The Preachin' Deacons! Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B - December 20, 2020

Welcome back to the Preachin' Deacons! Links to our homilies and this week's readings follow, along with the text to my contribution. 

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16; Psalm 89; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

 

 Behold!

         I learned a new word this week. Actually, I learned a new meaning for an old word— “manifest.” I always understood “manifest” to mean “to reveal” or “make known,” but my daughter informed me that young people use it more broadly these days. It now means “to make something happen.” For example, “I wanted to do well on my test, so I studied hard and manifested an A.” To be honest, I like the old meaning better, perhaps because I like old words. Old words have a certain charm, a certain character and power that we just don’t find in today’s “made for Insta” words. Take the word “behold,” for example. I think our Gospel makes clear that it doesn’t need a new-fangled definition. The old meaning suits it just fine.

          The word “Behold” is defined as “a call to observe something that is remarkable or impressive.” Well, “behold” is just perfect for today’s Gospel, then, because our Gospel certainly gives us something remarkable and impressive to observe. In fact, it gives us two. In the first use of the word “behold,” the angel Gabriel announces that Mary will bear a Son named Jesus, the Son of God, who will sit on the throne of David and whose kingdom will never end. In the second, Mary, the young maiden from Nazareth, bravely accepts her role as Mother of God. That one word, “behold,” calls our attention both to the miraculous, merciful mystery of the Incarnation, and the very human, heartfelt, humility of Mary’s fiat.

          As I mentioned in my homily two weeks ago, Advent is a time of exclamation and excitement. Well, I can’t think of a better exclamation to end our four weeks of Advent with than “Behold.” Our Gospel tells us that something big happened that’s certainly worthy of our attention, but we also have to remember that there’s more to come. In Advent, we anticipate both Jesus’ birth at Christmas and his second coming at the end of time. So our Gospel passage doesn’t simply recount a “one and done” historical event, but, rather the first offer and acceptance of the new, permanent, and eternal covenant between God and humanity that we hear about in our first reading and our Psalm.

 Interestingly, the etymology of the word “behold” further suggests that the thing we “behold” is worth holding onto and retaining as our own. So, we’re not just summoned to observe Gabriel’s annunciation and Mary’s “yes.” We’re invited to cling to it and incorporate it into our lives. We’re beckoned into a new relationship with God through his Word made, well, manifest to the world. We’re called to experience Emmanuel, “God with us” in word and sacrament so that by our own words and actions, we can announce to the world that Christ’s real presence among us is something to behold.