Fourth Sunday in Advent "year c"

1. A Canadian went off to Calcutta to see the work of Mother Teresa. One of the Beggars sitting at the gate of the Ashram greeted him. "Tell me sir, why have you come to Calcutta? " the Canadian replied, I came to see the miracles that take place on a daily basis here. I want a change of heart. Ah, the beggar replied, you have come a long way and you might have come in vain. For you westerners, with all due respect, you believe that a Miracle takes place when a man prays and God does the will of man. For us here at the ashram, we believe a Miracle takes place when man does the Will of God.

2. The miracle that we will celebrate in a few days time, is expressed in our second reading today, the words of the prophet put on the lips of Christ, "See, I come to do your will." Through our catechism classes we have often said,
Christ came to save us
Christ came to atone for our sins.
Christ came to die on the Cross...

But Jesus himself says, "I came to do the Will of the One who sent me." As Christians the only way we can truly be Christ -like is to seek the Will of God and to do it.  Can you imagine what would happen if we sought the will of God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength? The very first of the 150 Psalms gives us the answer: Happy is the one who walks in the path of the Lord. We would have happiness and peace.

In our first reading Micah says the same - in a different way - Bethlehem
who comes forth from the Lord -
who seeks to do the will of the One who sends,
such shall be the One of Peace.

3. To say we are living in a Violent World would be the understatement of the year. The 20th Century was the most violent and bloodiest of all the centuries of human history. We have not started the 21st century in a very credible manner. Over $166 billion dollars have been used in the War of Iraq alone !  If we remember the quote from President Eisenhower, this is the inheritance of our children !

4. And so we turn to Micah who presents to us - this "One of Peace". Micah is a "different" prophet. He lives in turbulent times like ours. The people of Israel (Northern Kingdom) have been taken captive to Babylon - present day Iraq. Who would imagine that !

Meanwhile, Assyria has invaded Judah (Southern Kingdom). And Micah does not even mention these political upheavals. Secondly, most of the prophets spoke of the infidelity of God's people. They spoke of the Israelites turning to idols and false gods.  But Micah talks about Social Injustice. His best known and often quoted words are in the chapter following the one of today's reading. He tells the people

TO ACT JUSTLY
TO LOVE TENDERLY
TO WALK HUMBLY WITH OUR GOD.

5. Micah's message of acting  justly could not be a more timely message for us. James Wolfensohn of the World Bank recently said "In our world of 6 billion people, one billion own 80% of global resources, while another billion struggle to survive on less than a dollar a day.  This is a world out of balance"
Wolfensohn also stated that the rich countries spend on aid -
$56bn or just 0.22 per cent of their Wealth
$300bn given in subsidies to farmers in rich countries 
$600bn spent on defense  - does not this seem outrageous in the light of Eisenhower's reflection on the production of weapons?
This is why the Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez, stated that for him, the weapons of mass destruction are poverty, corruption and social injustice.

We may probably never be able to do anything tangible about this. But it is important to know - as we ourselves use the resources given to us, simple things like water, electricity, disposable cutlery etc.  As John Paul II said on New Year's Day last year. There is no peace without justice. And no justice without forgiveness.

6. So how do we turn this evil situation into one of Blessing. Our Gospel uses the word "blessed" thrice in the small segment we read. Twice they are used in connection with Mary.
she is blessed among Women
she is blessed because she believed...because she says Yes, she cooperates with God's plan.

And so we return to the story of Beggar at the Ashram in Calcutta : A miracle is not when God cooperates with man's plan - but when Man cooperates with God. The Greeks in mythology would solve insoluble problems with a device called: "deus ex machina" - when a problem could not be solved: a "god" would turn up out of nowhere and presto,- a miracle, (God does man's will)  the problem was solved.

7. Mary is blessed - because she cooperates with God's plan. She is blessed because she prefers Infinite wisdom to a limited human way of looking at things. She is blessed - because of her relationship with Christ.  We pray for the same grace of cooperating in God's plans, as we say during the Mass "through him, in him and with him."

2000 years ago in a little town of Bethlehem a miracle took place. My prayer today is that miracle of peace and joy may take place in your heart and mine and in our troubled violent world today. - a world that seeks so desperately for the Prince of Peace and perhaps does not even know that Emmanuel: God is already with us.