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| Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 23 |
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Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent |
The following excerpt is from The Advent of the God of Peace: Reflections for Advent 2007, by Fr. John Dear, S.J. It is available from Pax Christi USA in both English and Spanish. This reflection is for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 23, 2007.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 7:10-14
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-24
"'The God of peace will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.'" (Isaiah 7:14)
The prophet's astonishing vision comes down to us: "The God of peace will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel, 'God with us.'" The significance and comfort of such an oracle come into play not in a religious vacuum. They come during a dread time, when hands fall in despair, when we feel not the presence of God, but the palpable absence of God.
Such is our story; our times all but take us under. The nation has arisen as global tormentor, imperial thug, "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world," as Dr. King lamented. The culture has brought us to the brink of global warming and looming cataclysm. Political corruption poisons the body politic. Sociopathic leaders pay no heed to the suffering of the world's poor. The Pentagon diabolically clings to powers of unimaginable deadliness. And our nuclear arsenal, dangling above our heads by a thread, keeps humanity in psychological chains. Such a time, such a place!
And yet, and yet. We do well to assure ourselves: The God of peace has yet to give us up for dead. God actively works for the disarmament of the world, even the disarmament of our hearts. The word of promise is Emmanuel-God is with us. God cares for us and longs to show us the way to peace. God is determined to be with us, each and every one of us, out of sheer compassionate love.
And so, our belief contains a few propositions. Namely, God has no wish that we retain nuclear weapons. Or that we execute those convicted of crimes and abort the unborn. Or that we oppress and scapegoat, dehumanize and marginalize, or allow a single child to die of starvation. God's longing for our peace precludes our ruining God's good creation. Emmanuel, the God of peace, is here with us. God
yearns to share our story and accompany us on the journey. God longs to bring about a new world of peace, an entirely different version of reality-based on love, vulnerability, compassion, nonviolence, and justice.
So now is the time to ready ourselves. Life is short and ultimately out of our control. But we are not alone. This season, our beautiful, loving, nonviolent God comes again into our lives. God is with us and promises to be with us-forever.
Fr. John Dear, S.J. is an internationally known voice for peace and Christian nonviolence. He is a Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace and currently lives and works in New Mexico. His many books include: Transfiguration; The Questions of Jesus; and Living Peace.
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