4th Sunday of Advent Year C. By Tobe Eze

4^th Sunday of Advent Year C.

First Reading

Micah 5:1-4a

Second Reading

Hebrews 10:5-10

Gospel

Luke 1:39-45

THEME: WHO SHALL BE OUR NEW BETHLEHEM?

A story was told of a community that wanted to go for war against another community. The king was asking of young men who can go for war. Many young men willingly submitted to go to the war. People were coming out and they were being clapped for. When one young man stood up to join, the scenario changed from clapping to laughing. Why was it so? Because the boy that stood up was not fit for the war. He was rejected by the people because they knew he was not strong and had no quality of a strong man. Out of anger he told the King, in one week time, I will like to wrestle with the strongest man of the community, if he wins me, banish me from this kingdom, but if I win him, I will follow them to war, and the king accepted. When he went home, he noticed the gravity of what he said and started strong training and practices. He called all his friends and they helped him in any form they could to make him strong for the wrestling. When the appointed day came, all came out to see how he will be disgraced and at last, banished from the kingdom. The wrestling started and the story changed from what the people expected to another thing. After a long struggle, he defeated the strongest man of the community and that gave him firm in the community and he joined his fellow men to prepare for the community war. Why the story? Continue Reading............................

The first reading is telling us today that that small town Bethlehem will produce for us a saviour. That town that may have rejected and said, can good thing come out of Nazareth (John 1:46)? Now today, I ask all us of here, can good thing come out of us? The young man was laughed at because people thought no good thing can come out of him but what happened to Nazareth happened in his case. Can that happen to us again?

Second reading is here to tell us the type of training that the young man did in other to prepare himself for the wrestling and war. It is not issue of sacrifice or sowing of seed but the issue of body and spirit preparation. Are we preparing our bodies for the glory of God in this coming Christmas or to give to people to enjoy the pleasure? Some young men have bought new things, changed the face of their rooms so that any girl that will enter it this Christmas will not feel like going. Some girls likewise have prepare themselves in a way that no Malaysia or Dubai guy will see them and pass away. It is not this type of preparation that will fetch us the Messiah. Obughi ukwua ka nama ga eji ruo Umuahia.

The gospel put it into practice how we shall prepare for the coming of our Lord. How we will make ourselves, Bethlehem and Virgin Mary that Jesus will come out from. Mary left everything to go and visit her sister Elizabeth who was in serious need of help. This Christmas, we are expected to do the same to people who need our help. It may not be literary visiting people to stay with them now but visiting their various needs.

If we prepare ourselves as today’s readings prescribe, then we will defeat the strongest enemy of our time the devil and become fit to give birth to Christ to others through our actions just like the young man in the story above. THANKS AND HAPPY SUNDAY.