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December 21, 2025 | Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year A)
Liturgical Color: Violet/Purple (Rose may have been used on Gaudete Sunday)
Fourth Advent Candle: Angel’s Candle / Love Candle
USCCB Readings for December 21, 2025
One-Sentence Theme: At the threshold of Christmas, we encounter two fathers—one who refuses God’s sign through control, one who receives it through surrender—and discover that Emmanuel comes anyway, calling us to belong to a family built on receptivity rather than our own orchestration.
WHERE ARE WE?
In the Liturgical Year
We light the fourth and final candle of the Advent wreath. Traditionally called the Angel’s Candle, it reminds us that God speaks through messengers—angels who appear in dreams, prophets who declare signs, voices that bypass our rational defenses and speak directly to sleeping, vulnerable hearts.
We are at the threshold. Just days from Christmas. The waiting is almost unbearable. The anticipation has built through three weeks of preparation, and now we stand at the very edge of incarnation.
This is the Sunday of Emmanuel – “God with us.” Not God far off, not God in abstract theology, but God entering actual human flesh, actual human families, actual human mess.
Why These Readings NOW?
The Church places us in two moments of threshold simultaneously:
King Ahaz (735 BCE) – under siege, terrified, offered a sign “as deep as Sheol or high as heaven” but refusing because he’s already made his political treaties. He represents control, calculation, the human attempt to save ourselves through visible alliances.
Joseph the carpenter (1st century CE) – discovering Mary’s pregnancy, planning to end the engagement, then receiving a dream that changes everything. He represents receptivity, surrender, the capacity to father what we did not create.
Both are in the Davidic line. Both are offered divine signs about sons. One refuses and sacrifices his biological child. One receives and adopts his non-biological son.
The readings NOW—this close to Christmas—ask us the urgent question: What kind of people can receive Emmanuel? Not perfect people. Not people who never refuse or control or make terrible choices (Ahaz is in Jesus’ genealogy!). But people who can let go. Who can trust dreams. Who can open their hands and receive gifts they didn’t orchestrate.
The Fourth Sunday of Advent is always about readiness through surrender rather than readiness through achievement. We don’t earn Christmas. We receive it. Like Joseph taking Mary home. Like the young woman bearing Emmanuel. Like us, learning to unclench our grip and let the Lord enter.
LITURGY PLANNING: Symbols & Themes That Emerge
Primary Symbols
The Fourth Candle / Angel’s Candle
- Light it with intentionality this Sunday – perhaps with longer silence before and after
- Consider having the lighting accompanied by a simple sung “Emmanuel” or “God with us”
- The full wreath is almost complete – only the Christ candle (white, center) remains unlit until Christmas
Open Hands
- The gesture of Joseph receiving what he didn’t create
- The gesture of letting go of Ahaz’s clenched treaties and control
- Could be incorporated into prayer, especially the Prayers of the Faithful
- Physical embodiment of receptivity
Thresholds & Doorways
- We stand at the threshold of Christmas
- Joseph at the threshold of his home, deciding whether to take Mary in
- Visual: doorways, entrances, the liminal space between Advent and Christmas
Dreams & Sleep
- The oneiric realm where God speaks to Joseph
- Vulnerability, receptivity, the wisdom that comes when we’re not in control
- Could be referenced in homily or reflections
The Sign Given Anyway
- Despite Ahaz’s refusal, God gives the sign
- Emmanuel comes regardless of our readiness
- Visual: the pregnant Mary, the inevitability of incarnation
Worship Suggestions & Congregational Participation
This Sunday is about RECEIVING, not performing. Worship should emphasize the congregation’s capacity to open, to breathe, to let God in, rather than showcasing talent or filling every moment with sound.
Opening Rites:
- Consider using the embodied Penitential Rite that invites people to notice where they’re gripping, controlling, refusing
- Or use a simple sung Kyrie with space for silence between invocations
- Encourage people to physically open their hands during the penitential rite
Gospel Acclamation:
- The Alleluia verse is Isaiah’s Emmanuel prophecy – sing it with joy but also with weight, knowing the history behind it
- Consider a simple, repeatable Alleluia that the congregation knows well – this isn’t the moment for complex new music
Prayers of the Faithful:
- Consider using the intercessions that focus on releasing control, finding rest in God, learning servant leadership
- Encourage the congregation to hold their hands open during the prayers – physical gesture of releasing what we’re trying to control
- Leave true silence after each response, especially after petitions about surrender and rest
Offertory/Preparation of Gifts:
- A quiet, contemplative song about waiting, receiving, or Emmanuel
- Consider instrumental music or silence – not everything needs words
- The procession could move slowly, meditatively – modeling receptivity rather than productivity
Communion:
- Simple, well-known hymns that congregation can sing without thinking
- Focus on “receiving” language – we receive the Body of Christ, we don’t take it
- Consider moments of silence before continuing with adoration music
Concluding Rite:
- Encourage people to carry the question home: “Where am I Ahaz? Where am I Joseph?”
- Remind them: Christmas is coming. Emmanuel arrives whether we feel ready or not.
Worship Gestures & Embodiment
Throughout the liturgy, encourage these simple embodied practices:
Breathing: Especially during silence, invite people to notice their breath – the thing they don’t control but that sustains them. Like Joseph sleeping, vulnerable, when God speaks.
Open Hands: Multiple moments – during penitential rite, Prayers of the Faithful, receiving communion. The physical gesture of releasing control.
Stillness: Resist the urge to fill every moment. Let silence do its work. Model that we receive God not through our doing but through our being.
Standing/Sitting Transitions: Move slowly, with awareness. Each transition is a small threshold, a small practice of letting go and receiving what comes next.
Flexibility Notes
Small Parishes: The embodied practices work even (especially) in intimate settings. Don’t be afraid of silence and simplicity.
Large Parishes: Consider how to make participatory gestures clear without being heavy-handed. Perhaps a brief instruction before Mass begins.
Multilingual Communities: The themes of control/surrender, Ahaz/Joseph translate across cultures. Consider how these dynamics play out in immigrant communities navigating new systems, people learning to belong.
Parishes with Children: Children often find embodied practices easier than adults! Open hands, noticing breath, simple gestures – they get it. Don’t over-explain.
FREE RESOURCES FOR THIS SUNDAY
I’ve created comprehensive, interconnected resources for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year A). Each explores the theme of two fathers at the threshold—Ahaz who refuses God’s sign through control, Joseph who receives it through surrender—and our own journey toward receptivity as we prepare for Emmanuel.
Biblical Background: Two Fathers, Two Thresholds
Deep dive into the context and connections
Explore the Syro-Ephraimite War siege that paralyzed Ahaz, the political treaty with Assyria he’d already made, and the devastating consequence of child sacrifice that followed his refusal. Discover Joseph’s four dreams in Matthew’s Gospel and how they echo the patriarch Joseph. Understand why Paul emphasizes Jesus as “descended from David according to the flesh” and what it means to be “called to belong to Jesus Christ.”
This post provides historical context most people never hear—including that Ahaz is actually IN Jesus’ genealogy—and explores the hope that God works through the whole broken lineage. Perfect for liturgy preparation teams, RCIA leaders, homily prep, or anyone wanting to understand these readings deeply.
Sunday Experience: Penitential Rite for Letting Go
Embodied liturgical practice for Christmas preparation
A 4-5 minute penitential rite that can replace the standard opening at Mass. Guides the congregation through gentle body awareness—noticing where we grip, clench, brace—and connects these physical sensations to spiritual examination of conscience. Where are we Ahaz, making our own treaties? Where are we Joseph, being called to receive what we cannot control?
Includes practical minister notes about pacing, modeling, and creating space rather than filling it. Rooted in Gestalt therapy principles and phenomenological awareness while remaining fully Catholic and liturgically appropriate. Ends with absolution and preparation to receive Emmanuel.
Prayer of the Faithful: Intercessions for Servant Leadership & Surrender
Ready-to-use intercessions for liturgy
Theologically rich petitions that pray for world leaders learning servant leadership, for those who cannot let go of control, for hearts that refuse God’s signs, for the grace of restfulness, and for broken families. Incorporates Augustine’s insight that our hearts are restless until they rest in God.
Suitable for parishes of any size, with language that’s specific enough to connect to the Sunday’s readings but flexible enough to adapt for local needs. Includes petitions for church leaders, world leaders, those carrying heavy burdens, our faith community, families, and the departed.
CALL TO ACTION
These free resources are part of my weekly liturgical preparation work at Full of Grace. If your parish needs custom liturgy development, seasonal worship planning, or coaching for liturgical coordinators and priests, I offer personalized services that integrate theological depth with embodied, participatory worship design.
I also offer spiritual direction and coaching for individuals navigating transitions, seeking to integrate contemplative practice with daily life, or exploring the intersection of mystical spirituality and psychological wholeness.
Contact me to discuss how I can support your liturgical ministry or spiritual journey.
Explore. Prepare. Receive.
Christmas is coming. Emmanuel is almost here. The question is not whether God will show up—the sign is given anyway. The question is: Can we open our hands? Can we trust the dream? Can we let the Lord enter?
These resources are here to help you—and the communities you serve—stand at this threshold with Joseph’s receptivity rather than Ahaz’s refusal, knowing that we are all called to belong to a family built not on our perfection but on God’s persistent, incarnate, flesh-and-blood love.
