magnificent temple in Jerusalem and their faith-life centered around this temple. Several times a year, all faithful Jews would come to the temple to offer sacrifice to God. When the Roman Empire swept over the Middle East around 39BC, the Jewish people faced a real dilemma; bow to the gods and goddesses that the Romans put before them or face persecution and even death. The Jewish people have long been good at the bargaining table and the Jewish leaders struck a deal with the local Roman leaders that would allow them to continue worshiping their God rather than being forced to worship the Roman gods and goddesses. Of course, this came at a price; the Jews had to pay extra taxes to the Romans for this privilege. Unfortunately, it seems that many of Jewish leaders were more concerned about their relationship with the Romans than with their own people. And, as recent archeological excavations have revealed, they lived very well while most of their fellow Jews were struggling to make a livelihood, burdened by the heavy taxes laid upon them by both the Romans and the Jewish leadership.
This led to unrest among many Jews. Some, like John the Baptist, called for a new way to worship, away from the temple. The baptism he offered was to symbolize the washing of their sins; this was ordinarily reserved for the ritual baths in Jerusalem. He was clever enough to baptize on the eastern shore of the Jordan River, just outside of the Roman jurisdiction. But, he was a worry to the Jewish leaders who saw their fellow Jews leave the temple and seek out John. That’s why we heard them last week ask John “Who are you?” This wasn’t just a friendly inquiry about how he understood himself. Rather, they were asking “Who do you think you are?” After all, he was calling the Jewish people to repentance, that is, a turning away from the corrupted religious practices in the temple toward a pure relationship with God in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
It is with this background that we better understand Christmas, when we celebrate the coming of the Messiah, the long-awaited savior. It was not by chance that Jesus was born of a poor Jewish woman in the obscure town of Nazareth. God sent his Son at a particular time and to a particular place to make a statement that speaks to people of all time. And, as we hear in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus began his public ministry by proclaiming: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (1:15). Like John the Baptist, Jesus calls his followers to repent, to turn around and come to focus on what is truly important; a pure relationship with God because this will prepare them for heaven.
No matter how poor or wealthy we are in this life, how healthy or sick, how young or old, we will all die and we all have an eternal destiny. As we come to the end of Advent, we hear in today’s first reading that King David wanted to build a house for God. After all, he had established his kingdom with its capital in Jerusalem and had built himself a fine palace there. But, his prophet, Nathan, told him not to do so. “When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,” Nathan said, speaking for God, “your kingdom shall endure forever” (2 Sam 7:12, 16). Of course, they did not yet believe in heaven so they understood this as a foretelling of the kingdom that would grow under David’s son, Solomon. But, we recognize that the prophecy was speaking of the coming of God’s son. In this Sunday’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, we learn that Mary, the poor woman living in the obscure town of Nazareth, would bear the “Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,… and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:32, 33b). It wasn’t until Jesus rose from the dead that Mary, and other followers of Jesus, would come to understand exactly what that meant – eternal life with God in heaven!
And, all of this leads us to Christmas Day, when the Son of God is born as the son of Mary. Joseph, who is betrothed to Mary, learns from an angel that Mary will bear a son who is to be called, “Emmanuel, which means, ‘God is with us’” (Mt 1:25). God comes to be one with us so that we can, once again, be one with God. God comes in time to save all people of all time – that includes us! As we end the Advent Season and prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord, I invite you to reflect, once again, on this most important moment in all of history because it impacts our daily lives as we decide, day-by-day, where we are to focus our attention. Like the Kingdom of David and the Temple of Jerusalem, everything we build up here on earth will come to an end. Only God’s kingdom will endure forever. As we celebrate these most holy days, let us gratefully accept Jesus who has come among us to lead us back to this eternal kingdom!