We are on the doorstep of the great Feast of Nativity, Christmas! On this last Sunday of Advent, the Church invites us to a deep truth in the Kingdom of God, namely that the Kingdom belongs to little children. (cf. Luke 18:16).

In the First Reading, the prophet speaks the heart of God. The established ruler is being replaced by the eternal ruler who comes from outside of the expected norm of the world. He will be a shepherd, an essential role for everyone in the Kingdom of God, acting in authority. The shepherding is to be done in the strength of the Lord, not by self effort.

The Gospel proclamation brings out the best part of this message. It reveals how the “little flock” or insignificant people of that society were the recipients of a greatly profound moment of the history of our salvation. Mary, the humble virgin, who had just become the Mother of the Saviour of the world, hurries to share the joy of her elderly cousin Elizabeth, of whose supernatural pregnancy she had just learnt. Women and children were considered weak, they were to listen and not speak out. Yet they were specially chosen to be the recipients and proclaimers of heaven’s joy. The Blessed Mother’s courage and servant heart, to take on a long journey at a very sensitive time of her own life as the bearer of God’s Son, teaches us a valuable lesson. The urgency with which she set out to serve her cousin, resulted in a prophecy been fulfilled: the angel’s words to Zechariah “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.” (Luke 1:15) True to those words, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped at the greeting of the Bearer of the Son of God, as He met in his spirit the Lord he was meant to go before! Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke words that are repeated each time we pray the Rosary. All this happened because two women submitted to God’s creative plan even when they did not understand. They received the Kingdom as little children, wholeheartedly and joyfully.

The Second Reading affirms the essentiality of submitting to God’s will. No amount of charity or knowledge would please our Heavenly Father as the joyful submission to His will. And He has made us righteous by faith in His Son, so that we can call Him, Abba! Heaven rejoices at the birth of countless sons and daughters of God through the incarnation of the Son of God! Let us join heaven in the true spirit of Christmas with childlike excitement.

Prayer: Come Lord Jesus, we wait with great hope. Amen.