Mary, a young
teenager, has learned through the Holy Spirit that she is to bear a child. She sets out to visit her cousin Elizabeth,
who in her old age has also conceived a child—John
the Baptist. When Mary arrives, Elizabeth says, “the infant in my womb leaped
for joy”. John the Baptist leaped for
joy because Jesus the Christ was there.
Luke’s story of
Mary, the perfect disciple, has several important lessons for us. The story has
a clear sense of urgency to it. Luke says that Mary proceeded in haste. There
was no time to waste. The good news had to be shared. And so it is with us on
this final Sunday of Advent. There is a spirit of urgency in the Church’s
liturgy today. If we have heard the
message proclaimed on the previous Sundays of Advent, then we are right on the
edges of our pews awaiting what is to come in a few days. We have heard John
the Baptist urge us to make straight the way of the Lord, to clear away
everything that keeps us from receiving the good news.
But urgency must
not be confused with “frenzy.” We could
use the word frenzy to describe
preparation for the holiday season. That is not what we are doing. For
Christians, we are preparing for Christmas and we have a sense of “make haste
slowly.” We will hear today in the media that there are only two days until
Christmas, meaning we have only two days to buy more and more. I urge you to
practice a little gentle resistance when you hear that urging. Remind
yourselves that there are just two days left of Advent. We are to use these days to prepare to
receive the good news.
Mary teaches
another important lesson for Advent preparation. We are reminded of the
importance of believing. Elizabeth says of Mary, “Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled”. Our own inability
to believe in the good news may be one obstacle we face at this time of year.
In many ways our Western consumer-oriented society conditions us to trust in
material things and not in the good news of Christ’s coming. We get flu shots
this time of year to protect against influenza, when the real affliction we
have to guard against is affluenza—the
urge to be affluent, the desire to buy more, bigger, and seemingly better
things. Jesus is the perfect medicine for affluenza. On this Fourth Sunday of
Advent, believe that Jesus is the right answer.
Mary, the
perfect disciple, also teaches us that Christ is the perfect gift. Luke speaks
of no material gifts that Mary brought to Elizabeth. She brought only her
trusting presence and, by being fully present, revealed Christ.
There are signs
that something is stirring in our culture about the real meaning of this
season. The Christian Science Monitor
reported a survey showing that 70 percent of Americans would welcome less
Christmas spending and gift giving. The article reports that “from Seattle to
Washington, D.C., growing numbers of families are giving more thought to
focusing on what makes Christmas meaningful to them.”
We can make
Christ present in the greetings we send and in the purchases we make or don't
make. And, we can be fully present in listening to God’s word and in receiving
the Eucharist. Be fully present to those
around you these final days of Advent, trust in the good news, and you will
find Christ, the perfect gift.
The purpose of Christmas is not for us to be happy;
rather, it is for us to make God happy, even jubilant. It's not about what we "get for
Christmas," but what Jesus, the Son of God, gets for His birthday. We give Jesus what He wants and make Him
happy by giving Him ourselves, our lives, our love, and by inviting
others to do the same.
Let us prepare to joyfully celebrate
the birth of Christ.
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