This week before Christmas on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we ask, “what’s in a name? Quite a bit actually. For example, the Hebrew meaning of Joseph is “God will give,” and Mary means “beloved.” Gospel-writer Matthew is “gift of God;” Mark means “lion;” and Luke means “light-giving. And let’s not forget John that means “graced by God.” That suits you, doesn’t it Father John Prusaitis? Father celebrates his 45th year as a priest in January. That’s a lot of grace, and deserved!
Deacon Christopher Hughes, who will be ordained a priest next year, means “Christ-bearer.” Whatever we are named, we are all Christ-bearers through our baptisms, and we must live up to that name, and that’s not easy.
Yes, what’s in a name? In our Gospel we heard that the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, Son of David, and said in a dream. “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Jesus means “God is salvation.”
The Gospel continues, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."
God is with us. Yes, indeed. We remind ourselves of this fact and what it implies when we sing the Advent hymn: “O come, O come, Emmanuel.” It begins:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel.
For those of us feeling the pain of loneliness this Advent and throughout the Christmas season, although we feel like we mourn in lonely exile, remember Emmanuel. God is with us, always. We are not alone. God is with us through our friends and family – those who love and care for us.
The hymn next to last stanza reads:
O come, O Dayspring from on high
And cheer us by your drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadow put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel.
Yes, “Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadow put to flight.” We are about to celebrate Jesus’ birth and be reminded about the light of Christ that rids us of darkness and removes dark shadows. Not coincidentally our days will begin to lengthen as we march towards spring and newness of life. We rejoice at that thought. Our third Advent candle symbolizes joy.
The final stanza reads:
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of humankind;
O bid our sad divisions cease,
And be for us our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel.
Oh yes. So very important considering what’s happening in our nation and throughout the world. Let’s bid our sad divisions cease especially divisions in the hearts of humankind. These divisions go deep, and they are destructive. They prevent peace which we desire through the lighting of the 2nd Advent candle that symbolizes peace.
This Advent, during the Christmas season, and throughout the year, we bid divisions cease within our families and divisions in our nation promoted by: religious differences, politics, internet trolls, hate-mongers and racists, especially anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers promoting insane, alarming, increased anti-Christ hatred against Jews.
For those of us watching the wonderful TV production “The Chosen,” is there any doubt that Jesus, his family, and followers were Jews? We Christians call that Jewish man our Savior. We will soon celebrate the birth of a Jewish baby – our Jewish King of Peace symbolized by the light of the center Advent candle. It’s the Christ candle.
We began Advent with a message from Father Healy in his Nov 27 Pastor’s Pen. It’s worthwhile to repeat what he said as we near the end of Advent. Father wrote:
When we enter this season of Advent, we are invited to step back and look at the parallels of our own lives and world situation with those experienced by people in Palestine on the threshold of the first century: the political and social upheaval, the violence and brutality, the disturbances that shake faith and cause doubt and despair.
Like Mary and her clan did in the darkness of the days in which they lived, we are asked to wait in darkness without ever giving up hope that the light of God will one day come and with it the peace the troubled world can never give.
We must be in tune with and in touch with the fear and sorrow all around us, the grief of those losing loved ones to war and gun violence, the fear of those hated by others and threatened because of their race, their religion, their political persuasions, or their sexual orientation. We must consider the suffering such as the cold-to-the-bone people living in places like Ukraine with no power for lights or heat in winter.
They and we need hope symbolized by the light of the first Advent candle and by a leaf in this story:
Once upon a time when the darkness of winter was deepening, there was young woman who was stricken with pneumonia and slowly dying. Lying in bed, she would look out the window at a tall tree whose leaves were torn by the wind and the cold. She was resigned to dying and told her friends that with the last leaf that fell from the tree, she would depart as well.
But that last leaf refused to fall. It held on for dear life. It clung to that branch. And the woman lived. It was only then she learned that the last leaf had been painted on the window by a friend as she slept.
This is the time of year when the days are shortest and darkest, and many of us are distressed and depressed. We despair. It’s unavoidable especially if we are missing family members who have departed either through death or estrangement. We need a painted leaf on our windows; we need hope; we need God to be with us.
We must be in tune and in touch with the fear and sorrow all around us. We must paint leaves on the windows of the fearful, the sorrowful, the suffering, to remind them that God is with them.
I end with a simple refrain, and I know you will recognize the tune:
He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
So you better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I'm telling you why
Jesus Christ is comin' to town – Bethlehem.
Deacon David Pierce
Comments
Post a Comment
Please THINK before you write!