Fourth Sunday of Advent
Is 7:10-14; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24
Belonging to the Lord
“I Belong to Jesus” reads the t-shirt that world famous Brazilian foot ball player Ricky Kaká wears under his jersey. As is the custom in soccer, he rips off his jersey when he scores a goal — and there, he testifies his faith in Jesus to the whole world. Not only Kaká but we too are called to proclaim that we belong to the Lord. We are a few days away from celebrating Christmas wherein we celebrate our belongingness to the Lord. In Christmas, Jesus comes to take possession of us and Jesus wants to be the in-charge of our lives. The Christian needs to understand that he or she is a person belonging to the Lord. Christmas is God with us and a joyful proclamation, “I belong to the Lord”. We need to examine ourselves to see how we live this belongingness to God in our daily lives.
We read in the Gospel the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus. Joseph had just decided to divorce Mary in accordance with the Law on account of her unexpected pregnancy, but upon the Angel’s reassurance he takes Mary as his wife. We admire the total obedience of Joseph and his submission God’s will. Mary was asked to take up a burden of tremendous responsibility, to be the Mother of God. Joseph and Mary underwent difficult moments but they remained obedient to the voice of God. Where did Mary get the courage to accept the call to be the Mother of God? How could Joseph listen to the Angel and took Mary as wife despite she was found to be with a child? It is their sense of belongingness to the Lord and that God is with them that brought them together and to give themselves fully for the plan of God. Mary and Joseph through their choices to be the mother and foster father of Jesus proclaimed the fact they indeed belonged to God. Paul in the second reading describes himself as a slave of Christ Jesus and as one called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God. Paul in other words says that He belongs to Jesus!
Belonging to the Lord means we are God’s own special people. We are so special to God that He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to be with us. This is what we hear in the Gospel, “and they shall name him Emmanuel which means, God is with us.” When we belong to Jesus, we come to accept ourselves as a child of Jesus, a friend of Jesus and a lover of Jesus. Joseph and Mary accepted themselves as a couple specially chosen by God and they were least concerned about what the society would think of them. We are always special in the eyes of God and no one can change the fact that we always belong to Jesus. Sometimes we don’t realize that we belong to God. We may not live our lives and treat others as if we belong to God. But God has created us as His children. He has breathed into us life and has given us everything we need. In the sacrament of Baptism we allowed God to lay his claim to us. We are marked with the sign of the cross. It’s a statement that the whole of our lives belong to God. So, if we really want to reach our full potential and discover who we are we would do well to look to God. It’s to him that we belong!
Belonging to the Lord means giving totally to Him. While it is a privillege that we belong to the lord, it is also task to live as one. It requires an unimaginable generosity. Like Joseph and Mary we too are called to give ourselves generously to God. They withheld nothing when it came to giving to God. Paul addresses himself as a slave. He gave up everything for the sake of Jesus. Belonging to Jesus can never be a half-hearted thing. Nor can we expect such belonging to be convenient. Wholeheartedness and only wholeheartedness in following Jesus will confirm our belongingness to the Lord. In Christmas we see God’s generosity in action in His coming to be with us. We need to be generous in our response to God with a total belonging to Him. Can I say that I belong to Jesus always?
Belonging to the Lord means listening to God. Mary and Joseph listened to God and became the earthly parents of the Messiah, the Saviour of the World. Listening to God requires a right attitude in our hearts. In order to listen to God and receive His instruction we must want to do His will like Mary and Joseph. The only way we can grow in our belongingness to the Lord is through listening to God’s voice. God speaks to us in various ways today. We need to be attuned to His voice and be willing to carry it out in our lives. We show that we belong to the Lord by our regular participation in the Eucharist, reading the Word of God and seeking God in prayer. Yes. God chose to be born as one of us to be with us. Do we belong to the Lord? How do we live our belongingness to the Lord.
johnsekarofm 