TWO NAMES
(A biblical refection on the FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT [Year A] – 22 December 2013)
First Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalms: Psalm 24:1-6; Second Reading: Romans 1:1-7; Gospel Reading: Matthew 1:18-24
Advent spirituality is most relevant to the world of today when so many people are experiencing a winter of the spirit and a wilderness where terrifying demons stalk the land. Advent spirituality hears the call of the Baptist to recognize that the source of our modern evils is sin. Advent spirituality encourages us to wait in hope and not to lose faith.
And in today’s Mass the spirituality of Advent reaches a climax of hope. The victory over sin has already been won. Matthew brings us the story behind two names, Jesus and Emmanuel.
Jesus means God-is-salvation. The Holy Spirit has begun to invade the world and the child in Mary’s womb will be the one to save His people from their sins.
Emmanuel is a name which says God-is-with-us. Centuries before, when Isaiah confronted the wavering king, Ahaz, the name Emmanuel was a sign that God was with His people and there was no need to enter into alliance with pagan powers.
Now Matthew brings up the name again. This is the first of many instances where he takes an Old Testament text to show how Jesus was the answer to Jewish expectations. And this belief that God is with us is so important to Matthew that he will close his Gospel on that same theme: Jesus, about to ascend to the Father, promises to be with the disciples always, yes, to the end of time.
By bringing the two names Jesus and Emmanuel together in one event, Matthew expresses a gigantic step forward in human history from the age of sin to the presence of God’s power on earth.
Yet here in Advent’s desert starkness we know all too well how strong is the hold of sin upon us still: how brutish and destructive are the effects of sin upon society.
But we are invited to step forward in faith. Faith believes that in Jesus the victory over sin has been won. The Holy Spirit has invaded the world in a powerful advance against the enemy. The child in Mary’s womb is Jesus, whose precious name proclaims that God can save from sin. All we have to do is lay claim to the victory already won: to come forward to receive the prize.
And we can rejoice even in the wilderness of sin for the power of the Spirit in Jesus is greater than sin. This is what we celebrate in Advent’s sacrament of reconciliation.
Note: Taken from Silvester O’Flynn OFMCap., THE GOOD NEWS OF MATTHEW’S YEAR, Dublin, Ireland: Cathedral Books/The Columba Press, 1992 Reprenting, page 23.