Fourth Sunday of Advent, 2001

As we often do, the people of ancient Israel were looking for a sign that God was with them. (Is 7:10-14) The response was that a child would be born to a virgin and be named Emmanuel. A child born to a Virgin! That would be a miraculous sign! But the important thing here is the name Emmanuel meaning "God is with you". No need to wait for miraculous signs. The miracle is that God is with us! Always was. Always will be. All we need to do is accept him into our lives.

Mathew (Mt 1:18-24) tells of the miraculous virgin birth and relates it back to the Isaiah prediction. He also throws in a little confusion. The Angel told Joseph to name the baby Jesus, not Emmanuel. This is not a contradiction. To name a person is to identify him or define him. Jesus, being God, is always with us and is Emmanuel. It is one of His titles, something by which He is defined.

We go through life searching for God. We look to places like Medjugorje for signs and we forget to look for the greatest miracle of all. …Emmanuel, God is with us. He loves us that much! All we need to do is open ourselves to Him.

This is the season to do just that. It is a season of family and friends. We need to let God's presence and His light shine through us. We can go to holiday gatherings with love and forgiveness in our hearts. We will glow with love and the eternal presence of God.