Fourth Sunday of Advent
This weekend, we hear St. Matthew’s version of the Annunciation. In it, St. Matthew claims that this encounter between God’s messenger and Joseph, and more importantly, the conception and birth of God’s own Son from the womb of Mary, fulfill Isaiah’s vision of a future Messiah. The words of Isaiah’s prophecy centuries before Christ are found in this weekend’s first reading: “the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” As Christmas approaches, we would do well to strive for the deep and abiding trust that both Mary and Joseph place in God and in his plan for them and all of us.