Putting Our Faith And Trust In God

𝐃𝐄𝐂. 𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝟒𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟕:𝟏𝟎-𝟏𝟒

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟐𝟒:𝟏-𝟔 “𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫; 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐈: 𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟏:𝟏-𝟕

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥: 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏:𝟏𝟖-𝟐𝟓

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝: “..𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐥, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟑) 

         Those of you who will be reading this reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, what I would like you to do is to grasp what our Lord Jesus Christ is telling us in this gospel passage because it is the only way you can truly appreciate the words of the Scriptures. You can begin by bringing out your Bibles and your concordance.

         If you don’t have a concordance, get a dictionary at least and a notebook beside you. When you are ready, start with a prayer and read the gospel passage (Matt 1:18-24) for at least three times as it is usually done during the Bible sharing group sessions.

         The first would be to familiarize yourself with the words or letters of the passage. The second time is to try and understand what Jesus Christ is saying. Use your dictionary if there are words that are not clear to you. You can also write in your notebook the words that struck you and their meaning.

         And for the third and last time, quiet down and keep yourself oblivious to the sounds and movements around you and reflect on the passage more deeply by trying to understand each of the key words of the passage because it is only in doing so that you can truly understand what you are reading. It will also help if you will use some creativity and try to imagine what it would be like if you were there. When you can do this, you will find how enjoyable Bible reading would be.

         As we step into the last week of our preparation for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, you will realize that there is more to this passage than the fact that Jesus is to be born of a virgin mother. The essence of this Gospel of Matthew particularly this passage is that in the birth of Jesus, the Spirit of God will become operative like never before in this world.

         It is the Spirit of God who will bring God’s truth to men, and it is also the Spirit who will enable men to recognize the truth when they see it. In effect, it is the Spirit through the birth of Jesus who is going to be God’s agent in the re-creation of the world since it is only the Spirit who alone can re-create the human soul when it has lost the life it ought to have.

        The birth of Jesus will enable us to see who and what God is and this event should open our spiritual eyes so that we can see the truth in the recreating power of God who alone can redeem the souls of men from their sinful death to eternal life. The next three days will be our last chance to prepare for this great moment.

         We are given three days from today to repent of our sins with a sincerity of heart and to receive the Sacrament of Confession and sealed by the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. As we come towards the end of the Advent Season, let us remember those who have not yet prepared themselves for the coming of the Lord.

         Let us ask the Spirit of Jesus to implant within their hearts the urgency of being and remaining in a state of grace. The salvation that comes with the coming of Jesus is what everyone should look forward to as we come to the end of the Advent Season.

         The beauty of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ is that it provides us with a valuable lesson on the kind of faith we need to have and that abiding by the Will of God as Mary and Joseph did assures us of our eternal salvation.

         More than faith, however, what Mary and Joseph have was trust that involves heartfelt confidence in God. “𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.” (𝐏𝐫𝐨 𝟑:𝟏) When we have an important decision to make, it is natural for us not to trust anyone and sometimes not even God. But God knows what is best for us and as with Mary and Joseph we just must trust him completely even if we don’t fully understand.

         To trust in God is to believe in his promises. St. Paul tells us that God will acquit us of our sins if we only trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. Trusting God means putting all our confidence in Christ that our sins have been forgiven by his coming which is a manifestation of God’s love for mankind and by his death on the cross.

         I went to the anticipated Mass last night and while I was listening to the Homily of the priest-celebrant which was about the faith of Joseph, I was given a word saying that the reason why certain religious sects do not and refuse to share in what Catholics and Christians believe in is because they simply find it hard to accept and understand the mystery behind the Trinity, the virgin birth, the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and Transubstantiation.

         And that is true because it will take a lot of faith and trust before one can accept these sacred mysteries and following a teaching different from the Catholic Church is certainly easier than having faith to accept that which cannot be explained.

         In reading this gospel passage, we should not even entertain the idea that Joseph had no choice but to bow down to the Will of God after he was told that Mary is to bear a child that is begotten by the Holy Spirit and that he must call the child Jesus which is the Greek form of Joshua and Joshua means Jehovah or Salvation. Joseph certainly had a choice, but he obeyed because he not only has faith but he trusted God.

         The Jews relates the Spirit of God with the work of creation, and it is through the Holy Spirit that God performed His work. The Spirit is the Creator of the World and the Giver of Life. Thus, it is through the birth of Jesus that God’s life-giving and creating power will come into the world.

         That power which is to come is what will put order into our dysfunctional life. The power that will come with the birth of Jesus is what will restore us to the fullness and abundance of life. This is the same power that will breathe life into our weaknesses and frustrations. The Jews often refers to the Spirit not only with the work of creation but with the work of re-creation. The Jews believe that when men are dead in sin and in lethargy, it is only the Spirit of God that can reawaken them to life anew.

          But what the Jews failed to grasp and which we Catholics and Christians alike now believe is that Jesus will come into the world with the power that can re-create life. The coming of Jesus can bring to life the soul that is dead in sin and only Jesus has the power to revive again the ideals that have died and, he can make us strong again especially the goodness in every human being who has died and are surrounded by the world. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘋𝘦𝘤. 21, 2025)