FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YR A
Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 24;
Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24
CALLED TO BE SLAVES OF CHRIST
In our second reading for this Sunday, we read Paul’s letter to the Romans. It must be noted that since the Roman church was not one of the churches founded by Paul, he had to introduce himself and hoped to visit them later (15:24).
He identifies himself by his name, and designated himself as the servant of Jesus. He refers to himself as a slave of Jesus. “Paul” is a Latin or Roman name that means “small” or “humble” – this reveals why he prefers the name Paul to Saul. He is a man who has elected to submit himself to Jesus. His self-designation as a slave is significant because a slave has no will of his own except that of his master.
We must all submit ourselves to the authority and will of Jesus. Whatever we do in or with our lives, we must examine ourselves and ask what the will of Jesus will be in our actions and activities. Secondly, for the Roman Christians the mention of the slave of our Lord Jesus could bring some sense of prestige because they will know the kind of prestige that comes with serving a noble man or even the emperor. In this regard to be a servant of Jesus, the King of kings is more prestigious. We, like Paul, are slaves of the true and eternal king, Jesus.
This slave of the Lord is also called to be an apostle of the good news. The good news is the fulfillment of the promise of God, about the coming of the Messiah, who died for us and is risen from the dead. Through the death and resurrection of Christ we have all received the grace of apostleship. The indication of “we” in terms of the call to apostleship includes all the Christians in the Roman community, both Jew and Gentile.
We have all received the grace of by virtue of the saving action of Jesus. Since we are beneficiaries of the saving action of Jesus we could better be sent to talk to others about the Lord. Indeed, we are all called to evangelization and evangelization is just the sharing of our experience of salvation with others. This grace of apostleship is both a favour and honour for every Christian. That is why the task of evangelization is for all of us. Let’s get on with it together as Christians.
The task of our evangelization is to bring all people to faith in the salvation Jesus has won for us all. We must note that, even though the starting point of our evangelization is our story and testimony, the goal is for people to come to know Jesus, love and serve him.
As we look forward to commemorating the birth of Jesus our saviour, we are all called to be apostles of God’s love, mercy and goodness. Beyond the songs and the cards, we are to make the good news felt by our words and deeds.
God bless you.
By Rev. Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
