Jesus is Emanuel, God with Us"

Today's Mass Readings

Scripture is filled with stories about holy men and women who serve as allegorical Christ figures, those who through their lives, preaching, prophecy, and practice point towards the fulfillment of God’s ultimate plan for salvation in Christ. As Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation from Vatican II, teaches, “The principle purpose to which the plan of the old covenant was directed was to prepare for the coming of Christ…and to indicate its meaning through various ‘types’” (Dei Verbum, 15). Among these ‘types’ are the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets who can only be fully understood when read in the light of the New Testament’s testimony about Jesus Christ. As Dei Verbum states, “God, the inspirer and author of both Testaments, wisely arranged that the New Testament be hidden in the Old and the Old be manifest in the New (DV, 16). Today’s readings from Judges and the Gospel of Luke present two ‘types’ of Christ for our consideration during this Advent season. The first is drawn from the Old Testament and the second from the New. What makes these examples unique is their allegorical connection to the messianic birth narrative presented in the Gospels read during Advent.

Both Samson and John the Baptist were born of childless mothers of advanced age who were barren. In Ancient Israel, a barren woman was considered a great disgrace. Conception of a child in advanced age was seen as evidence of God’s miraculous intervention and therefore a sure sign that divine favor rested upon the child. Like Isaac, also born of a barren woman advanced in age, both Samson and John were great figures in the history of Israel.

The infancy narratives of Samson and John the Baptist are presented during the Advent season to remind the reader that Jesus both stands within, and fulfills, the Old Testament narrative of salvation. Like Isaac, Samson, and John, Jesus’ birth is preceded by a visit from the angel of God and represents a special moment of divine intervention in human history. Yet, Jesus’ birth by a Virgin goes far beyond anything God had previously done in history. Where God had previously acted to overcome nature in a barren woman, he now circumvented nature altogether in a virgin. The message is clear: Jesus stands within the Old Testament tradition, but Jesus is also different. Jesus is the miracle beyond the miracle. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise for humanity. Jesus is Emanuel, God with us.

Michael Lombardo