17^th / 18^th December 2022

Dear Parishioners,

We still have a full week to prepare for the celebrations of the Birth of Jesus our Saviour.

Our first reading from Isaiah foretells the birth of a very special child – whom, Mary, his mother will call EMMANUEL – a name which means: “God-is-with-us”.

In the opening lines of St Paul’s Letter to the Romans, he makes it clear that he has been chosen by God to preach the Good News. This news is God’s promise long ago made through the prophets in the scriptures; “This news is about the Son of God, who, according to the human nature he took, was a descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord … who was proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead”. (Hence our attempt to establish in our mind, through the Jesse Tree, that God’s plan has been unfolding for generations).

St Matthew begins his Gospel with “the genealogy of Jesus, son of David, son of Abraham”. Throughout his gospel, he reminds his readers, us, that Jesus is the fulfilment of all the promises made by the prophets over many generations. He is the bridge-builder between the Old and the New Testament.

While St Luke tells of the Annunciation to Mary, Matthew presents the Annunciation to Joseph in a dream. He is like Joseph we read about in the Book of Genesis: Joseph of the Coat of many Colours, who was sold into slavery in Egypt. There are signs of Mary, Joseph and Jesus having to flee to Egypt for safety.

There is one key element to pick up in today’s story. Joseph is told – “do not be afraid …” How many times do we hear those words in the scriptures? At the Annunciation the Angel Gabriel tells Mary – “Do not be afraid …” God told Abraham “fear not”, Likewise, the angel told Zachariah, father of John the Baptist; the angels told the shepherds, “Do not be afraid, listen …” When Jesus was walking on the water – Jesus shouted – “do not be afraid, it is I …” The same with mary Magdalene on that first Easter morning.

God knows we are often afraid; Jesus knew it too. The same is true today. As Christians, we are not to “do fear”. There are so many reasons for us to be afraid in life. The loss of a loved one; the loss of our own health; the loss of families divided through disputes; the loss of a job or a home; the loss of independence through loss of money and not being able to make ends meet … it can be loss after loss for us – and yet, we are not to be afraid!

Sometimes we need to adopt the philosophy of Job: “The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away”! If we think only of the losses in life, we have no eyes for the many blessings. We often don’t appreciate the gifts and blessing we have.

Today, we reflect on the message of the Gospel: the promise of Emmanuel – a name which means: “God-is-with-us”! We have the greatest gift of all – Jesus our Saviour who has come to give his life for us. We welcome him once more into our lives.

Have a blessed final week of Advent.

Fr Joe