Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent. It is almost Christmas, but not quite yet. We still have a few days left to prepare. It’s almost Christmas, so we have the crèche set out, but there is no baby Jesus there. He has not yet arrived. We still have a little time to get ready and prepare ourselves.
Throughout this Advent each of our Gospel readings has been a story about preparing for Christ’s coming. Every year on the First Sunday of Advent, we hear from Jesus about preparing for that time when Christ will come again, the Second Coming of Christ, which will be sometime in the future. On the Second and Third Sundays of Advent we always hear about John the Baptist, that voice in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord. And today, on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we always hear of The Annunciation, that story of the angel coming to prepare the new parents for the coming of their child.
When we use the phrase, The Annunciation, we usually refer to Mary’s Annunciation when the angel came to her. That is Luke’s story, but this year we are given Matthew’s story, which is a lesser known annunciation of the angel coming to Joseph. In these two annunciations there are some similarities and some differences. They both have an angel appearing, and they both have Mary and Joseph, the parents-to-be, afraid. But there are some differences in their fear. For Mary, she is afraid because of this moment. She is afraid because the angel has appeared. It says she is afraid because she does not know what kind of visit this is. Was this a good angel visit, like the three angels that visited Sarah and Abraham and they shared some welcome hospitality? Or is this one of those bad angel visits when an angel comes to bring a little vengeance of God to some people? The angel says, “Do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God”, so this is one of those good visits. Joseph’s fear is different, though. The angel says, “Do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife.” There is no indication that Joseph is afraid because the angel showed up, because Joseph is already afraid. He has already heard the news, and has decided he was going to put her away. But the angel says do not be afraid. That thing that you want to do, putting her away, is coming out of your fear. You may be doing it justly and righteously, and because you’re a good man you are going to do it quietly, but don’t do it at all. Marry her, raise the child as your own. Be not afraid because this is of God. This child that your pregnant wife-to-be is carrying is by the power of the Holy Spirit. And this child that you are afraid to raise as your child is going to be named Jesus, which means “God saves.” Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid because this child is the one that Isaiah was speaking of when he said his name will be Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” Do not be afraid, because when God is with us we need not worry. Of all those things that you are afraid of, God is more powerful. God is with us, Emmanuel.
I think that is the core of the Christmas message. That is what we are preparing for: for God to come into our lives. God is with us. At Christmas we celebrate God coming into this world, the fullness of God dwelling in the manger at Bethlehem. But that God did not remain there, that God went out through all the world and through all of time. This God that was with Mary and Joseph in that moment is also the God that is with us in every single moment of our lives.
That is what we are celebrating at Christmas, and that is what we are preparing for right now. Emmanuel, God is with us. In all that we face in this life, God is with us. In whatever fears and anxieties that we hold, God is with us. In whatever pain and suffering that we endure, God is with us. In whatever difficulties and challenges we encounter, God is with us. In whatever death and despair we experience, God is with us. In whatever darkness we find in this world, God is with us. The light that was born in that manger, the light that came into the world, as John says, the light that the darkness cannot overcome, is with us each and every day in all that we face. God is with us.
My friends in Christ, as we take these last few days to prepare, spend some time reflecting on and getting ready to welcome Christ. Whatever is out there, the challenges that frighten you, the challenges that worry you, know that God is with you. And God is more powerful than all of that. Emmanuel, God is with us.
AMEN
