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SCRIPTURE READINGS

ISAIAH 7:10-16

ROMANS 1:1-7

MATTHEW 1:18-25

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

The Holy One of God in your midst is the theme for our reflection. The word “holy” in Hebrew is Kodesh, which means consecrated or set apart for a purpose. When a person or an object is described as Holy it means the person or the object is separated from the profane or is distinguished from the ordinary or mundane. The Holy One of God in your midst means God has sent One who is not like us, He is free from sin. He is without blemish and separated for God’s purpose and glory. We shall reflect on the essence or importance of the Holy One of God in our midst?

1. The Holy One of God in our midst is proof that God is still with us and will save us.
2. By believing in the Holy One of God in our midst, we are also deemed to be a Holy people of God.

First, the Holy One of God in our midst is proof that God is still with us although we have been unfaithful or disobedient to Him. King Ahaz was king of Judah, the Southern Kingdom of Israel. His kingdom was threatened by King Pekah of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and his ally, King Rezin of Aram. King Pekah and King Rezin threatened King Ahaz of Judah because Ahaz refused to join them to fight against the Assyrian Empire. Prophet Isaiah who was a prophet in Judah was sent by God to admonish King Ahaz to put His trust in the Lord and not in the Assyrian Empire, for the Lord will save His people Judah from the invasion of King Pekah and King Rezin. It is for this reason the Lord gave an assurance through the Prophet Isaiah to King Ahaz that “the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. (Isaiah 7:14-16). Isaiah’s message had an existential and prophetic interpretation. Existentially, it meant a child will be born during the time of King Ahaz and the name Immanuel shall be given to the child to prove that God is with Judah and will not let them be destroyed by their enemies, the two Kings. Unfortunately, King Ahaz trusted the Assyrian King and relied on him for his protection, although God saved Judah from the two kings, he brought the Assyrians upon Judah as their punishment. “The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!” (Isaiah 7:17). Prophetically, the world is to expect the birth of a child who will be born to a virgin, this was revealed to Joseph when He was contemplating leaving Mary because she got pregnant and he was not responsible. “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:20-23) Dear friend, from time immemorial, God has always shown His love to the people He has set apart for Himself. Although we continue to be unfaithful like King Ahaz and disobedient to Him, God has sent His Holy One, Jesus Christ who is the Immanuel (God is with us) as a sign of God’s presence and salvation to the World. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17) Beloved in the Lord, Jesus Christ the Holy One of God has been set apart by God to come and save us. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10). All the Holy One requires of us is repentance and faith in Him and we shall be saved to the glory of God. Advent season offers us the opportunity to repent and turn to the Holy One of God who is in our midst through the power of the Holy Spirit and be saved. On December 25th, we shall be celebrating or commemorating the day of His first Advent, Christmas, are we going to mark this day with repentance and a new life in Him or we are going to celebrate it as usual without reflecting on our lives as lost souls who need to be saved? The Holy One of God is in our midst but the decision to surrender our lives into His hands is ours to make, let this advent season be the end of your fornication, infidelity in marriage, dishonesty at work, unfaithfulness to God, drunkenness and all manner of worldly and fleshly desires! Jesus says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:20-22)

Second, the hope and assurance we receive from the Holy One of God in our midst is that by believing in Him, He makes us Holy and acceptable before God. Paul points us to his assurance when He wrote that “Through him, we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:5-7). Let us remember, we are not holy because we are intrinsically holy or born holy, we are made Holy because of our relationship and connection to the Holy One of God in our midst.

In summary, the theme for our reflection is “The Holy One of God in your midst”, through our reflection on the Scripture readings we discover two important facts about our salvation in Christ Jesus. These facts are Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God in our midst is proof that God is still with us and will save us and by believing in the Holy One of God we are also deemed to be a Holy people of God. May the Holy Spirit continually strengthen us to remain Holy to the glory of God even as we await the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.