{"id":288,"date":"2010-12-21T16:56:29","date_gmt":"2010-12-21T16:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/wordpress\/?p=288"},"modified":"2010-12-21T16:57:11","modified_gmt":"2010-12-21T16:57:11","slug":"advent-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/?p=288","title":{"rendered":"Advent 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

HIS NAME<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON December 19th<\/sup> 2010<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew 1:23 \u201cBehold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called, \u2018Emmanuel,\u2019 which means, God with us.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHis name shall be called, Emmanuel<\/em>.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Names are very important in the Bible, especially in the birth narratives of our Lord.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Both Matthew and Luke record in their gospels that the archangel Gabriel instructed that he was to be called Jesus.\u00a0 <\/span>Yet there are subtle differences.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Firstly, only Luke describes the Annunciation, when the archangel Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her that she will conceive this child.\u00a0 <\/span>In the remarkable conversation between Mary and Gabriel there is the simple command, \u201cYou shall call his name Jesus<\/em>.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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St. Matthew, on the other hand, does not record the Annunciation.\u00a0 <\/span>Instead, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him remarkable news about Mary, his fianc\u00e9e.\u00a0 <\/span>Then the angel says, \u201cShe will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins<\/em>.”\u00a0 <\/span>So we\u2019re not only told in Matthew why he is to be called Jesus, but why his birth is so unique \u2013 it is because he would save his people from their sins.\u00a0 <\/span>Thus, we learn from the beginning what his mission and purpose is.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The importance of names is also illustrated by the proceeding seventeen verses of Matthew, which are the actual beginning of his gospel. Matthew 1:1-17. Being the beginning, we can assume it is a significant opening, which establishes the intention and the theme of the author.\u00a0 <\/span>What we find in these first verses is a tracing of the lineage of Jesus from Abraham, detailing the name of each descendent in turn. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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There are fourteen generations from Abraham to King David, fourteen generations from King David to the Babylonian captivity, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian captivity to Jesus.\u00a0 <\/span>Not only is Matthew showing that Jesus is descended from Abraham, but the significance of seven by two is a biblical image of perfection. Matthew\u00a0 <\/span>is showing that Jesus is in a direct line from the great patriarch of Israel, Abraham – who is also our father in the faith. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

By contrast, Luke has a different angle.\u00a0 <\/span>His gospel opens with the angel appearing to Zachariah, the prophesy about John the Baptist\u2019s birth, the Annunciation, and then the birth of Jesus.\u00a0 <\/span>It is only some years later, after Jesus is baptized and begins his ministry, that Luke records the genealogy of Jesus.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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St. Luke\u2019s has a subtle difference to St. Matthew.\u00a0 <\/span>Firstly, instead of starting with Abraham and working down to Joseph, Luke goes backwards from Joseph, past Abraham all the way back to Adam, the first man.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Luke, the emphasis was on Jesus as part of the revelation of the whole of creation.\u00a0 <\/span>Matthew saw the birth of Jesus as the fulfillment of the revelation of the Old Testament. For Luke, Jesus is the pre-existing Son of God – and the Son of Man. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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This is what St. Paul so clearly states in Romans 1:1-7. Not only is Jesus the pre-existing Son of God, he is also the Son of Man, the one in whom God identifies with all mankind. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The other difference we find between Matthew and Luke is that Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14: \u201cHis name shall be called, Emmanuel<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Although he is to be called, Jesus, the ultimate name is Emmanuel – God with us. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Just imagine yourself for a moment in Joseph\u2019s position.\u00a0 <\/span>In a dream he was told that his betrothed, Mary, is now pregnant, for which he is not responsible.\u00a0 <\/span>Yet, her virginity is attested to by the angel. The confusion he must have felt about this extraordinary news was not really helped by the fact that the virgin birth is through the operation of the Holy Ghost.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Further, to confound Joseph’s confusion, the child is given two names, Jesus and Emmanuel.\u00a0 <\/span>We could surely understand if Joseph woke up thinking it was really just a dream – or maybe a nightmare! But he didn\u2019t.\u00a0 <\/span>Matthew says, \u201cWhen Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angle of the Lord commanded him<\/em>.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The thing is – as difficult as the Virgin Birth is to believe, and for some people is beyond grasping, it is not about the miraculous birth of Jesus.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s not about messages from angels, neither at the Annunciation, or in Joseph’s dream, or even at Bethlehem.\u00a0 <\/span>Nor is it about the unusual circumstances surrounding the birth of this child.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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No – the Virgin Birth is about the word Emmanuel<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/span>It is about God coming to his creation in a way that defies creation. The great God of heaven sends the second person of the Trinity to be a part of creation, which he is responsible for.\u00a0 <\/span>It is about God coming to his creation in a way that defies what is normal, and cannot be repeated.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, at the heart of Christmas is the purpose – not the mystery of the circumstances.\u00a0 <\/span>This is the meaning of Emmanuel<\/em>. This is God communicating directly with his children.\u00a0 <\/span>It is direct and clear.\u00a0 <\/span>Not mediated by a created reality, a natural birth – but by uncreated grace.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Emmanuel, God with us<\/span><\/em>. The very title reminds us that there is more to life than the visible and the tangible. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The uncreated grace of God coming to us is amazing and profound.\u00a0 <\/span>What it tells us is that God does not want to keep his love at a distance.\u00a0 <\/span>The mystery of God\u2019s love comes close to us.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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This becomes a certainty when we look towards Bethlehem and into the manger.\u00a0 <\/span>As Bethlehem looms on the horizon we know for sure that God\u2019s love is never at a distance from us.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We also know that we have already encountered the presence and the closeness of God\u2019s love here at the altar.\u00a0 <\/span>Whenever we come to celebrate this great sacrament of the body and blood of Christ we encounter his love.\u00a0 <\/span>Here is where God\u2019s love has already come close to us.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What we do today, and what we anticipate, reminds me of words I saw on a Christmas card many years ago: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe altar is another Bethlehem.\u00a0 <\/span>The Blessed Sacrament, a continual Christmas.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HIS NAME SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON December 19th 2010 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matthew 1:23 \u201cBehold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called, \u2018Emmanuel,\u2019 which means, God with us.\u201d \u00a0 \u201cHis name shall be called, Emmanuel.\u201d \u00a0 Names are very important in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recent-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}