Fourth Sunday of Advent - December 22, 2019

Matthew 1:18-24


This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.


An old rabbi’s tale says that a common man, walking down a road one day, encountered a stranger. When the man asked the stranger about his plans, the stranger identified himself as the Messiah and said he was going into the town to reveal himself to the people there. The common man gasped, and begged the Messiah not to show himself. When asked why, the man replied, “The people are not expecting you. No one is ready. And if you appear now, they will all miss you. Wait until the people anticipate your coming.”

One version of the story says that for the rest of his life, the common man hardly slept or ate at all, as he vigilantly kept watch for the Messiah’s appearance.

Constant vigilance is difficult. Living in perpetual readiness is exhausting. I’m wondering today, in the context of Matthew’s Gospel, if God has searched and searched for any persons who anticipate Messiah’s coming . . . and found only two: Joseph and Mary.

Luke reports Mary’s story, while Matthew tells the tale from Joseph’s side . . . visions, dreams, and visitations from heavenly messengers, leading to the birth of the Promised One, Emmanuel, God-with-us. As one of my friends likes to say, the incarnation simply means God con carne – God with meat (flesh) on – living among us.

Joseph and Mary open the door of their lives, willing to receive this gift, willing to bear this promise within themselves, willing to accept the cultural ridicule that would surely come their way. In the context of the rabbi’s tale, these two simple souls are the model of readiness for Messiah’s coming.


• As Christmas Eve and Christmas Day nears, identify within you pockets of hope and anticipation. Where does God’s dream still reside within you?

• Also, identify within you pockets of cynicism, doubt, and pessimism . . . perhaps related to a relationship . . . a larger community issue . . . or a matter of justice in the larger context of the nation or world.

• Bring whatever you notice within you into your prayer today.

Third Tuesday of Advent - December 18, 2018

The Story within The Story

Jeremiah 23:5-8
Matthew 1:18-24


As the day of Jesus' birth nears, the Advent readings speak more directly of his coming. The stories, repeated each Advent, tell a familiar tale. If we are not intentional during the season, we may sleepwalk through these familiar texts and miss their life-altering message.

We return to them each year, though, because in some ways they contain the whole Gospel in a nutshell. In a sense, the acorn-like birth narratives become the Gospel oak tree. The birth stories introduce themes that Jesus will deal with throughout his life. Matthew 1:18-24 is a wonderful.

** The birth story begins in scandal and hints of illegitimacy . . . a mysterious pregnancy not easily explained to family, friends, and the religious authorities. Likewise, scandal will follow Jesus throughout his short life as his teaching stirs controversy, as he keeps company with persons of disrepute, and mostly as he claims to have the authority of God. He will be charged with lacking legitimacy, of not having the proper credentials to speak on God's behalf.

** Matthew makes sure we hear at the beginning of the Gospel that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. Then Matthew reminds us again, when he ends the Gospel with Jesus' words after the resurrection: "Behold, I am with you always." (And always means always!)

** In Matthew's version of the birth account, Joseph chooses compassion and mercy in his care of Mary, rather than legalism and judgment. (A public hearing to determine the origins of her pregnancy would have been common in his time.) Likewise, throughout his life Jesus will bring mercy and compassion to life-situations in which others call out for judgment.

** Joseph wakes up. In a dream, Joseph is given eyes to see what the Spirit is engineering through this birth, then he awakens from that dream. However, more than simply opening his eyes from physical sleep, Joseph sees the Divine dimension in the events unfolding around him. He sees through the actual events to their interior. Again, this will be the very perception Jesus tries to instill in God's people, that we have "eyes to see and ears to hear." In fact, Anthony de Mello said this is the core of Jesus' entire message: "Wake up!!"


For Reflection:

Take something you've read today and bring it into your prayer and meditation. You may simply rest in this familiar story, allowing wonder and gratitude to bubble up within you.