Fourth Sunday of Advent

 Lectionary: 11

To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel...

Because I am not preaching in a church this Sunday, I can offer my readers a reflection concerning the second of today’s three scripture readings.

First we hear a reading from Second Samuel concerning the promise given to David that “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.” 

Today's Gospel announces the fulfillment of that promise as the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that her son will be given the throne of David his father. And he adds, “...of this kingdom there will be no end.”

Today’s second reading is a complex sentence from Saint Paul’s important Letter to the Romans. Paul understood the promise to David and its fulfillment in Jesus; and he taught his disciples what it means to live in that kingdom. The sentence concerns “the One who can strengthen you.” It is built around three subordinate clauses, each beginning with according. Just as today’s gospel signals the fulfillment of the first reading, so do these three accordings connect the beginning of the sentence (the One who can strengthen you) to the praise offered to the “only wise God through Jesus Christ.” 

Each of these accordings deserves our attention: 

• “...according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ.” 

• The Apostle speaks of “my gospel” with the confidence of a preacher, and knowing that there are other Christian missionaries with a different gospel. Some of them he has sarcastically called “super apostles.” They not only claim extraordinary visions and superior knowledge, they also insist that gentile men who would believe in Jesus must be circumcised as Jews and accept all the Pharisaic customs. Paul knows their game; they would have the Lord's newborn disciples serving and enriching them.  

• “My gospel” is more demanding spiritually, though less demanding physically. His disciples will not have an outward proof of their salvation, neither by circumcision nor pious practices. But they will have the assurance of faith; they will know that the Lord has suffered and died for them, and been raised up.

• They will also discover a vitality we call “the Holy Spirit." It comes with a willingness to make sacrifices for God, the Church, and the needy. They will have an eagerness to belong to the saints; i.e., the Church. 

• “...according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings;”

• Devout persons of that first century understood the phrase, a “mystery kept secret for long ages.” The Roman world was besieged by Gnostic “mystery religions” which acted something like benevolent societies of our time. Membership in these groups was secretive (although everyone might know it) and members gave each other secret signs in greeting which they learned in clandestine rituals. More importantly, they were taught certain doctrines which outsiders could never know or discover; they were doctrines supposedly unknown from ancient times but revealed to spiritually elite seers. This inside information with its clandestine rites was supposed to guarantee personal salvation, and a passage into eternal life.

• However, and quite conveniently, the mystery might not entail any real sacrifice. "You're saved because you know this secret formula! Wow! What a deal!" (Hello? How does that make sense in the real world?) 

• Unlike the Gnostics, disciples of Jesus proclaim their mysterious secret far and wide; they want everyone to know his name. But it's a secret that no one can know until the Father reveals it. It came first to Mary by a vision, and to Joseph by a dream, and finally to the disciples by the appearances of the crucified and risen Lord. Eye has not seen, ear has not heard; and no one can expect a virgin birth or a risen savior.

• And yes, it does entail real sacrifice. Anyone unwilling to take up their crosses of sacrifices, setbacks, and disappointments, and follow the Lord cannot be his disciple.  

• Finally, “...according to the command of the eternal God made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith...

• Paul’s gospel comes with a command to all who hear it. Knowing the secret, they are under the obedience of faith which submits to a life-or-death decision. It is not a choice between Cheerios and Wheaties, a Ford or a Chevy, the city or the suburbs. We cannot take it or leave it; anyone who knows the Lord cannot say, “ Yes, but I prefer my own religion." 

• Paul had already confessed his own obedience before God: 

• If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship. (1 Cor 9:16)

• Knowing the sovereignty of the One God and Father of all, the Apostle had to announce this Good News of the Kingdom to all the nations. As the psalms repeatedly insist, “All kings will bow down before him; all nations will serve him.” That's not just them; it's us too.

We could probably say that all the world knows Christmas today, just as every nation will agree that January 1 is the beginning of 2024. They might know about Santa Claus; they might have heard the Little Drummer Boy’s pa rum pum pum pum.

But not all nations know the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested in Jesus Christ. It falls to us, the Church, the saints, martyrs, and angels to give praise, honor, and glory forever and ever to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ Amen -- and to share the Good News of God's Kingdom with everyone.