I hope you like our nativity display here in front of the altar. It really is splendid and I thank all of you who contributed to our Christmas flowers special collection and those who helped to put it up on Friday. You will notice, however, that the central figure – the infant Jesus – is missing from the manger; he won’t arrive until Christmas and we’re still in Advent for a few more hours. And so, like in the Wizard of Oz, I say, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Instead, our Scripture readings today call us to pay attention to two other very important persons: King David and the Blessed Mother. We all know the story of King David. We recall how he slew Goliath. We remember his lusting after Bathsheba and arranging for the death of her husband, Uriah. We know how the prophet Samuel anointed him as king to replace Saul. We remember how he had to flee from Saul, who tried for years to kill him. Today’s first reading begins with the mention that King David finally settled in his palace in Jerusalem. It had been a very difficult journey in faith for him but finally he was at peace. So, we might picture him sitting on his couch playing his harp and singing one of his psalms: “How can I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?” (Ps. 116). Singing this prayer may have inspired him to build a temple, a place for God to dwell. Even Nathan, his longtime friend and occasional prophet, thought it was a good idea — at least until he heard differently from God.
As we hear, God doesn’t seem to be interested in having David build him a temple. We don’t hear why in today’s reading. Perhaps God knew that focus on a temple could blind his people to God’s other ways of being with them. In 1 Chronicles, we read David confess to his son, Solomon, that he had shed too much blood to be worthy to build a temple for God. Another reason God might have said “no” was to keep David from going on an ego trip. If he built the temple, he might become famous for what he did for God instead of being known for what God had done for him. There were plenty of reasons for God to say “No.”
In today’s first reading, we hear that God sent Nathan back to David to tell him to stop drawing up the blueprints and instead, to take time to ponder what God had done for him and what he still had in mind for him. In the message Nathan delivered to David, he recounted all the things that happened in David’s life, reminding him that he should give God the credit for every good turn in his life. And then, speaking for God, Nathan offers David even greater things: rest from all of his enemies, and an heir whose kingdom would stand firm forever
This brings us to the focus that this reading offers for today, the Fourth Sunday of Advent. The point is not what David would do for God, but what God would do for David, and therefore for all of God’s people.
The promises that God made to David echoes the covenant God made with Abraham. God will not simply make David famous, but give him an heir whose kingdom will endure for all eternity. Remember that the people of old believed that their gods resided in their temples. The ancient Israelites believed that their God lived in the tent that Moses had built. In building a temple for God, David was looking to give God a permanent place in their midst.
But, God makes it clear that it is not in a temple, but in a kingdom, a people, where God will dwell. Yes, Solomon would build a temple – but it was destroyed and rebuilt and destroyed again, never to be rebuilt, even until today. What God was really building up in his people was a way to dwell among them, to bring them into what Jesus would describe as the kingdom of God
Our consideration of the meaning of this encounter between King David and God leads into our contemplation of the encounter between Mary and Gabriel, the messenger of God. When we listen to this story in the light of the first reading, we are struck by the fact that the same God who didn’t want David to build a temple passed by the temple – and the holy city of Jerusalem where the temple had been built – when looking for a home. Remember, the Old Testament tells us that God chose Israel not for Israel’s greatness, but because God loved little Israel, because God had called this insignificant people from the days of Abraham and accompanied them down through the generations, even when they did not remain close to him but wandered far away. God’s choice of Mary is a reminder of things that Jesus said over and over about humility and how unimpressed God is with what society thinks of as signs of importance.
There’s a thought-provoking contrast in the images we have in the first reading and today’s Gospel. David, the great king, wanted to build a temple for God and God said “No.” Instead, God came to Mary, a humble woman, to ask for a home, and she said “Yes.” David thought he knew what greatness looked like. And yet, the kingdom Gabriel described to Mary was beyond human imagination. In the end, the kingdom that God promised to David was the one inaugurated through Mary’s “Yes.”
Just as this Fourth Sunday of Advent leads us to Christmas Eve this evening, these readings are a preparation for the stories we will hear and see depicted at Christmas. A stable – not the temple – was Christ’s first house on earth. God didn’t come to the family of a king or high priest, but invited a simple girl, nobody of importance in the eyes of the world, to be the mother of his son.
God’s ways are not our ways, and although we often struggle to follow God’s ways, that has never stopped God from seeking us out. What it all comes down to is that God is looking for listening hearts. Let that be our focus today. Unlike David, who focused on building up his kingdom here on earth, a kingdom that would not last, let’s be more like Mary, who focused on listening to God’s will and helped to introduce God’s eternal kingdom among us. That’s what we will celebrate on Christmas. Let’s reflect on that as we make our final preparations for the most important day in all of human history: God becomes man to establish his everlasting kingdom in our midst. I look forward to seeing you, once again, in just a few hours or tomorrow morning when we turn our attention on the beautiful scene before our altar and Jesus will be there in the manger; see you soon!