Liturgy of the Word:

Is. 7:10-14;

Ps. 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6;

Rom. 1:1-7;

Mt. 1:18-24.

Note from ORDO for Simbang Gabi: use the Liturgy of the 4th Sunday of Advent: Gloria, Credo, Preface II of Advent, white vestments.

1st Reading, Is. 7: 10-14. The Emmanuel Prophecy. The prophecy took place during the Syro-Ephraimite War (735-732 BC) between the southern Kingdom of Judah and an alliance of the Kingdom of Aram-Damascus and the northern Kingdom of Israel with its capital in Samaria.

King Rezin of Aram-Damascus and King Pekah of Israel attempted to depose King Ahaz of Judah for refusing to join the anti-Assyrian coalition (Is. 7:1-2). Rezin and Pekah invaded Judah in 735 BC (see 2 Chr. 28, 2 Kgs. 16).

It was during the invasion of Judah that the Isaian prophecy took place. Isaiah tells King Ahaz that the invasion will be unsuccessful (Is. 7:3-9) and tells him to ask God for a sign. Ahaz refuses, claiming he does not want to test God (vv. 10-13).

Isaiah then announces that God himself will choose the sign: “The young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel” (v. 14). The name means “God with us.”

Resp. Ps. 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6. The Glory of God. Refrain: “Let the Lord enter. He is the King of Glory!”

“The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds, the world and those who dwell in it. For He founded it on the seas and established it over the rivers” (vv. 1-2). “Who may go up the mountain of the Lord? Who can stand in His holy place? The clean of hand and the pure of heart.... He will receive blessings from the Lord, and justice from his saving God” (vv. 3-5).

2nd Reading, Rom. 1:1-7. In an elaborate greeting, Paul calls himself a “slave of Jesus Christ, called to be apostle.” He proclaims the Gospel “kerygma,” about:

* the Son of God, descended from David,

* but established as the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness

* through the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ” (vv. 1-4).

From him Paul received the grace of apostleship to bring about:

* the obedience of faith (in God’s saving action in Jesus Christ)

* among all the Gentiles,

* to all the beloved of God in Rome (vv. 5-7), (who are)

* called to be holy.

“Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 7).

Gospel Alleluiah; Alleluia, alleluia.

O Key of David, opening the gates of the eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness! Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel, Mt. 1: 18-24. The Birth of Jesus. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to David, through the Babylonian exile, to Joseph and Mary (vv. 1-17). The genealogy and Jesus’s birth present Jesus as the climax of Israel’s history and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

“Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came to be” (v. 18). Mary was betrothed to Joseph. But before they began to live together, Mary was discovered with child. Being a righteous man, Joseph did not wish her to be publicly shamed (and, according to a decree, punished with stoning).

So he decided to divorce her privately. But the angel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream, telling him not to be afraid of bringing Mary to his home (vv. 20). “For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (vv. 20-22).

This was to fulfill what the Lord said to the prophet: “Behold, the Virgin shall be with child and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel” (v. 23).

When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel had commanded him. He took Mary as “his wife into his home” (v. 24). Matthew’s infancy narrative proclaims Jesus as the Savior and Redeemer, as Emmanuel, “God with us, and as the Son of God. The virginal conception of Jesus is the work of the Spirit. It is the fulfillment of Is. 6:14. Although the genealogical line is broken, the promises to David are fulfilled, for Joseph is of the line of David.

Today is the last Sunday before Christmas. Our expectation is approaching its climax. Even as we call on Jesus not to delay, we also have to respond, without delay, to Paul’s call to holiness.

Paul says we are apostles. We are sent to proclaim the Good News that Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior and our Redeemer, who has come and is to come. We do this by being like Joseph, loving and caring, humble and obedient, righteous and holy.

Prayer — Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.