Deacon Larry

  December 23, 2007

Homily

4^th Sunday of Advent

Is 7:10-14; Rom 1: 1-7; Mt 1: 18-24

Dc. Larry Brockman

Whatever happened to Obedience specifically, religious obedience?  It seems to be missing from today’s vocabulary. 

Many people nowadays pick and choose what they will accept as part of their faith.  Abortion, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, the need to come to Mass weekly, the Immaculate Conception, divorce for convenience, are all good examples.  There are Church teachings in each of these areas that are matters of faith.  Yet somehow our society has changed our way of thinking about Faith. 

Maybe it’s because our educational system teaches us to question everything as individuals, especially to question authority.  We are not taught to just believe and be obedient any more.   Yet, when it comes to matters of Faith, that is exactly what we are supposed to do.  God wants us to be obedient to him just because he says so.  That obedience is essential because only through obedience can we accomplish God’s will-  the establishment of the Kingdom of God. 

Now, we can never know the mind of God;  So, we should have no expectation to fully understand the why, how, and intricate details of God’s law or will.  God just wants us to believe, and to be obedient.  Today’s readings emphasize that kind of obedience, the kind of obedience that follows faith.  As Paul says: “Through him we have received the grace of Apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith”.  You see, when you have faith in God, then you love Him and trust Him.  John’s Gospel emphasizes that if you Love God, then you do His will.  That means you are obedient to Him, whether you understand his law or not and whether it’s convenient or not.  That is the obedience of faith.   

Contrast the events in today’s two readings- OT and Gospel  First, Joseph’s story is a wonderful example of the obedience of faith.  Imagine being in Joseph’s shoes.  You find that your betrothed is with child.  Your culture says that you can dismiss her.  Indeed, Joseph was going to quietly divorce her rather than expose her shame.  But then, Joseph had a dream.  He was told by the angel that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Joseph believed, and accepted Mary and the child.  Now, there is no way that Joseph could have understood the supernatural nature of Mary’s pregnancy.  Jesus conception through the Holy Spirit has been studied by the great theologians for 2000 years.  And in all that time, nobody has fully understood how it could happen.  In fact, many have questioned it, and fallen away in faith.  But Joseph did not question it.  He believed, and was obedient to God’s will as given by the angel.  Joseph did not challenge the angel for an explanation.  He did not have to understand why.  For Joseph, it was enough that God had communicated His will. 

Now consider the story about Ahaz.  Ahaz was a king of Judah in Isaiah’s time.  Ahaz had seen the Northern Kingdom of Israel consumed by the Assyrian enemy.  Isaiah prophesied that everything would be OK as long as the Southern Kingdom of Judah believed and followed the Lord.  But Ahaz did not buy it.   In fact, he made an alliance with the Egyptians to protect himself.  In short, Ahaz did not trust in the Lord, he had no faith, and he was not obedient.  Ahaz did not ask for a sign because he had his own path plotted to follow.  And he didn’t want to consider an alternative.  Yet, the Lord gave him a sign- confirming that the Lord would be with him if he put his trust in the Lord.  It was a sign Ahaz and his successor ignored none the less.  So, this lack of obedience led to the Babylonian exile.  And a permanent rupture in the Jewish Kingdom on earth.   

These two readings make a very clear point.  We must accept the whole of our faith, and be obedient to the Lord.  Because only through obedience do we build the kingdom of God.  Joseph believed, and through his obedience, Jesus was born and He established his Kingdom.  Ahaz did not believe, was not obedient, and the old kingdom fell apart.  At this special time of the year, we will be gathering to celebrate that coming of Christ the King at Christmas.  It is a time for us to resolve to believe in the miracle of the incarnation.  And not only the incarnation, but the whole of our faith; and then to resolve to be obedient, as a Church, to our Faith.  As a community, we can and will be able to build the Kingdom of God.  We cannot envision how; but we don’t have to.  It’s God’s vision that is important.  And that same God, through Jesus, will direct us, his co-workers to build the Kingdom. 

During World War II, a church in Frankfurt, Germany, was heavily damaged by bombs.   At war’s end the parishioners began repairing.   One badly broken object was a statue of Christ.   They finally found and put together all the parts, except the hands.  After considerable debate and discussion about engaging a sculptor to make a new pair of hands, the people of the parish decided to leave the statue without hands.   And they put a plaque beneath it that reads: “Christ has no hands but our hands.” 

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