For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. (John 3:16)

As we arrive at the Fourth Sunday of Advent, our journey through hope, peace, and joy now leads us to their source and fulfillment: the love of God. Advent has been gradually opening our hearts to the mystery of God’s nearness, and today that mystery becomes unmistakably clear. God’s love is a person. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” This divine love is what we are about to celebrate at Christmas. In the First Reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks to a fearful King Ahaz and offers a sign that comes entirely from God: “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” This sign is not demanded by human power or earned by human merit. It is freely given. Emmanuel—God with us—reveals a God who does not remain distant from human struggle, uncertainty, or fear, but enters fully into it out of love. This prophecy finds its fulfillment in today’s Gospel from Matthew. Joseph, a righteous man, is faced with confusion, disappointment, and fear. Yet in the midst of his inner turmoil, God speaks. The angel reassures him: “Do not be afraid.” Joseph’s obedience becomes the quiet doorway through which God’s love enters the world. By welcoming Mary and naming the child Jesus, Joseph cooperates with God’s saving plan. Love, once again, is revealed not through power or spectacle, but through trust, obedience, and self-giving. St. Paul, in the Letter to the Romans, reminds us that this gift of God’s love has a purpose. Through Jesus Christ, “we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles.” God’s love is never meant to stop with us. Those who belong to Jesus Christ are called to live and witness to that love. To receive Christ is to be sent—to reflect his love in our words, choices, and relationships. Psalm 24 asks, “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?” The answer is not the perfect, but the sincere; not the powerful, but the humble of heart. Advent teaches us that God’s love comes to those who make room for him. As we prepare for Christmas, the Fourth Sunday of Advent invites us to pause and marvel: God loved us first. He gave us his Son. Emmanuel is still with us—in the Word, in the Eucharist, and in the quiet acts of love we offer one another. May our hearts, like Joseph’s, be open and obedient, so that God’s love may once again take flesh in our world through us.