December 18, 2022

Fourth Sunday of Advent

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • Isaiah 7:10-16
• Psalm
  • Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
• Second reading
  • Romans 1:1-7
• Gospel
  • Matthew 1:18-25

The gospel from Matthew:
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Sermon:
Among Pastor Stevenson’s memories is one of being instructed that church congregations must not sing Christmas carols on the first three Sundays of Advent. These Sundays tell us why we do sing carols on the Fourth Sunday. It is on this Fourth Sunday that we read how God satisfies our needs. Billy Graham’s son does not get that far with his evangelism. How would his listener know that he, the listener, needs God? The birth of Jesus is not a cosmic event. The events leading up to the birth were ordinary. Our Advent readings follow the prophecies of Isaiah. Plato wrote about people chained against a wall, from which one goes out and comes back. On the fourth Sunday of Advent, Jesus goes out, fulfilling God’s promises, and comes back to lead us ………..