Fourth Sunday of Advent – Year C
Homily
[Micah 5:2-5a; Psalm 80; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45]
Recently, the city of Edmonton put in place a winter parking ban. The point is to remove vehicles from the side of the road so that plows will have the space they need to clear away snow, ice, and windrows from our streets. Happening so very close to Christmas, let’s allow this parking ban to give rise to a question about our relationship with the Lord, namely, what needs to be banned from my heart and mind so as to allow the Holy Spirit to clear the way for Jesus Christ to enter more deeply into my life? As we ponder this, we can draw very helpful lessons from the example of the Blessed Mother in the Gospel account we have just heard of her visitation to Elizabeth.
First of all, Mary teaches us to place a firm ban on doubting the love and power of God. What I mean here is questioning whether God actually takes notice of the situation I am in and has the power to do anything about it. Often, we allow our very circumscribed intellects and narrow imaginations to place limits on what we think God either wants to do or can accomplish. Hear again what Elizabeth says of Mary: “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” What had been spoken to Mary was a declaration that God had chosen to act through her in a wondrous way, one infinitely beyond human capacity or even imagining – that she would be the mother of the Son of God while remaining a virgin. Yet, Mary did not doubt God’s will or power, but believed. She trusted it would happen, because God said it would. With her, let us ban doubt and pray for the grace of full faith in the power of God, and thus clear the way for the Holy Spirit to intervene in our lives, change our lot in ways we could never imagine, and bring us into a new relationship of love with His Son, Jesus.
Second, Mary teaches us to ban excuses. We seem quite able to come up with reasons to rationalize why we do not respond as we should to the Word of God. Yet, consider the opening line of the Gospel text: “Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country…” Anyone, who today re-traces the route Mary followed, will experience just how arduous a journey it was for her. Very rough roads took her across high hills and low valleys, as she travelled for days either on foot or by donkey. Many would have used that difficult and daunting terrain as an excuse not to make the trip. Yet, Mary knew that her visit to Elizabeth was necessary because of what she had heard from the angel, and so allowed no excuse to prevent her from undertaking the journey. What excuses do I make for not following what I know to be God’s Word? Is the very high mountain of pride my excuse for not surrendering to the truth of my need for God? Do I use the deep valley of discouragement or despair as a reason not to hope in Christ? Have I allowed the rough terrain of disordered priorities to become a justification for not giving God’s Holy Word first place in the ordering of my life? With Mary, let’s ban all excuses and ask the Holy Spirit to clear the way for a renewed fidelity to the Word of God.
Finally, we learn from the Gospel passage the importance of banning all dangerous hospitality. Think of the ways we so often play host in our day to unworthy images, pernicious ideologies, and harmful messages by opening to them the doors of our minds. These are dangerous influences because they cause great harm to the soul as they lead us away from fidelity to our Christian calling. The pressure to welcome what for the disciple of Jesus are truly unwelcome guests is enormous. Here the Gospel invites us to imitate the hospitality Zechariah and Elizabeth extended to Mary. We are told that “she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth”. When the Blessed Mother stepped across their threshold, hope and joy entered with her as Elizabeth and the child she bore recognized the wondrous truth of the Saviour in Mary’s womb. Mary wants to visit us as well. She wants to enter our homes, our ways of living, and, like a good Mother, show us where we need to ban anything that does not belong in the mind and heart of a Christian disciple. She thus shows us how to clear the way for the Holy Spirit to come and reveal to us the marvellous workings of God in our lives. Let us ban dangerous hospitality, and instead welcome Mary into our homes as our precious, welcome, and permanent guest.
News reports tell me that our street parking ban will unfold in phases, beginning with the major arteries and then moving, in a possible phase two, to the side streets. In other words, it is a carefully ordered plan that will take time to accomplish. The spiritual clearing of our hearts and minds likewise does not happen quickly. We need to be patient with ourselves, trusting that the Holy Spirit is working within us, according to God’s well-ordered plan, to clear the way for the love and mercy of Jesus to transform us. For this to happen, Mary shows us that bans must be in place against doubt, excuses, and dangerous hospitality. Unlike the city’s temporary parking bans, these spiritual ones must be permanent.
In this mass, then, let us ask for the Lord’s saving help. May our communion in his love, granted us by the sacrament of the Eucharist, enable us to see what needs to be banned from our lives and give us the strength and wisdom to do so. With the help of Mary’s intercession, may the Holy Spirit clear away all obstacles to a joyful renewal of our life in Jesus Christ.
Most Reverend Richard W. Smith
Saint Joseph Basilica
December 22nd, 2024