Sunday, December 20, 2020
Fourth Sunday of Advent
First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 89:2-5, 27, 29
Second Reading: Romans 16:25-27
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
The first reading is from the Second book of Samuel chapter 7. It focuses on the person of David while the Gospel reading focuses on Mary the mother of Jesus. Both of these readings are saying something very important. It is about preparing a dwelling place for God. (That’s the point of Advent season.)
Let’s focus on David first. David has become king and he now rules over the twelve tribes of Israel. He is king of the united Israel and Judah. He has made Jerusalem the capital of this united kingdom. He has built a house for himself and has finally brought the ark of the covenant into the city of Jerusalem. So his thoughts now turn into building God a house. So, he says to the prophet Nathan, “look, I am living in a house of cedar while the ark of God dwells in a tent.”
Remember, the second book of the Bible is the book of Exodus. Exodus is a Greek word meaning the way out. The Book of Exodus tells the story of God calling Moses to lead the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt to freedom in the promised land. When the people reach Mount Sinai, God gives His law to Moses written on stone tablets. He enters into a covenant between with His people saying, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” These stone tablets were placed on a special container which later came to be called the ark of the covenant. But God also gives Moses detailed instructions about erecting a tent of meeting or a tabernacle, a place where God will live among His people. We find elaborate instructions about building the ark and the tent of meeting in chapters 25 and 27 of the Book of Exodus. There would be an altar of burnt offerings where people can make their sacrifices to God.
The actual tabernacle itself had two main sections, firstly, the holy place. A curtain known as the veil separated the holy place from the holy of holies. Just in front of the veil was a second altar, the altar of incense. Here the priest placed incense on red hot coals. Then, there was the most sacred part, holy of holies – Kadesh hakodoshim in Hebrew. The Holy of Holies was so called because it housed the ark of the covenant. The Book of Exodus also gives explicit instructions about how the ark of the covenant was to be built. It was to be made out of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold inside and out. The tabernacle was the dwelling place of God among His people. It was the place where heaven and earth intersected, time and eternity met. Here God dwells not in a temple of stone but in a tent. He accompanies His people through the wilderness as they slowly make their way to the promised land.
Now the Exodus took place around 1250BC. Once the people had entered the promised land under the leadership of Joshua, they were led for the next 175 years by charismatic leaders both men and women that the Bible called Judges. Eventually the people decided that they would like a king and so Saul is anointed as the first king of Israel in 1030BC. He is followed by David and then David’s son, Solomon.
So, God dwelt among His people in the tent of meeting for about 300 years. Once David is settled in Jerusalem, the new capital of the united kingdom, he decides to build a temple for the God of Israel. The prophet Nathan at first gives David the green light but after the Lord speaks to Nathan that night, David is told that he will not be the one to build the Lord a house. The temple is finally build by David’s son Solomon. It was completed around 950BC. However, Solomon’s temple is destroyed by the Babylonians in the sixth century before Christ. The Babylonians are in turn conquered by the Persians who allow the Jews to return home from exile in Babylon and rebuild their temple. It was dedicated in 515 or 516 BC. But in the prophet Haggai we read that those people who were old enough to remember what Solomon’s temple had looked like, thought that the second temple was as nothing in comparison to the one built by Solomon. Several hundred years later during the time of king Herod, the restoration of the temple began. It was finally completed in 63 AD. That was the temple that Jesus saw which was by any standards a magnificent building. The temple fulfilled the function of the tent of meeting. It was the place where God dwelt among His people.
This temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The Jewish historian Josephus describes the horror of the temple’s destruction. He writes, “everywhere was slaughter and flight, most of the victims were peaceful citizens, weak and unarmed, butchered wherever they were caught. Round the altar, the heaps of corpses grew higher and higher while down the sanctuary steps poured a river of blood.
So, we first had God dwell in the tent of meeting and then, the temple. The Gospel brings us to the scene that we know today as the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth. That was where Mary lived. Nazareth was a very small village in the Galilee region. Nazareth is mentioned only once in the whole of the Old Testament. It is not mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus, even though he mentions a number of important places in the Galilee region. The population of Nazareth during the time of Christ was said to be around 480. Nobody of any importance ever lived there and nothing of any significance in Jewish life ever happened there. You can almost hear Nathaniel saying, “can any good thing come out of Nazareth.” Here we see a recurring pattern in Israel’s history. God bypasses important people and places so often. His favor rests on simple, unlettered men and women without influence, power or prestige.
Mary was a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph. Betrothal normally took place when a girl is between 12 and 13 years. Betrothal didn’t mean an engagement. Betrothal constituted a legally ratified marriage but the wife continued to live at her own family home for another year. So, Mary is married to Joseph but they are not yet living together as husband and wife. Today the population of Nazareth is about 80,000 and the most imposing building is the basilica of the Annunciation built over the traditional site of Mary’s house. In the crypt of the basilica is the chapel of the Annunciation. It is there that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Here the Word became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Mary became the new ark of the covenant, the temple of God.
It is the possibility of no that gives charm to a yes. Mary’s response to God’s invitation is, “let it be done to me according to your Word.” God wants to dwell in our hearts too, He wants to dwell in us and among us. Why does He want to dwell among us? Because He loves us and wants us to know how much He loves us. Above all, He wants us to know to how much He wants us to love Him. Are we going to say yes to God and let His will be done in our lives?
Happy Sunday
Fr. Chidi Onwuka msscc