Good Shepherd Catholic Parish

Paul T. Keil, 23 - 24 December 2023

4^th Sunday of Advent: Season B

Peace be with you and welcome to our celebration of the Mass for the 4^th Sunday of Advent and look at this – all four candles on our Advent Wreath are now burning brightly!!!  And we all know what that means.  Christmas is tomorrow (Monday).  And for those of you with young children at home, I’m sure the excitement is ready to blow the roof off.

Before I talk about any of today’s readings however, I’d like to talk briefly about one of our old Church Fathers and a Doctor of the Church.   St Irenaeus was born sometime between 120 and 140AD, probably in Smyrna, which is present day Izmir, Turkey, to Greek parents.  In his youth he was taught by the Bishop of Smyrna, St Polycarp.  He died a martyr, probably in Lyon, France around 200AD.  So, you may be sitting there right now asking, “OK Deacon, why is any of this important today?”  Well, there are a couple of reasons.  First, our Catholic Church is the only worldwide religion that can relate this fact about one of her historical figures.  In one of his books, St Irenaeus wrote, “I was taught by Polycarp, Polycarp was taught by John the Apostle, and John was taught by Jesus Christ.”  Secondly, St Irenaeus was instrumental in fighting and defeating a powerful heresy attacking the early Church.  And, my friends, had that battle been lost, we would not be worshiping here today, nor would any other Christian denomination for that matter.

OK, more about Irenaeus in a minute, but now let’s talk about the Gospel reading we just heard.  Sisters and brothers, there are several reasons why this particular reading today from Luke’s Gospel, is one of my very favorites.  One of those reasons specifically is why every single Christian, who embraces the Bible as the inspired Word of God, given to us for our salvation, should have this reading highlighted, underlined, or in some way marked in their own personal Bibles.  Not only do we hear it read on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, but we also hear it read on the Feast of the Annunciation.  OK, now that may be generating a few more mumbled “so what” out there.  Well, you see friends, even though we’ll joyously celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ Monday (tomorrow), our ancient Christian Tradition teaches the actual Incarnation, the enfleshment of God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, occurred at the Annunciation.  As far back as the Second Century, our old friend St Irenaeus and many, many other early Church Fathers wrote that Mary, as a second Eve repaired the disobedience of the first, when she humbly said; “May it be done to me according to your word.”  Because at that very instant, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Savior of the World was conceived in her womb!  That’s why our Church gives us a wonderful Liturgical Calendar celebrating the Annunciation on March 25^th, exactly nine months before Christmas.  That’s when the Word became flesh.

          Now you know, I don’t normally read long quotes during my homilies, but I cannot possibly express this miraculous event with the same eloquence the great St Irenaeus did over 1800 years ago.  Before I read his words however, let me emphasize this, when he lived – there was no Bible.  There were many epistles, letters, and gospels floating around, but there was no agreed upon, Divinely inspired book, called Bible.  Here are Irenaeus’ words from about 190AD concerning the Annunciation; “Never was there a more entire or humiliating defeat than that which this day befell Satan. The frail creature, over whom he had so easily triumphed at the beginning of the world, now rises, and crushes his proud head.  Eve conquers in Mary.  God would not choose man for the instrument of His vengeance; the humiliation of Satan would not have been great enough; and therefore, she – who was the first prey of hell, the first victim of the tempter, is selected to give battle to the enemy.  The result of so glorious a triumph is that Mary is to be superior not only to the rebel angels, but to the whole human race, yea, to all the angels of heaven.  Seated on her exalted throne, she, the Mother of God, is to be the Queen of all creation.  Satan, in the depths of the abyss, will eternally bewail his having dared to direct his first attack against the woman, for God has now so gloriously avenged her; and in heaven, the very Cherubim and Seraphim reverently look up to Mary, and deem themselves honored when she smiles upon them, or employs them in the execution of any of her wishes, for she is the Mother of their God.”  Wow!  Thank you, St Irenaeus.   If that doesn’t make you want to run home and mark this Annunciation sequence in your Bibles, I’m not sure I can say anything else that would.

          Now, you might ask why one of our earliest Church Fathers, from the Second Century, would write with such obvious passion about the physical Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ and his very human mother, Mary?  You see, Irenaeus was one of the most vehement opponents of the very powerful and popular Gnostic Heresy that was threatening the early Church for several hundred years.  The Gnostics held that everything physical in the world was inherently evil and that Jesus Christ himself, only “appeared” to be physically present during his short time on earth.  They said, Jesus was actually a spiritual being only.  Consequently, there was no way a physical human woman could possibly be called “Theotokos”, the God bearer, the Mother of God. 

          So, whether you come to one of the Christmas vigil Masses, the Christmas Day Mass, or watch the Mass streamed through your computer from home, remember, the real miracle we’re celebrating started nine months before Jesus’ actual birthday.  And now, let me make a little suggestion, as one of your final reflections of the year, as Advent draws to a close.  You might consider rereading this Gospel sequence we just heard today and reflect on the miracle taking place nine months before Christmas.  A miracle brought about by the Holy Spirit with Mary’s freely given words of surrender to God’s will; “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”