Emmanuel: God's Presence in Mary's Yes

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we remember the “fullness of time” when the Word took flesh in Mary’s willing yes. As we light all four candles, I invited us to stand beside Mary and Joseph—not as spectators of a sacred story, but as participants who can welcome Christ by our own yes. The Gospel shows Joseph’s quiet courage: he listens in the night, receives Mary into his home, and names the child Jesus, the One who will save his people from their sins. God proposes; He never imposes. Yet His will is not thwarted. He desires our consent, but He will also bring His purposes to completion.

I shared some joy from this past week—my cousin’s final vows in Miami and the ordination of two friends to the diaconate. Their lives are a living sign that Jesus is enough. The point of priesthood and religious life isn’t escape; it is witness: God is sufficient for human happiness. Their yes shines a light on a culture that believes fulfillment sits just one purchase or promotion away.

Isaiah’s prophecy—the virgin shall conceive—has been argued over for centuries. The Hebrew term can mean “young woman,” and in a near sense, Hezekiah’s reign did signal God-with-us as Jerusalem was saved. But Scripture’s wonder is that God’s promises are not exhausted by their first fulfillment. In Christ, Emmanuel becomes literal: God dwells among us, not as metaphor but in flesh—and now sacramentally, in the Eucharist. God’s Word is so strong it fulfills itself again and again across time, like a well whose waters don’t run dry.

Even Jesus’ name tells His mission. Not Moses, but Joshua—Yeshua—the one who actually led Israel into the promised land. Jesus is the new Joshua who leads us from slavery to sin into the true promised land: communion with the Father. Advent trains us to hear and to answer. When God proposes—through an angel, through the Church, through a circumstance—we are free to resist like Ahaz or to consent like Mary and Joseph. With Christmas days away, let’s ask for the grace to offer a clearer yes, to make room where we’ve been crowded, and to let Christ make His home in us for the sake of the world.

Key Takeaways

• 1. God’s promises bloom in layers. God’s Word is not thin; it is rich enough to carry immediate and ultimate fulfillments without contradiction. Hezekiah’s rescue of Jerusalem was real, and yet Christ’s coming is the deeper, final answer to “God with us.” We don’t have to flatten Scripture to make it safe; we can let it be alive, cutting and healing in its double edge. Patient reading reveals a God who keeps fulfilling what He speaks. [28:13]
• 2. Refuse fear; consent to God’s proposal. Ahaz would not trust God and reached for Assyria; Joseph listened, received, and obeyed. God respects our freedom, but freedom becomes beautiful only when it yields to the good. Advent invites us to examine where fear is steering our decisions and to trade calculation for consent. A single hidden yes can redraw the map of a life. [31:09]
• 3. Jesus, the true Joshua, leads home. He is named not for Moses the lawgiver but for Joshua the finisher, the one who brings a people into promise. Discipleship is not merely avoiding sin; it is following Jesus into a land of freedom, worship, and joy. Expect Him to confront the habits that keep you wandering. He leads by walking first, not by shouting from a distance. [30:16]
• 4. Consecrated lives witness, “Jesus is enough.” Vows and ordinations aren’t denials of the world’s goodness; they’re declarations that God is the world’s deepest good. Their joy is not abstraction—it’s a signpost for every vocation, including marriage and single life. Their renunciations press us to ask: what lesser loves keep me from a fuller yes? Holiness always gives more than it gives up. [22:35]
• 5. Emmanuel means Presence, not platitude. God-with-us is not a slogan for hard days; it is a sacramental fact. He was with Israel providentially, but in Jesus—and in the Eucharist—He is with us personally and bodily. Learning to recognize Him at the altar trains us to recognize Him in our neighbor. Carry Him as Mary did: with reverence, courage, and generosity. [27:27]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [12:50] - Penitential Act: Prepare Our Hearts
• [13:38] - Collect and Gospel Introduction
• [19:59] - Gospel: Joseph’s Dream and Emmanuel
• [21:29] - Homily: Vows and Ordinations
• [22:35] - Why Consecrated Life Witnesses Joy
• [23:13] - Isaiah 7: Prophecy in Context
• [23:44] - Babe Ruth Analogy: Ambiguity Explained
• [24:40] - Ahaz’s Fear vs. Trust in God
• [25:10] - “Virgin” or “Young Woman”? Word Study
• [27:27] - Emmanuel Fulfilled in Christ and Eucharist
• [28:13] - Scripture’s Multi-Layered Fulfillment
• [30:16] - Jesus, the New Joshua
• [31:09] - God Proposes; Mary and Joseph Consent
• [58:31] - Final Blessing and Dismissal

1. In Matthew 1:18-25, what specific instructions does the angel give Joseph, and what actions does Joseph actually take in response?
2. According to Isaiah 7:10-14, who offers the sign, and what are the two key parts of that sign?
3. What does the name “Jesus” mean as given in Matthew 1:21, and how does that meaning connect to His mission?
4. Two different responses to God are set side-by-side: Ahaz’s refusal and Joseph/Mary’s consent. What did each one choose, and how did God still move His plan forward? [31:09]

1. If God’s promises can have more than one real fulfillment, how should that shape the way believers read an ambiguous verse like Isaiah 7:14? What does “patient reading” look like here? [28:13]
2. What does Joseph’s quiet obedience teach about courage and leadership—especially doing the right thing without fanfare? How might that kind of courage look in a home or parish setting? [19:59]
3. If “Emmanuel” means “God with us,” how can awareness of Jesus’ sacramental presence at the altar train Christians to recognize Him in ordinary people and tasks? [27:27]
4. Jesus is named for Joshua—the one who finished the journey into the promised land. What does that reveal about the kind of salvation Jesus brings and the kind of following He asks for? [30:16]

1. Where is fear steering your decision-making right now (like Ahaz)? What would a simple act of consent to God look like in that exact place this week? [31:09]
2. A hidden yes can redraw a whole life. What is one concrete yes you can offer in the next 48 hours to make room for Christ at home or work—like Joseph taking Mary into his home and naming the child Jesus? [20:46]
3. In what ways are you tempted to believe fulfillment is “one more purchase or promotion” away? What practice (fasting from shopping, a budget change, a gratitude list) could help you live, “Jesus is enough,” this week? [22:35]
4. Try a layered reading of Scripture this week. When you sit with Isaiah 7:14, what near fulfillment can you see, and what final fulfillment in Christ? When and where will you do this, and who will you share it with? [28:13]
5. Emmanuel means Presence, not platitude. What is one step you will take to deepen awareness of Jesus in the Eucharist (arrive early to pray, make a weekday visit, journal after Communion), and how will you carry Him into a relationship or task afterward? [27:27]
6. Jesus, the new Joshua, confronts whatever keeps us wandering. Name one habit or sin that keeps you in the wilderness. What boundary, confession time, or accountability will you set this week to follow Him across that “Jordan”? [30:16]