4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle B
1st Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Nathan’s Prophecy About the Dynasty
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[1] Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from
all his enemies round about, [2] the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now,
I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” [3] And Nathan
said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart; for the Lord is with you.”
[4] But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, [5] “Go and tell my
servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? [8b]
I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince
over my people Israel; [9] and I have been with you wherever you went, and hav
cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name,
like the name of the great ones of the earth. [10] And I will appoint a place for my
people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be
disturbed no more; and violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, [11]
from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you
rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will
make you a house. [12] When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your
fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your
body, and I will establish his kingdom. [14a] I will be his father, and he shall be
my son. [16] And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever be-
fore me; your throne shall be established for ever."
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Commentary:
7:1-17. Nathan is a court prophet who will also appear in later accounts connec-
ted with Solomon and Bathsheba, his mother (cf. 2 Sam 12:1-25 and 1 Kings
1:11-40). As prophet he is God’s spokesman (he twice uses the classic formula-
tion, “Thus says the Lord”: vv. 5 and 8); here he has to oppose the king’s plans
(vv. 5-7); he proclaims a message which cannot but have its effect on the listener
because the word of God is true and it always comes to pass.
Nathan’s prophecy is particularly important: it decides who will succeed David,
and it has to do with the Messiah, who will be a descendant of David. What he
says has all the formality of an oracular statement; it confirms the dynastic suc-
cession and specifies the role of the temple among God’s chosen people.
For pagan peoples (Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian etc.) the temple was the
center of their world and the focus of their religious spirit; it was there that they
kept their gods. In Israel, on the other hand, the temple will have quite a different
role. It is based on the fact that the true God is not content with a temple; he
has no need of a house in which to dwell (cf. 1 Kings 8:27). If he allows there
to be sanctuaries or shrines (cf. Gen 28:20-22), the desert tabernacle or tent (cf.
Ex 33:7-11) and later the temple of Jerusalem (cf. I Kings 8:1-66), these are only
signs of his presence among the people, not a habitation that he in any sense
needs. Nathan’s prophecy shows that it is not so much the temple as the Davi-
dic dynasty that is the sign of divine presence and protection that God has set
up from the start. Hence the play on words between “house of God” (temple)
and “house of David” (dynasty).
The hereditary monarchy, then, is the center of Nathan’s prophecy. If Michal’s
sterility cut off the line of succession from Saul, the prophecy assured that
David’s line would endure. From central part of the prophecy (vv. 13-16) we can
see that every descendant of David, the figure of the future Messiah, will have
the following qualities:
a) He will be a son to God (v. 14a). This is not natural, human, sonship; it refers
to the closeness of the relationship between God and the king (cf. Ps 2:7; 89:
26-27), so that the person and rule of the king will symbolize the presence of God
and the active role he plays in the life of the people. The king’s sonship to God,
then, is an expression of the covenant established between God and David’s line.
God commits himself to act towards king as a good father to his son. Jesus will
bring these words and this covenant to full fruition, for he is the “eternal Son of
God” made man (cf. Gal 4:4). Whereas he is the Son of God by natural genera-
tion, all the baptized are “sons in the Son”: “For this is the very reason why the
Word became flesh, why the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man,
by entering into communion with the Word and thereby partaking of divine filia-
tion, might be converted into a son of God” (St Irenaeus, "Adversus Haereses",
3, 19, 1; cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 460).
b) He will be punished when necessary, but the punishment will be only tempo-
rary (14b-15), that is, David’s line will not be cut off as happened to Saul, nor will
any dethronement last, because the love of God will always win out. In the light
of this oracular statement, any misfortunes of the people, even the exile in Baby-
lon, despite being punishment for their sins, will be above all a proof of God’s
mercy. The death of Jesus on the cross, though caused by the sins of men is
above all a proof of the love of God who gave up his Son (cf. Rom 8:32), and of
the love of Jesus who gave himself up on men’s behalf (cf. Rom 4:25; Eph 5:25).
c) The Davidic dynasty will endure forever (vv. 12-13, 15-16). The title “son of Da-
vid” will refer not only to genealogical descent but also to the fact that the holder
is the beneficiary of this promise and of the Davidic covenant (cf. 1 Kings 8:25;
Ps 132:10-18; Jer 17:24-27; Ezek 34:23-24; etc.). After the exile this is the title
which is most often applied to the Messiah, and the writers of the New Testa-
ment, of course, are at pains to point out that Jesus is the “son of David” (cf. Mt
1:1; 9:27; Rom 1:3). The liturgy of the Solemnity of St Joseph, Husband of the
Blessed Virgin, includes this text, because it is he who is the guarantor of the
Davidic descent of Jesus (Mt 1:20) through being “of the house of David” (Lk
1:27).
2nd Reading: Romans 16:25-27
Doxology
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[25] Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was
kept secret for long ages [26] but is now disclosed and through the prophetic
writings is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal
God, to bring about the obedience of faith--[27] to the only wise God be glory for
evermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
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Commentary:
25-27. Unlike other letters, this one ends with an elaborate poem of praise, or
doxology, addressed through Jesus Christ, to God almighty and wise.
Gospel Reading: Luke 1:26-38
The Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God
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[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee
named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of
the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and
said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" [29] But she was greatly troubled
at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. [30]
And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with
God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
shall call His name Jesus. [32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of
the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David,
[33] and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there
will be no end." [34] And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have
no husband?" [35] And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to
be born will be called holy, the Son of God. [36] And behold, your kinswoman
Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month
with her who was called barren. [37] For with God nothing will be impossible."
[38] And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to
me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
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Commentary:
26-38. Here we contemplate our Lady who was "enriched from the first instant of
her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness; [...] the virgin of
Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as `full of grace'
(cf. Luke 1:28), and to the heavenly messenger she replies, `Behold the handmaid
of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus the dau-
ghter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus.
Committing herself wholeheartedly to God's saving will and impeded by no sin,
she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of
her Son, under and with Him, serving the mystery of Redemption, by the grace of
Almighty God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers (of the Church) see Mary not merely
as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man's sal-
vation through faith and obedience" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 56).
The annunciation to Mary and incarnation of the Word constitute the deepest
mystery of the relationship between God and men and the most important event
in the history of mankind: God becomes man, and will remain so forever, such is
the extent of His goodness and mercy and love for all of us. And yet on the day
when the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed frail human nature in
the pure womb of the Blessed Virgin, it all happened quietly, without fanfare of
any kind.
St. Luke tells the story in a very simple way. We should treasure these words
of the Gospel and use them often, for example, practising the Christian custom
of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on the five Joyful Mysteries of the
Rosary.
27. God chose to be born of a virgin; centuries earlier He disclosed this through
the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). God, "before all ages made
choice of, and set in her proper place, a mother for His only-begotten Son from
whom He, after being made flesh, should be born in the blessed fullness of time:
and He continued His persevering regard for her in preference to all other crea-
tures, to such a degree that for her alone He had singular regard" (Pius IX, "Inef-
fabilis Deus," 2). This privilege granted to our Lady of being a virgin and a mother
at the same time is a unique gift of God. This was the work of the Holy Spirit
"who at the conception and the birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as
to impart fruitfulness to her while preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity" ("St.
Pius V Catechism," I, 4, 8). Paul VI reminds us of this truth of faith: "We believe
that the Blessed Mary, who ever enjoys the dignity of virginity, was the Mother of
the incarnate Word, of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" ("Creed of the People of
God", 14).
Although many suggestions have been made as to what the name Mary means,
most of the best scholars seem to agree that Mary means "lady". However, no
single meaning fully conveys the richness of the name.
28. "Hail, full of grace": literally the Greek text reads "Rejoice!", obviously refer-
ring to the unique joy over the news which the angel is about to communicate.
"Full of grace": by this unusual form of greeting the archangel reveals Mary's
special dignity and honor. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church "taught that
this singular, solemn and unheard-of-greeting showed that all the divine graces
reposed in the Mother of God and that she was adorned with all the gifts of the
Holy Spirit", which meant that she "was never subject to the curse", that is, was
preserved from all sin. These words of the archangel in this text constitute one
of the sources which reveal the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception (cf.
Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus"; Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God").
"The Lord is with you!": these words are not simply a greeting ("the Lord be with
you") but an affirmation ("the Lord is with you"), and they are closely connected
with the Incarnation. St. Augustine comments by putting these words on the
archangel's lips: "He is more with you than He is with me: He is in your heart,
He takes shape within you, He fills your soul, He is in your womb" ("Sermo De
Nativitate Domini", 4).
Some important Greek manuscripts and early translations add at the end of the
verse: "Blessed are you among women!", meaning that God will exalt Mary over
all women. She is more excellent than Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Rachel, Judith,
etc., for only she has the supreme honor of being chosen to be the Mother of
God.
29-30. Our Lady is troubled by the presence of the archangel and by the confu-
sion truly humble people experience when they receive praise.
30. The Annunciation is the moment when our Lady is given to know the vocation
which God planned for her from eternity. When the archangel sets her mind at
ease by saying, "Do not be afraid, Mary," he is helping her to overcome that initial
fear which a person normally experiences when God gives him or her a special
calling. The fact that Mary felt this fear does not imply the least trace of imperfec-
tion in her: hers is a perfectly natural reaction in the face of the supernatural. Im-
perfection would arise if one did not overcome this fear or rejected the advice of
those in a position to help--as St. Gabriel helped Mary.
31-33. The archangel Gabriel tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to be the
Mother of God by reminding her of the words of Isaiah which announced that the
Messiah would be born of a virgin, a prophecy which will find its fulfillment in
Mary (cf. Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14).
He reveals that the Child will be "great": His greatness comes from His being
God, a greatness He does not lose when He takes on the lowliness of human
nature. He also reveals that Jesus will be the king of the Davidic dynasty sent
by God in keeping with His promise of salvation; that His Kingdom will last for-
ever, for His humanity will remain forever joined to His divinity; that "He will be
called Son of the Most High", that is that He really will be the Son of the Most
High and will be publicly recognized as such, that is, the Child will be the Son
of God.
The archangel's announcement evokes the ancient prophecies which foretold
these prerogatives. Mary, who was well-versed in Sacred Scripture, clearly rea-
lized that she was to be the Mother of God.
34-38. Commenting on this passage John Paul II said: "`Virgo fidelis', the faithful
Virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What are the dimensions of
this faithfulness? The first dimension is called search. Mary was faithful first of
all when she began, lovingly, to seek the deep sense of God's plan in her and for
the world. `Quomodo fiet?' How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the Annun-
ciation [...]."
"The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance. The `quo-
modo fiet?' is changed, on Mary's lips, to a `fiat': Let it be done, I am ready, I ac-
cept. This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man per-
ceives that he will never completely understand the `how': that there are in God's
plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will
never succeed in understanding it completely [...]."
"The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in accordance with what
one believes; to adapt one's own life to the object of one's adherence. To accept
misunderstanding, persecutions, rather than a break between what one practises
and what one believes: this is consistency[...]."
"But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of duration. Therefore,
the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for
a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It
is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the
hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole life
can be called faithfulness. Mary's `fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in
the silent `fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross" ("Homily in Mexico City
Cathedral", 26 January 1979).
34. Mary believed in the archangel's words absolutely; she did not doubt as Ze-
chariah had done (cf. 1:18). Her question, "How can this be?", expresses her
readiness to obey the will of God even though at first sight it implied a contra-
diction: on the one hand, she was convinced that God wished her to remain a
virgin; on the other, here was God also announcing that she would become a
mother. The archangel announces God's mysterious design, and what had
seemed impossible, according to the laws of nature, is explained by a unique
intervention on the part of God.
Mary's resolution to remain a virgin was certainly something very unusual, not in
line with the practice of righteous people under the Old Covenant, for, as St. Au-
gustine explains, "particularly attentive to the propagation and growth of the peo-
ple of God, through whom the Prince and Savior of the world might be prophesied
and be born, the saints were obliged to make use of the good of matrimony" ("De
Bono Matrimonii", 9, 9). However, in the Old Testament, there were some who, in
keeping with God's plan, did remain celibate--for example, Jeremiah, Elijah, Eli-
seus and John the Baptist. The Blessed Virgin, who received a very special
inspiration of the Holy Spirit to practise virginity, is a first-fruit of the New Testa-
ment, which will establish the excellence of virginity over marriage while not taking
from the holiness of the married state, which it raises to the level of a sacrament
(cf. "Gaudium Et Spes", 48).
35. The "shadow" is a symbol of the presence of God. When Israel was jour-
neying through the wilderness, the glory of God filled the Tabernacle and a cloud
covered the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 40:34-36). And when God gave Moses
the tablets of the Law, a cloud covered Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16); and also,
at the Transfiguration of Jesus the voice of God the Father was heard coming out
of a cloud (Luke 9:35).
At the moment of the Incarnation the power of God envelops our Lady -- an expres-
sion of God's omnipotence. The Spirit of God--which, according to the account
in Genesis (1:2), moved over the face of the waters, bringing things to life--now
comes down on Mary. And the fruit of her womb will be the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Virgin Mary, who herself was conceived without any stain of sin (cf. Pius IX,
"Ineffabilis Deus") becomes, after the Incarnation, a new tabernacle of God. This
is the mystery we recall every day when saying the Angelus.
38. Once she learns of God's plan, our Lady yields to God's will with prompt obe-
dience, unreservedly. She realizes the disproportion between what she is going
to become--the Mother of God--and what she is--a woman. However, this is what
God wants to happen and for Himnothing is impossible; therefore no one should
stand in His way. So Mary, combining humility and obedience, responds perfectly
to God's call: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done according to
your word."
"At the enchantment of this virginal phrase, the Word became flesh" (St. J. Escr-
iva, "Holy Rosary", first joyful mystery). From the pure body of Mary, God shaped
a new body, He created a soul out of nothing, and the Son of God united Himself
with this body and soul: prior to this He was only God; now He is still God but al-
so man. Mary is now the Mother of God. This truth is a dogma of faith, first de-
fined by the Council of Ephesus (431). At this point she also begins to be the spi-
ritual Mother of all mankind. What Christ says when He is dying--`Behold, your
son..., behold, your mother" (John 19:26-27) -- simply promulgates what came
about silently at Nazareth. "With her generous `fiat' (Mary) became, through the
working of the Spirit, the Mother of God, but also the Mother of the living, and by
receiving into her womb the one Mediator, she became the true Ark of the Cove-
nant and true Temple of God" (Paul VI, "Marialis Cultus", 6).
The Annunciation shows us the Blessed Virgin as perfect model of "purity" (the
RSV "I have no husband" is a euphemism); of "humility" ("Behold, I am the hand-
maid of the Lord"); of "candor" and "simplicity" ("How can this be?"); of "obe-
dience" and "lively faith" ("Let it be done to me according to your word"). "Fol-
lowing her example of obedience to God, we can learn to serve delicately without
being slavish. In Mary, we don't find the slightest trace of the attitude of the foo-
lish virgins, who obey, but thoughtlessly. Our Lady listens attentively to what
God wants, ponders what she doesn't fully understand and asks about what she
doesn't know. Then she gives herself completely to doing the divine will: `Behold
I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word'. Isn't
that marvellous? The Blessed Virgin, our teacher in all we do, shows us here
that obedience to God is not servile, does not bypass our conscience. We
should be inwardly moved to discover the `freedom of the children of God' (cf.
Romans 8:21)" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 173).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].