Gospel – Matthew 1:18-24
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 fulfil 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord
The Mass intention is in Thanksgiving in Honour of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Reflection:
In today’s Gospel we see when God breaks in to human affairs it causes surprises and not a little initial upset. Jean Paul Sartre, philosopher and atheist once wrote a Christmas play Barjona. In it he tries to imagine Joseph in Bethlehem:“He (Joseph) feels himself slightly out of it.
He suffers because he sees how much this woman whom he loves resembles God; how she is already at the side of God. For God has burst like a bomb into the intimacy of this family. Joseph and Mary are separated for ever by this explosion of light. And I imagine that all through his life Joseph will be learning to accept this.”
There is a model here for making decisions and dealing with doubts. Pray about it, carry it as a question, pester God about it. This is the story of Joseph’s utterly unique vocation, as foster-father of the Son of God.
What must Joseph’s first reaction have been? How could he have known what mysteries were afoot? Can I follow in imagination the steps he must have gone through before humbly accommodating himself to God’s plans?
- What does this reality of God’s “breaking in” say to my life and experience?
- St Joseph did not understand what was happening and God explained it to him in a dream. When we are puzzled about situations do we turn to God in prayer for light?
