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Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

23 Dec 2012

SUNDAY SUMMARY Micah 5:1-4a The one who will be peace, whose origin is from of old, is soon to arrive. Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Salvation is near for those who turn their face to the God who comes to rescue us. Hebrews 10:5-10 The preacher to the Hebrew community compares the law and the will of God. Luke 1:39-45 Two obscure women meet to share the secret of divine life and love within them.

Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Micah 5:1-4a Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45

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The inner word

16 Dec 2012 - Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Though it was near a notable place, Ramah, where one of the matriarchs of Israel, Rachel, had died, “Ephrathah” was, as scripture tells us, virtually “too small” to be noticed. Yet, the prophet Micah says it would be the place of a new king in the line of King David. Have you ever experienced how great things can come from small things? Where can you find something that while starting small grew into something grand with your efforts to cultivate it?

Micah King David

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Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

20 Dec 2009

SUNDAY SUMMARY Micah 5:1-4a From the smallest clan, the least likely place, one will come who is peace. Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Divine help will arrive with one who operates as God's right hand, bringing new life. Hebrews 10:5-10 Christ came into the world not to offer sacrifice but to do the will of God. Luke 1:39-45 Mary hoped in the fulfillment of God's word to her, and that word became flesh.

Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Micah 5:1-4a Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45

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Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

20 Dec 2015

SUNDAY SUMMARY Micah 5:1-4a In a dark generation, the prophet returns to the birthplace of hope: Bethlehem. Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Help will arrive in the person who is the right hand of God. Hebrews 10:5-10 The surrendered will of Christ is more effective than any burnt offering. Luke 1:39-45 Two expectant mothers share the joy of trusting in God beyond all reason.

Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Micah 5:1-4a Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45

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Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

23 Dec 2018

SUNDAY SUMMARY Micah 5:1-4a The one who is to come shall be peace. Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 We cry out to God who has the power to save us. Hebrews 10:5-10 Jesus Christ comes to do the will of God. Luke 1:39-45 Blessed is the fruit of the womb of the one who believed in God’s promises.

Micah 5:1-4a Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45

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Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

19 Dec 2021

SUNDAY SUMMARY Micah 5:1-4a The one who is coming will be peace to the ends of the Earth. Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 God will make the strong one come with saving help to protect us. Hebrews 10:5-10 Christ came into the world to do the will of the One who sent him. Luke 1:39-45 Mary meets Elizabeth, and the faithful mothers share their good news.

Micah 5:1-4a Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45

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Exploring the word

19 Dec 2021 - Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

During the holidays, some of us will be traveling again—perhaps after a long time away from an airport. The rest of us may well be waiting on the other end for travelers to arrive. One thing you learn quickly in airports, on either side of the process, is that planes are often late. Reasons abound for these delays: a shortage of pilots and flight attendants, overcrowded and overbooked flights, increased security measures at the airport, and inclement weather at the point of departure or arrival. Lost luggage and lost tempers are likely to be part of the experience. Yet a great many people will to enter into the holiday migration. It’s as if the old Roman census of the empire were still in practice, and Caesar wants us all back in our towns of origin to be counted. Maybe this year the planes will be late once more; and Amtrak and Greyhound, too; and travelers stuck in traffic from Boston to Los Angeles. Maybe dinner will be late, and so will that last gift arriving by UPS. Even Midnight Mass might not start on time. But there is one arrival we can count on, and that is the hour of our salvation. God chooses to pitch the divine tent with us, to be with us, and to rescue us from all that could harm us—from sin and death itself. This great arrival is never late, is always right on schedule. The news is irrepressibly good The prophet Micah is not exactly a messenger of good cheer. His times, the late eighth century B.C.E., were not what you would call hopeful. Assyria was on the prowl, swallowing Damascus and Samaria. Jerusalem would be under siege by the end of the century. But those were just the outside dangers. What concerned the prophet more was the harm from within, the bribe-loving prophets, judges, and priests of Israel. While the leadership of the nation satisfied itself, the merchants cheated the common folk, and those same folk in turn ran after idols. In other words, the time of Micah was every bit as bad as our own—violent, greedy, unfair, and unfaithful—and the prophet wasn’t shy about calling down some first-rate smiting in response. And yet even Micah, from his high and righteous perch, came forth with an amazingly optimistic word from the Lord in the midst of his ranting and condemnation. It’s as if he couldn’t help himself: God’s desire to save was stronger than Micah’s aching wish for judgment and punishment on a generation that was getting precisely what it deserved. This strange little prophecy of hope gets tucked away into the holy texts, to be extracted 700 years later in the time of King Herod, when he asks his advisors if the Magi from the Far East know what they are talking about when they say a king is to be born in the vicinity of his court. In a time of great distress, with personal and political turmoil the order of the day, Micah predicted the rule of a man called peace. If that seems unlikely today, you can be sure that Micah’s generation thought so, too. The poor have the Good News preached to them Before the Magi even started on the journey that would end in Herod’s kingdom, two women already knew that Micah’s prophecy was about to be fulfilled. A young girl from Nazareth traveled four days to the home of her elderly cousin Elizabeth to share her joy. Both women knew the truth without exchanging a word. Their bodies told them everything they needed to know. Imagine: a very old woman and a virgin girl both large with child! These births were irreconcilable with the facts, with nature, with the world as it is. And yet the women could not doubt that God’s promise was true, because God’s promise was happening to them. The two women knew it; their leaping unborn children knew it, and within a generation, the whole world would be alive with the news. If the good word could not be suppressed by a prophet of mostly bad news in an equally rotten generation, then these women, full of divinely inspired life, could hardly contain it either. They cried out their praise and thanksgiving. Like prophets themselves, they spoke of God’s desire to save a world sore in need of rescue. The worse history gets, the more eager God is to throw us a lifeline. Commentators like to point out that Luke constructs this scene more from theology than history: It’s unlikely a virgin girl in the Middle East—of any century—would be allowed to travel alone for four days along dangerous roads. Nor is it likely that a childless girl would assist a pregnant woman, when more experienced women would be available for the task. Scripture is ambiguous on this point, but it seems that Mary is sent home in Elizabeth’s ninth month, so as to deliberately keep her from participating in John’s birth. The only reason, then, to present this hour of visitation between two such favored women is because those who share in the Good News of salvation naturally come together to celebrate that communion. You can’t keep true believers from gathering—this is the meaning of church! Applying the word The eve of our salvation That’s why we gather on this day, the Fourth Sunday of Advent. What brings us to church today is that we believe something wonderful is happening to us. We believe that God has chosen to be with us, to live as one of us, to take up residence in us as bearers of the life of Christ for the sake of the world! We come together, as a matter of theological necessity, to celebrate that reality, and to share our joy with others who have had the same experience. Like Mary of Nazareth, we may have traveled a long way, an impossible way, to get to this place to share this hour. But the news is so good, we can’t contain it ourselves. We have to share the blessing, declare God’s goodness to us, and sing the song of praise. Related scripture links Herod uncovers the prophecy: Matt. 2:5-6 Mary is sent home: Luke 1:56 Believers sing their song of praise: Luke 1:46-55 Catechism links Other aspects of the Visitation: CCC 148; 448; 495; 523; 717; 2676; 2677

Authors Alice Camille

Micah mary and elizabeth

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Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

22 Dec 2024

SUNDAY SUMMARY Micah 5:1-4a From the smallest clan, the least likely place, one will come who is peace. Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Divine help will arrive with one who operates as God's right hand, bringing new life. Hebrews 10:5-10 Christ came into the world not to offer sacrifice but to do the will of God. Luke 1:39-45 Mary hoped in the fulfillment of God's word to her, and that word became flesh. More resources for the month available in Seasonal notes.

Micah 5:1-4a Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45

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