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"A God Who Accompanies.”
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel (Matthew 1:23).” This stupendous proclamation by an angel reveals a simple fact: God’s sending of own Son is not of human origin or planning but of completely divine initiative. It is God’s grace, God’s absolute freedom to love us that made it possible. Only God saves!
This counters the human instinct to rely on his or her own schemes and strength as exemplified by King Ahaz in panic. Isaiah’s answer was as simple as it was difficult: do nothing but trust in God. With a false showing of religious piety, Ahaz replied: “I will not tempt the Lord!” Ahaz was not religious. In his heart and mind, God was not his concern. Whatever seemed to work or whatever appeared advantageous to the political stability and perpetuation of his throne he followed. He did not hesitate to bow to the idols or foreign gods. Fear and panic, political calculation and human maneuvering is his mode of behavior, which unfortunately finds an echo in many. There is a lesson to learn from his behavior, especially today in the age of self-reliance.
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.” Jesus Christ was born from the Virgin’s womb because it was a miraculous birth. God intervened in ways that took everyone by surprise. Jesus would be miraculously conceived and throughout their marriage Joseph would respect Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus and virginal consecration.
The angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary of her virginal conception of Jesus, the Savior, symbolizes how God will surely step into all of our lives, right when we are midstream in the course of our human existence, right at the crucial moments of our planning. In sudden divine interventions in our crises– a serious sickness, death, financial loss, or other disasters, a new child – we find peace and salvation. Looking back, we may confess: only God saves!
It is a miraculous birth. We cannot fathom it. We cannot plan it; we cannot explain it away. It is the miracle of God’s absolute love. The account of the conception makes that point alone: Jesus is both God and man. Jesus translates the Hebrew Joshua for later Judaism as "Yahweh saves," the name summarizing the child's mission.
God-with-us echoes the covenant relationship. In Matthew it appears here and at the gospel’s conclusion: "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). Since the creation of human beings, God has communicated his love through a relationship with humanity. The Old and New Testament reveal the Trinitarian God to be a God who accompanies. Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has identified a need for the Church to remain centered on the simple and beautiful act of accompaniment - a journey of presence and attentiveness with another on their pathway to discovering God: “… spiritual accompaniment must lead others ever closer to God, in whom we attain true freedom. Some people think they are free if they can avoid God; they fail to see that they remain existentially orphaned, helpless, homeless. They cease being pilgrims and become drifters, flitting around themselves and never getting anywhere. To accompany them would be counterproductive if it became a sort of therapy supporting their self-absorption and ceased to be a pilgrimage with Christ to the Father” (The Joy of the Gospel, 170).
In the Eucharist, we acknowledge Immanuel, God-with-us. The Eucharist is our pilgrimage with Christ to the Father. It is the celebration of God’s absolute freedom of self-giving and our confident faith of rejoicing and gratitude. This fourth Sunday of Advent is the pregnant moment indeed. May our minds and hearts be filled with awe and wonder at God’s continuous coming into our world and into us! Are you ready to celebrate?
Father Paul D. Lee