Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Today is the feast of St. Joseph. So, our detour from the regularly prescribed readings continues and we have the opportunity today to reflect on the birth narrative from the Gospel according to Matthew. The phrase that stands out to me is “God is with us.”
The text introduces us to Joseph who is betrothed to Mary. He is in turmoil about what to do about Mary because she is pregnant and he does not want to expose her to public disgrace. God appears to him in a dream and assures him that all shall be well. God tells Joseph to go as planned, that Mary will have a son and to name him Jesus. Joseph and Mary abstained from marital relations until after she delivered.
The call that I hear today is to be “receptive” to what God may be doing in the most difficult of situations. We can all be vessels through which God works, but God never promised it would be easy. Faced with a difficult and humiliating decision, Joseph decided to remain true to himself and listen to God’s direction. Joseph received instructions that made him a participant in bringing forth the salvation of the world because he was receptive to what God might be doing.
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