‘God does not
love us because we are loveable of and by ourselves, but because he has put his
own love into us. He does not even wait for us to love; his own love perfects
us. Letting it do this with no resistance, no holding back for fear of what our
egotism must give up, is the one way to the peace that the world can neither
give nor take away’
Fulton J.
Sheen Lift up your Heart
The prophet
Micah, after the destruction of Samaria, looks back to David of the tribe of Ephraim,
to look forward to the saviour who will save Israel, who will be a true
shepherd to his flock, who will bring Peace. Whereas the first David sinned by
sending a man to die, Uriah the Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba, the second
of David will go to his death willingly to save from their sins even those who
kill him. Prophecy is fulfilled, humanity is restored, and the peace of God's
kingdom can be brought about. His coming forth is from old from ancient days.
Our salvation is the fulfilment of prophesy and the outworking of God’s love.
In the letter to the Hebrews we see the prophecy of Psalm 40:6-8 fulfilled in Christ. The sacrifices of the old covenant are replaced in the new covenant with the sacrifice of God for humanity: sacrifice is fulfilled and completed, once and for all. It is this sacrifice, which the church, through its priests of the new covenant pleads and re-presents: the eternal offering of a sinless victim, to free humanity of its sins, to restore our relationship with God and one another. It is an act of perfect obedience: the body prepared by God for Christ will do his will and will sanctify humanity, heal us and restore us.
In this
morning’s Gospel Mary does not tell Elizabeth that she is pregnant. But by the
power of the Holy Spirit John the Baptist, the forerunner, the last of the
prophets announces the coming of the saviour by leaping of the joy in his
mother’s womb. It’s important, there’s no time to waste: Mary arose and went
with haste. Time is of the essence, not for the frantic fulfilment of
consumerism: last-minute presents, or enough food to satisfy even the most
gluttonous, no, we have to prepare our hearts, our minds, and our lives, so
that Christ may be born again in us, so that we may live his life and proclaim
his truth to the world.
Through the
prompting of her son and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth can cry
‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!’ She
recognises that Mary’s obedience, her humble ‘Yes’ to God undoes the sinfulness
of Eve. That she who knew no sin might give birth to Him who would save us and
all humanity from our sin. It is through the love and obedience of Mary that
God's love and obedience in Christ can be shown to the world, demonstrated in
absolute perfection, when for love of us he opens his arms to embrace the world
with the healing love of God. He will be the good Shepherd, laying down his
life for his flock that we may dwell secure. We prepare to celebrate Christmas
because it points us to the Cross and beyond, in showing us once and for all
that God loves us.
Safe in the
knowledge that God loves us, that he feeds us with word and sacrament, that he
heals us, let us love God and love one another, truly, deeply, with all our
lives. Let us prepare the greatest gift we can, ourselves: that Christ may truly be born in us, that as
the Sanctified People of God, we may live that goodness, that holiness, that
charity, which reflects the bountiful goodness of God who gives himself to be
born and to die and rise again that we might truly live and have life in all
its fullness, sharing the joy and the love of God with everyone we meet. As he
will come to be our judge let us live His life proclaim his saving love and
truth to a world hungry for meaning and love and thereby honour God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the consubstantial and co-eternal Trinity,
to whom be ascribed as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory,
dominion, and power, now and forever.
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