KEY OF DAVID AND SCEPTRE OF ISRAEL

20 DECEMBER

Isa 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-6; Lk 1:26-38

The Dwelling Place and Throne of Divinity

As we draw close to our solemn feast of Christmas, the Church leads our thoughts to converge on the greatest of all the mysteries, the Incarnation of the Eternal Word. We do not easily understand the revelation of man as a dwelling place of God, given our sinful or fallen state. Sin has so estranged us from God that it is challenging for our minds to understand this mystery that illuminates our end or the purpose for which God created us. If we cast our minds back to the Book of Genesis and consider the statement of purpose for our creation, we see that God stated his intention clearly. The meaning of the divine intention is becoming clearer in the light of the insight we gain through salvation history. The Trinity could only accomplish the intention to make man in God’s image and likeness, with God dwelling in man. This intention and the mystery contained therein have guided the interaction of God and man through salvation history. The history of man’s salvation accommodates the fall of Adam and Eve. The salvation history is about the time God requires to bring man to a true and lasting friendship with him. The friendship would not just be with one man or two but with people familiar with God’s will, expressed in his word, who live according to the revealed will.

The ignorance of God’s will makes it difficult for men to enter and maintain the intended friendship with God throughout salvation history. The difficulty stems from the cause of the original fall, that is, inadvertence or lack of attention to God’s word. The encounter between King Ahaz of Judah and the prophet Isaiah reveals this problem. Ahaz feared the threat of war from the two kings of Israel and Syria. He forgot the security of the throne of David resting on the promise made to David by God. God sent the prophet Isaiah to encourage him to trust God’s word. The prophet’s encouragement was not enough for the king; he even asked him to request a sign from God to reassure him of the security of the throne of David. Thus, he spoke the following words to him: “Listen now, House of David: are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men without trying the patience of my God, too? The Lord himself, therefore, will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’” The king’s difficulty in believing the word of God is typical of every one of us. God delays our salvation because we do not attend to the words spoken to us by God. The word of God is God, and by attending to the word conscientiously, God dwells within us in lasting friendship. Our salvation consists in this originally intended friendship between us and God.

The Psalmist echoes this same lesson and instructs us on how to live on the mountain of God. “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things. He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him.” If we sincerely desire the will of God, then God can bring us to his holy mountain or dwelling place. He will make us his dwelling place in a covenantal bond of love. The sign of salvation God gave us right from the fall of Adam and Eve is the Woman and her Offspring. They stand for the redeemed humanity that conceives the word of God and brings forth the Godman, Jesus Christ. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the prime model of the friendship God desires for man. Her occupation and preoccupation were with the word of God. From these activities with the word of God, she conceived the Eternal Word. The greeting of Angel Gabriel reveals her friendship with God. “Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” Afraid that her secret and extraordinary friendship with God has come to the public, Gabriel reassured her: “Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.” What comes forth from our friendly interactions with the word of God is a Godman, Jesus Christ, who rules our whole house with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray: O God, eternal majesty, whose ineffable Word the immaculate Virgin received through the message of an Angel and so became the dwelling-place of divinity, filled with the light of the Holy Spirit, grant, we pray, that by her example we may in humility hold fast to your will. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.