Embracing the grace of apostleship:
Immanuel is coming

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Mark Rose

We have been patiently waiting four weeks in anticipation of our Messiah, Oh Immanuel, a day where we as a people of Christ need to unite as one body, one church.

The Catechism proclaims this time to be a sharing in long preparation for the Savior's first coming, and a faithful renewal of our ardent desire for his second coming. We must unite ourselves as a church to this desire, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

In our readings today, we find out about the power of God's holiness and how we must belong to Jesus Christ and embrace this holiness. In our first reading in Isaiah, God gives Ahaz a sign of this wondrous event, the coming of Immanuel. God is also giving us a sign through the church, helping us to prepare for the coming of Immanuel.

Fourth Sunday in Advent (Dec. 19, 2004) Is 7:10-14 Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 Rom 1:1-7 Mt 1:18-24

We are sometimes like Ahaz though and do not want a sign; we even read in the Gospels to not seek a sign like the Pharisees and Sadduccees. But God wants us to know about the coming of his son, so that we may prepare for his coming and to strive towards holiness in zealous anticipation for his second coming.

During our preparation, we may feel this task to be too difficult and too much to bear. In the Gospel reading today, the angel helps reassure Joseph that God's spirit will be with him and to never let go of trust in God's plan. This is a reminder to us that God is always with us, his everlasting spirit filling us up with grace to continue our pursuit to be in union with him.

The coming of Immanuel also marks a sign and call from God to embrace the grace of apostleship. This is a call to live out a life of proclaiming the coming of Christ to all peoples.

I wish St. Paul the Apostle could be among us sometimes, so he could whip me into shape. I often need a reminder of this in my own life when I don't proclaim this message. There are a lot of times when I feel liking kicking myself when I am not being honest to this call of apostleship.

When I meet friends on the street, there are times I need to be more open about my love for God and my belief in his eternal salvation and my faith that he is coming to be in union with us. There are times where I am not obedient in my faith. We all need to look at these moments in our lives.

	Reflection questions • How have I prepared myself during these four weeks of Advent? • What have I done to strive towards the call to holiness? • What can I do to embrace the grace of apostleship and to share the life of faith with others?

God gives us plenty of signs and opportunities; these are the times God is calling us to embrace this grace of apostleship and to bring about the obedience of faith, just as St. Paul proclaims in his message to the Romans.

During this time of Advent, God calls us to join him in this heavenly banquet, a feast that fills our hunger unlike any other feast. He gives us a sign through Christ Jesus and the church to prepare us for this banquet and to share it with others as a people of faith.

Mark Rose, a junior at UW-Madison, is a peer minister at St. Paul University Catholic Center.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

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