Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

There are times in our lives when all we want is to be comforted. In those times of uncertainty, doubt, sorrow, anguish, or whatever unsettled emotions you can think of, we just want someone to come up to us and provide a bit of comfort. In those times, we need to turn to Emmanuel, Our Lord Jesus Christ who truly is God with us.

Our Scripture passages today show us two men who are facing periods of uncertainty in their lives. Ahaz was the king of Judah about 700 years before Jesus came to Earth. Jerusalem was under siege by foreign armies and could fall at any time. Ahaz was, understandably, frightened and unsure what to do next, but he knew that his life was over if the city walls were breached by the armies. The prophet Isaiah came to him with a word of comfort.

Joseph is, of course, the husband of Mary. He found out that his wife, to whom he had been betrothed but had not completed the marriage rituals, was pregnant. They hadn’t had marital relations, so he knew it wasn’t his child. He was likely confused, concerned, maybe a bit angry. “How could this happen?” An angel from God appeared to him in a dream and provided a message of comfort.

That message of comfort is not only given to Ahaz and Joseph, but is also given to us today as we prepare for the coming of Jesus during this Advent season. That message is “Emmanuel”: “God is with us.” This Jesus truly is God who is with us. As Christians, those “who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,” in the words of St. Paul, we have been united with Him through the power of the Holy Spirit when we received Baptism and again during Confirmation.

Because we have been united with Him, He is always there with us. In our times of joy or sorrow, boredom or excitement, certainty or uncertainty, Jesus is there. When we gather in His name, He is present among us to provide His graces and comfort. When we reach out to Him in anguish, He is there to respond in love. We may not realize it, but He is spiritually present to us every moment of our lives.

Of course, there is another way in which He is present. We know that He is present in a special sacramental way through His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Some may try to minimize his presence in the Blessed Sacrament, saying that it is a “lesser” presence than being physically present, but it is no less present than we are to each other. Jesus is here in the tabernacle, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Blessed Sacrament, even if our senses don’t understand the change of bread and wine into Jesus Himself.

At those times where we need a message of comfort, turn to Emmanuel, God is with us. Our Lord is present to us, we just need to turn to Him and ask for that comfort.