Blessed are You Who Believed: Reflections on the Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

By now we are all pretty close to the edges of our seats in anticipation of Christmas. Just a few more days and we will celebrate the Logos, the Word, coming as a baby into our world and into time. For, despite becoming man and entering the timeline, Christ is the pre-existent Son of God.

In the first reading from the prophet Micah, we learn of the prophecy as to where Christ, the Messiah was to be born. “You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.” Note the origin from ancient times. Think of the beginning of John’s gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2)

This reading also mentions some of the names that we will associate with Jesus: “He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock” (the Good Shepherd) and “he shall be peace” (Prince of Peace). It also notes, “the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel.” Jesus calls all the world to Him. “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” (John 12:32) Many refuse to answer the call, but He calls none the less. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20)

The responsorial from Psalm 80 again uses the theme of shepherd. At the very beginning it addresses God as the “shepherd of Israel.” In the Old Testament, God is often described as shepherd of His people as well as the leaders God appointed over them. And consider some of the people He chose to lead them – Moses and David were both shepherds, as was the prophet Zechariah. This psalm is a lament of the people of Israel feeling abandoned by the Lord after being brought out from Egypt and planted anew, asking for deliverance, a Savior, who will “Make us turn to you.”

And, as Jesus tells us when declaring Himself the Good Shepherd, He will defend His flock to the death (John 10:1-18). He will use His power to save us. Other phrases in the psalm also point to Jesus. “...take care of this vine” reminds us of John 15:1: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.” Similarly, the “son of man whom you yourself made strong” points to Jesus. Jesus brings us the “new life” the psalm refers to, but it is incumbent upon us to “no more withdraw from you.” We need to answer God’s call, “Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.” God is with us, but it is our choice to see Him and be saved.

The second reading from Hebrews is an extremely significant one. It basically tells us that with the coming of Christ, the Old Covenant has been supplanted by the New (and everlasting) Covenant. “[A] new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6) The Letter to the Hebrews notes that the sacrifices of the Old Covenant are no longer of any use: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire.” What is now required is to do God’s will. By this ‘will,’ we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

In the gospel reading we are told about the Visitation; Mary, now carrying the Divine Child, goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist. This passage has several very important messages for us. At the moment Mary greeted Elizabeth, both Elizabeth and the baby in her womb were filled with the Holy Spirit. The words of Elizabeth are significant: “Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’”

First, it is through the Holy Spirit that Elizabeth declares Mary to be “Blessed ... among women.” The language of the time did not have a simple phrase for “most blessed.” Consequently, by describing Mary as “Blessed are you among women” Elizabeth is declaring her as most blessed of all women. And of course she recognizes Jesus, the “fruit” of Mary’s womb as blessed.

Even more significant is the next part of Elizabeth’s revelation where she addresses Mary as “the mother of my Lord,” the term Lord signifying God. As I mentioned last week, our Protestant brethren cannot seem to reconcile within themselves the uniqueness and importance of Mary. Most object to the term “Mother of God” that we use to describe Our Blessed Mother. But here it is, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Mary is called the Mother of God. Elizabeth did make distinction between the Son of God and the man-child that Mary was carrying – they are one and the same. This excerpt from Luke’s gospel, along with the one describing the Annunciation, are reflected in the prayer to Our Lady, the Hail Mary.

Article 495 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states, “In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).” The recognition of Mary as the Mother of God is not something new; it goes back to the early Church, to the Church Fathers.

Some might claim that Mary was only the mother of the human “part” of Jesus. Catholic Answers explains the fallacy of this argument:

“The real problem with denying Mary to be Mother of God and affirming her to be merely the mother of the man Christ Jesus is in doing so one invariably either denies the divinity of Christ (as the 4th century Arians did), or one creates two persons with regard to Jesus Christ (as the 5th century Nestorians did). Either error results in heresy. The Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea (AD 325) and Constantinople (AD 381) dealt decisively with the Arian heresy. The Council of Ephesus (AD 431), as mentioned above, dealt with this latter heresy as it was being taught by the followers of Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople. Rather than teaching the truth that Christ is one divine person with two natures—one human, and one divine—hypostatically unified, or joined together without admixture in the one divine person of Christ, they were teaching Christ to be two persons with a mere moral union.”

Elizabeth concludes with a recognition of Mary’s faith and trust in God: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And so we are called to follow Mary’s example of faith.

Mary’s trust in the Lord is unsurpassed, but it is the model for us to follow. Think of the words in the picture of The Divine Mercy, “Jesus, I trust in You!” We must turn to the Lord, and like Mary, be obedient to His will. Trust and faith go hand in hand, and this is one of the key lessons of all of the readings this Sunday.