Is. 7:10-14; Ps. 24:1-6; Rom. 1:1-7; Mt.1:18-24

Called to be holy!   This is our Advent call to search and reach for holiness which is to search and reach for God himself.  We are all called to be holy by the grace of God who is with us.  “Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory”.  What keeps us from holiness?  Why this resistance to God, to let him enter into our being, to welcome him as our Lord and savior?  Is it simply our attachment to sinful things or is there something greater here?  It is the original sin to be our own God.  We may utter the words “I believe” but our actions show we want to save ourselves, be our own king in our kingdom and keep the Lord on standby for if and when we need to call out to him.  The pride to do it our way and avoid the plan God desires for us. 

Joseph a righteous man was ready to do things his way, to divorce Mary quietly, save face and not expose her to shame but that was not God’s plan.  In difficult circumstances we often react with a desire for the quick fix when God’s plan may have a greater challenge for us, a greater blessing to come, a call to holiness and sainthood.  Had Joseph acted on his intentions, ignored his dream and divorced Mary, Mary would still have fulfilled the prophecy of Emmanuel and had the child Jesus.  Joseph would have gone on with his life believing in his righteousness and missed the opportunity to be a great saint.  Joseph had a free will choice to make and he listened and believed in the Lord.  It was not about him but about his obedience to God that fulfilled his righteousness. 

Joseph’s apostleship was to Jesus and Mary.  The call to holiness was in caring, protecting, and loving his family.  The grace of apostleship is given to us in baptism and our first responsibility as apostles is to our domestic church at home.   To be “apostle” is to be sent as missionary and teacher to others.  Husbands and wives come from two different worlds and are united as one to offer each other the fruit of love having much to learn from each other “sent” to be united in one faith.  Our children are our mission to bring up in the faith and if blessed to live and see our grandchildren grow to plant those seeds of faith that will remain with them their whole life.  Our call to holiness and apostleship begins right where we are in the home.

4^th Sunday of Advent is the final call to holiness before the coming of the Lord this Christmas.  It is a season in which we are to shed ourselves of those preoccupations that fill our days with the clutter of life that steals our time away from our focus on what is important.  So let us ask ourselves “what is important?”.  Is God important to give him ourselves by our prayers, sacrifices, and our hearts?  Is our family important to make time to be at peace sharing the joy of life together and not distracted by all those time fillers that occupy our day?  Is our Church important to contribute to the community of faith by our participation in Mass and all the Holy Days of obligation?  These are the foundation stones to holiness that are God given and not to be ignored. 

“Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory”.  It is time to prepare to receive Jesus as a child with a child’s heart.  A child’s heart is full of wonder at the miracles of life, all the goodness God has created in this world, all the beauty of nature including our humanity, all the truth of God that even science cannot explain and all the unity we can bring being of one mind, heart, and love with Emmanuel and with each other. 

Mary the virgin Mother of God was herself to remain with us for all time as a sign of love “behold your mother”.  Mary remains at the side of Jesus and Jesus hears the love of his mother when she intercedes for us then she turns to us and says “do whatever he says”.  If today you hear his voice do whatever he says.  God’s plan is the perfect plan in the call for holiness. 

Joseph and Mary humbled themselves and by accepting the call to holiness life was never about them but serving the one true God. Did they sacrifice?  Yes!  Did they suffer?  Yes!  Did they have regrets along the way, question their decisions or call out to God in despair?  I would say not because God was with them, revealing himself and in doing so they were able to “fear not, be strong” and trust in the Lord.  Now it’s our turn to fear not, be strong, follow the will of the Lord and he will remain with us.  We turn to you O Lord with childlike confidence and welcome you this Christmas in the manger of our hearts and home.