Reflection for Advent - Week 4
The Long Journey to Bethlehem is Nearly Over for the Parents-to-Be
By: Msgr. Thomas Monahan
It won’t be long now. “I’m getting tired, Joseph,” Mary said. “Yes,” he answered. “We’ve come a long way, but it won’t be long. We’ll be in Bethlehem tomorrow.”
“You know, Mary, I’ve been wondering. What will our baby look like?” “Well,” Mary said, “We know he will be a boy, a Jewish boy. The angel promised me that I would bear a son, and he would be a descendent of the great King David.” Joseph said, “And since David was a strong and brave king, and also very handsome, your baby will be beautiful.”
“And another thing,” Joseph said. “That name we were both told to call him.” “Jesus. Not an uncommon name, like Joshua and Jesse. But your child might be the one who really saves his people from their sins. What do you think that means, Mary?”
“It scares me to think about that, Joseph. It sounds so dangerous, as though my child was destined to confront the evil of the whole world and destroy its power. As I told my cousin, that is something only God can do. God rips the powerful, rich kings from their thrones and lifts up the lowly.”
Joseph said, “Your son must be called to do something only God can do. He must be really something great. And he has been promised that His victory will be complete. His kingdom will never end!”
“You and I will welcome Him,” Mary said, “but I wonder how ready the world is to welcome Him. He might have to do something absolutely marvelous to move people to change their lives around and receive His Father’s mercy. He’ll have to give proof that God loves sinners, that He gives His own Son for them.”
“We’d better get some sleep, Mary,” Joseph said. “We have a lot on our minds, indeed. We have been chosen to take part in an event that will affect the whole world, forever.”
“I can hardly wait to see my baby,” Mary said. “He will take His first breath of air. We’ll hear the first sounds He will make. He’ll be hungry. I’m ready to feed him. I can already feel Him. He is about ready to be born!”
Joseph said, “Get some rest , Mary, it won’t be long now, and we will see what God’s Son looks like, He, the savior of the world.”
(This coming Thursday the Church will celebrate the birth of its Savior, Jesus Christ. Come and join in. Jesus will be there. He will look like bread and wine. Merry Christ-Mass!)
— Msgr. Monahan is a retired priest of the Rockford Diocese and a former editor of The Observer.
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