Jeremiah 23:5-8 / Matthew 1:18-24
To make a promise is certainly not a light matter.
When promises are not kept or broken, there will be disappointments and even anger.
Because when a promise is made, it gives rise to hope.
And when the promise is fulfilled, it gives joy and happiness.
When it is God who makes the promise, then we should believe that it will be fulfilled.
We only need to have the faith in God's promises and to be patient that His promises will be fulfilled in His time.
In the 1st reading, the Lord God reminds His people that He will fulfil His promise to bring them back to their own land.
God reminded His people that He had once fulfilled His promise to deliver them out of slavery in Egypt and bring them to the Promised Land.
As we journey on in Advent, let us reflect and meditate upon the promise of God that is fulfilled in every age and time.
Through Jesus, God promises to be with us always, till the end of time.
That promise was fulfilled at the birth of Christ, and yet it is also a promise that keeps being fulfilled.
So let us be firm in hope and believe that in disappointing and frustrating times, God will be with us. For He promised so, and He will always fulfil His promise.