THE PROMISE IS FULFILLED

IV SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Matthew 1:18-24

Reading the Old Testament and paying attention mainly to the prophets, we notice that the People of Israel was guided by the promises along the centuries of their history. In their darkest times, they were strengthened by the hope that was rooted in the promises, mainly the biggest of all, that the Messiah was coming to establish the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of justice, freedom and peace.

This Sunday’s first reading, presents a text from Isaiah, which has been read and understood  as the Promise of the Messiah, who comes to us as being “God-is-with-us”. To the king, Isaiah promised the birth of a son who would be the heir to his throne: “the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son”. (Is 7:10-14).  Later, the Septuagint, the first Greek translation of the Old Testament, understood the passage as referring to the Messiah, stressing the divine character of that child that will be conceived by a virgin: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel”, as we read in Matthew’s gospel.

Guided by the gospel of Matthew, we are invited to contemplate the fulfilment of the Promise. Matthews stresses the role of Joseph whom God chose to be the guardian both of the Virgin and of the child born from her. Through Joseph, Jesus belongs to the family of David and he came to claim the royal throne of a universal kingdom. In Matthew’s gospel, the annunciation of Jesus’ birth was made to Joseph who was ordered to accept Mary as his spouse and protect her, because through her the Promise was going to be fulfilled and the Redeemer was going to be born: “She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.” His power to save comes from his divine status. Indeed, “they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’”.

At the beginning of his letter to the Romans, Paul reflects upon the mystery of Incarnation and presents us with the crux of what we celebrate at Christmas: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who, taking human nature,“was a descendant of David”. We are called to “the obedience of faith”, being sure that through him we receive grace and salvation (Ro 1::1-7).