A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n.4)
Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A – December 23, 2007
“The Lord Will Give You This Sign …”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 7:10-14 // Rom 1:1-7 // Mt 1:18-24
N.B. Series 6 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 3.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
It must have been some kind of midlife crisis for I had allowed the disappointments of those moments to discourage me and even erode my self-esteem. I felt so insignificant and it seemed that I had toiled in vain. I needed some kind of affirmation to confirm that my apostolic labor had meaning and value. I prayed to God to give me a “sign”. In his goodness God gifted me with a beautiful “sign”. One day in June 2001 Bishop Protacio Gungon of the Diocese of Antipolo in the Philippines informed me that I was going to receive an award. The Bishop nominated me for the papal award, PRO ECCLESIA ET PONTIFICE in recognition for the service I had rendered to the Church and the Pope. On August 15, 2001, in a memorable diocesan celebration that acknowledged the contribution of a layman, a religious and a clergy man, Mr. Guillermo Tolentino and I received the PRO ECCLESIA ET PONTIFICE award while Fr. Arnel Lagarejos was elevated to the rank of “papal chaplain”, with the title of “Monsignor”. The conferral of the papal award was for me a “sign” that encourages me in difficulties as I endeavor to serve the Lord and his people through the Eucharistic-Priestly-Liturgical apostolate.
The liturgy of the Advent and Christmas season is marked by an exquisite “sign” of God’s love: the birth of a child, which is perhaps the most universal and enduring symbol of hope for the human race. A “sign” in the Old Testament and New Testament is usually some event assuring us of divine intervention. It is an indication of divine presence and a form of revelation. A “sign” is God’s propitious expression of benevolence and a promise of salvation for his people. It is a gift of love from our saving God to encourage us in moments of crisis. Indeed, a divine “sign” is a symbol of hope in weakness and an assurance of life and victory when assailed with threats of defeat and destruction.
The Old Testament reading (Is 7:10-14) contains a prophetic sign directed to King Ahaz, who was anxious and trembling as “the trees of the forest tremble in the wind” (Is 7:2), for the imminent siege of Jerusalem in 735 B.C. by the kings of Syria and Israel. Confronting his lack of trust in the Lord, the prophet Isaiah declared: “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel” (Is 7:14). With the sign of the conception and birth of a child, God wanted to manifest to King Ahaz, who was piously hiding his intent to seek security through political allies, that the Lord Yahweh was in perfect control of human history and destiny. Indeed, God is with us and intimately involved in our affairs. The “sign” announced by the prophet Isaiah was an invitation to Ahaz to trust in God alone – in the realization of the Covenant and his continual protection. The King ought not to rely on the political and military interventions of the Assyrians for salvation from his enemies. The conception and birth of a child by the young wife of King Ahaz was meant to be a powerful indication of Yahweh’s abiding presence and merciful intervention on behalf of his people. The weakling ruler, however, did not accept the birth of his son, Hezekiah as a “sign” of salvation and of God’s solicitude for the house of David. Trusting more in political security, Ahaz sent gold and silver to the King of Assyria and became his vassal.
The evangelist Matthew in this Sunday’s Gospel passage (Mt 1:18-24) sees the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in the birth of the Virgin Mary’s child, Jesus. The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 1, comment: “The sign that God gives is the birth of a child. It is a sign, because this birth is a promise of salvation. Moreover, he will bear the significant name Emmanuel, that is God-with-us. The salvation announced to the people goes beyond the person of Hezekiah. The child, the sign of the salvation of God, will be no ordinary person, and he will come from David’s lineage: the Messiah himself. When Jesus appeared, born of a woman – a virgin whose name was Mary – to whom the angel of God said: You shall conceive and bear a son … The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father … and his reign will be without end (Lk 1:31-33), one will easily surmise that he must be the promised Messiah. Not merely one sign among many, but THE sign of God, in a way that none can imagine: God-with-us … The sign of his presence and initiative was given to us when he chose a young woman – a virgin – to give birth to the Savior. The very fragility of this sign – the birth of a child – is the most extraordinary, the most unexpected, and at the same time the most visible of the manifestations of the strength and love of the God who is faithful to his promises.”
God continues to surround us with “signs” of salvation and of his care and love. The following story narrated by Sue Monk Kidd in an old issue of GUIDEPOSTS magazine illustrates how the appearance of a child in the languishing church community of Melba became a sign of the divine will to bring life and salvation to them.
In 1977, the Baptist Church in Melba, a rural American town, was about to close its doors forever. Over the years, churchgoing had dropped off alarmingly. Some hurts and misunderstandings had divided and shattered the congregation. All that remained was about a dozen people on the verge of giving up. That handful of people gathered in the church one Sunday to vote whether to continue services or close down for good. Their meeting was interrupted when a child appeared – a child of only seven years – who wanted to join the Sunday school and the church service. Angela, for that was her name, returned the next Sunday, and the next and the next. That child became the reason for the Melba Baptist Church to go on. They struggled to live in order to nurture a young spirit from one Sunday to the next. Angela was their glimmer of hope. She was their future. The child’s appearance saved the congregation from extinction and sure death. The Melba Baptist Church has become renovated and increased in membership. As far as they are concerned, the little girl who came alone to the church that long-ago Sunday was sent by God.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Have we ever experienced a crisis situation that prompted us to ask God for a “sign” that he did not abandon us, but was really there for us? Did God send us a “sign” in response to our faith-filled yearning? Did we receive that “sign” with love and gratitude? Why did King Ahaz refuse to ask God for a “sign”? What would the acceptance of the “sign” of the conception and birth of a child entail for King Ahaz? What is the importance of a “sign” in our living relationship with God?
2 What is the meaning of the birth of Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary? Why was he called “Emmanuel”? Why was the child of Mary the utter fulfillment of Isaiah’s ancient prophecy: “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel” (Is 7:14)?
3 How do we imitate Mary and Joseph in their response to the various “signs” of God’s love, especially the ultimate sign of his saving power – Jesus Christ? Are we willing to be “signs” of God’s love and compassion in today’s world? Filled with the life of Christ, are we willing to be symbols of hope in various situations of human fragility and weakness? Are we willing to bring to the world of today the love of Jesus Christ, God’s promise of salvation?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father, in your mercy you gave the greatly distressed King Ahaz a “sign” of your protection and love: the conception and birth of the child “Emmanuel”. But he was not ready to trust you completely. Relying more on political alliance and human security, he refused the “sign” that would oblige him to renounce human securities and demand absolute surrender to your ineffable and mysterious ways. We know that Isaiah’s ancient prophecy of the birth of a child who would redeem us from our sins was utterly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary. We welcome the birth of Jesus, from the virginal womb of Mary, as a sign of your saving presence in our midst, a symbol of hope and a promise of salvation. In the fragile “sign” of the Child Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, we embrace the presence, the power and strength of your redeeming love. In Jesus Savior, the joy of Christmas is complete. We thank you, loving Father, for the “sign” of the Christ Child and the gift of Christmas.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us” (Mt 1:21-23).
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Meditate on the beautiful Christmas “sign” of the Christ Child, born of Mary. Let the “sign” of the Christ Child and the Christmas spirit of love, justice, peace and the presence of God be shared with the people around you, especially the poor, the sick and the suffering.
ACTION PLAN: To help us feel more intensely the spirit of Christmas and perceive more gratefully the sign of Christ Child, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 4, n. 4): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
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