God is Love! All We Need to Do is Learn to Trust in Him, Have Great Faith Like Joseph and Ahaz!

 

This Fourth Sunday of Advent is all about Love and great Faith in God! We need to learn to trust in Him! We need to fulfill His calling for us in our lives. We need to love Him and have the faith to follow Him and do what He wants with our lives! Like in the Bible verses this week in mass, both Joseph and Ahaz are called to follow God do His will for love! Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory! Like Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, as it says in the readings this week, we are all called to be His servants, His slaves in Christ to do His will and be more Christ-like in our lives on this Earth. Obedience of faith is critical and we are all called, to trust, to listen, to follow God and His wants for our lives for Him like Joseph and Ahaz did. God is talking to us now, His angels are speaking to us, He wants us to listen to Him to do what His calling is for our lives. It is such a beautiful thing to see how in Isaiah, the old testament, the Prophet foretold of the Virgin giving birth to Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Then we see in Matthew again with the story with Joseph being told to take Mary as his wife and listening to God to fulfill such a prophecy. How beautiful! We need to do as the Lord commands, even in the Hanukkah prayer they talk about following His commandments. We need to listen, we need to follow Him, we need to trust in the Lord always and His commandments! God is all about love, Jesus is love! 

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Reading 1
Isaiah  7:10-14
The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
"I will not ask!  I will not tempt the LORD!"
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6.
R. (7c and 10b) Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.

Reading 2
Romans 1:1-7
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,
but established as Son of God in power
according to the Spirit of holiness
through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith,
for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Alleluia
Matthew 1:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Matthew1:18-24
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
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."
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.