Annunciation to Zachariah - about the Birth of John the Baptist, the Forerunner to Messiah. After a very very long time of silence, we now have a messenger from Heaven that helps the things rolling for the arrival of the Messiah. Zechariah, in spite of the fact that he was a scholar of the scripture and should know better, was skeptical of his wife getting pregnant well past her child bearing age. He gets promptly punished for doubting God by losing his power to speak.

Annunciation to Mary - word becoming flesh in the womb without breaking the seal of virginity. We get an opportunity to see what real obedience and humility of Mary is - something that pleased God to pick her as the Human Mother of Jesus. Notice that, unlike Zechariah, Mary didn't question God or doubt God. She asks a few questions to clarify the mechanism or logistics of how a virgin girl can bear and deliver a child without losing her virginity. "Hail, Mary, Full of Grace."

Mary meets Elizabeth and John the Baptist, in her womb. Elizabeth, inspired by John the Baptist in her womb, recognizes the mother of the Lord and addresses Mary accordingly with all the respect "the Mother of the Lord" deserves. Mary, inspired by Holy Spirit and the word becoming flesh in her womb, sings one of the most beautiful poetry in the bible. We know it as 'Magnificat.' Mary predicts how things will change when the Messiah arrives.

John the Baptist is born. Zachariah gets back his power to speak. Zachariah's song (The Benedictus) tells us about the role of John and the upcoming Messiah.

Revelation to Joseph. Jesus needed a human father figure to protect him and to teach him. Mary also needed someone to take care of her. Joseph filled these roles (husband and father) admirably. On instruction from the angel, Joseph accepted Mary as his wife. He did not say much (none is reported in the bible.) But he was the perfect father figure. He was also the perfect disciple. He did what he was told him to do without questioning or complaining.

This Sunday is the last Sunday of Advent. Jesus often pointed out that he came to fulfill all that is prophesied about him in the scriptures. Few things are especially noteworthy. He is to be born in Bethlehem. He is to be born in the family of David. And he is to be born from a virgin. And he will be called Immanuel.

This week, we examine the genealogy of Jesus as reported in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke and find that, as promised, Jesus was born in the family of David. We are now ready to receive the Messiah. By this Sunday, all steps to obtain the victory over sin has been made.

Next week we will meet Him in Bethlehem on Christmas day.

What about the name?

Matthew 1:21-23 brings us the story behind two names, Jesus and Emmanuel.

Jesus means God-is-salvation. The Holy Spirit has begun to invade the world and the child in Mary's womb will be the one to save His people from their sins.

Emmanuel is a name which says God-is-with-us. Centuries before, when Isaiah confronted the wavering king, Ahaz, the name Emmanuel was a sign that God was with His people and there was no need to enter into alliance with pagan powers.

For St. Matthew, the writer of the First Gospel, the belief that 'God is with us' (Emmanuel) is so important that he will close his Gospel on that same theme: Jesus, about to ascend to the Father, promises to be with the disciples 'always, yes, to the end of time.' (Matthew 28:20)

Once the word became flesh and has paid for our sins, we are redeemed. We got the son-ship of God and God is with us always. We are the temple of God.

Fr. Silvester O'Flynn OFMCap. the author of "The Good News of Matthew's Year" explained the importance of what St. Matthew did here:

"By bringing the two names Jesus and Emmanuel together in one event, Matthew expresses a gigantic step forward in human history from the age of sin to the presence of God's power on earth."

God's plan to redeem the mankind is right on track.

We are ready to receive the light. We do not have to fear anything. Like the Angel said, why fear when the God is With Us?

The primary theme of Advent is that God can be trusted to fulfill His promises and covenants. In 1630 Johann Heermann wrote a poem titled, "O God, Thou Faithful God" that illustrated this.

"O God, Thou Faithful God"
By Johann Heermann (1585-1647)

1. O God, Thou faithful God,
Thou Fountain ever flowing,
Who good and perfect gifts
In mercy art bestowing,

Give me a healthy frame,
And may I have within
A conscience free from blame,
A soul unhurt by sin!

2. Grant Thou me strength to do
With ready heart and willing
Whate'er Thou shalt command,
My calling here fulfilling;

To do it when I ought,
With all my might, and bless
The work I thus have wrought,
For Thou must give success.

3. Oh, let me never speak
What bounds of truth exceedeth;
Grant that no idle word
From out my mouth proceedeth;

And then, when in my place
I must and ought to speak,
My words grant power and grace
Lest I offend the weak.

4. If dangers gather round,
Still keep me calm and fearless;
Help me to bear the cross
When life is dark and cheerless;

And let me win my foe
With words and actions kind.
When counsel I would know,
Good counsel let me find.

5. And let me with all men,
As far as in me lieth,
In peace and friendship live.
And if Thy gift supplieth

Great wealth and honor fair,
Then this refuse me not,
That naught be mingled there
Of goods unjustly got.

6. If Thou a longer life
Hast here on earth decreed me;
If Thou through many ills
To age at length wilt lead me,

Thy patience on me shed.
Avert all sin and shame
And crown my hoary head
With honor free from blame.

7. Let me depart this life
Confiding in my Savior;
Do Thou my soul receive
That it may live forever;

And let my body have
A quiet resting-place
Within a Christian grave;
And let it sleep in peace.

8. And on that solemn Day
When all the dead are waking,
Stretch o'er my grave Thy hand,
Thyself my slumbers breaking.

Then let me hear Thy voice,
Change Thou this earthly frame,
And bid me aye rejoice
With those who love Thy name.

Something to meditate on as we get ready to receive the King on Christmas Day.

We will have a special edition of Malankara World Journal for Christmas. It will be released on December 23. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

If you had been trying to read the foreword in the last issue of MWJ and found the page to be blank, I apologize. Unfortunately, by mistake, it was programmed on the foreword of Issue 319, instead of Issue 318. I didn't discover the mistake till I was ready to program this message. It is now corrected. The foreword for Issue 318 is in the right place. I hope you will check it also. You can find it here:

http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Newsletter/MWJ/MWJ318/ MWJ_318_foreword.htm