Third Tuesday in Advent - December 18th
Jer 23: 5-8 / Ps 72: 1, 12-13, 18-19 / Mt 1: 18-24
Today’s Gospel from Matthew teaches us about the saving grace of God that is made evident through the manifestation of his son Jesus Christ as man. Saint Augustine himself reflected on this gospel in one of his writings, asking a central question that strikes many us as we are reading this Gospel. What good deeds have we, the human race, done before the birth of Jesus to deserve the Son of God becoming flesh and one of us? Throughout human history, our world was no stranger to murder, deceit, betrayal, and other terrible acts that we committed and still do commit against one another. Why would God ever send his own son to join a race of people so stuck by sin?
Through scripture, we know that the saving grace of God shown through the act of his son becoming man shows God’s unending love for us. By sending his only son to save the world from sin, God fulfills his promise made to his people in the very beginning: that he would be their God and always be with them. Through Jesus, God shows his commitment to this promise, being present to us both in body and in spirit. He is truly the “Emmanuel” spoken of in today’s Gospel. Although Jesus is no longer present with us in the physical sense, he continues to be with us in our very being through the breaking of the bread, and we are constantly reminded every Advent through readings such as this one how far God is willing to go to show that he truly loves us.
Colin Nardone
Augustinian Pre-Novice
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Class of 2013
