4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT A

SAVE SPACE FOR MYSTERY

It’s the last Sunday of waiting… Christmas is almost here!

The past weeks, our gospel did not really have a Christmas feel.

The first 3 Sundays if you noticed were about prophecies and prophets; as if to say that waiting for God is serious business.

Today, enough of prophets! Today we meet someone so common, so ordinary, so negligible.

We meet St. Joseph, the man of Nazareth, Mary’s soon-to-be-husband.

Prophets are special; they have a special calling, a special gift, a special mission.

Joseph was a young man (I like to picture him young, after all, he was a skilled and strong carpenter) with a dream like other men.

He dreams of a wife… he dreams of kids… he dreams of a home… he dreams of fatherhood! These will complete his life.

But the dreams are nipped in the bud; he learns that Mary was already conceiving a child that was not his. He feels betrayed. He wants out of the situation. But he wants to preserve her dignity… and hers. He wants to do all in secrecy.

Then in a dream, everything became clear to Joseph. It was God calling him to care for his Only Begotten Son, the Messiah long awaited by Israel.

He resumes his dream, or better still, he continues to dream a new dream given by God.

This is why Joseph was favored by God.

He encountered a big tragedy in his life but he did not listen only to himself.

He also listened to God. He made space in his life for the the coming of a mystery!

He did not understand it all, at first. It would take years for him to discover what great blessings awaited him for his surrender.

In life, we too, encounter many disappointments, mistakes, setbacks, failures and other kinds of personal, family and work tragedies.

Our first reaction is to avoid, to run away, to hide, to get it over with.

It is easier, at first we think, just to give up and say “I quit!”

But this Advent time, the Lord is inviting us to imitate Joseph.

Do not only listen to your heart telling you: All is lost! There is no hope!

Listen also to God, and trust the mystery he is offering you to embrace.

Make space for the mystery.

Maybe you do not understand

… why you fail and fail again

… why of all people you have to suffer

… why your love seems never to return to you

… why others cannot understand you

… why change seems so elusive in your life

… why your dreams don’t seem to materialize

The Lord is inviting you to make his dream your priority, not your dream.

Listen to his plan; believe in his promise; cling to him in hope; believe that something good will happen to you in spite of all the setbacks.

He is sending his Son into your life. Receive him like Joseph and Mary did. Serve him and love him as they did.

He is the mystery that will solve your misery.

God if faithful; trust him with all your heart.
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