Thoughts for the Day

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

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.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

During Advent we shall look at the people, places and symbols that invite us to prepare for the coming of the Christ-child at Christmas. They will not necessarily occur in the right order! Today we look at 'Joseph'.

Matthew opens his account of the birth of Jesus by looking at things from Joseph's viewpoint. He and Mary were publicly 'engaged'. This could be arranged by parents for their children. However, they had not yet become 'betrothed', that is when the original engagement would be ratified, and a participant could pull out. The 'marriage' usually occurred a year after the betrothal.

When Mary is discovered to "be with child" . The account makes clear the baby wasn't Joseph's, but the angel tells Joseph in a dream that the child "is from the Holy Spirit".

So what can we make of this bare account? A few thoughts come to mind:

1. Joseph is a good man who doesn't want to publicly disgrace Mary - she could also have been stoned to death.
2. God has been silent for 400 years until John the Baptist appears, but now Yahweh speaks to Joseph.
3. God has always spoken through dreams, visions, and/or angels to His people, and will do so in the nativity story (I make it 5 times in Matthew, 7 in Luke!).
4. Joseph listens to God's message and then acts by taking Mary as his wife.
5. Up till now the Holy Spirit has largely been connected with creation (as in Genesis) and proclaiming the truth (through the Prophets). In the future we shall see His work increase - in the life of Jesus, and in the new Church.

The work of the Holy Spirit continues today. It is He who calls us to follow His lead this Advent, if like Joseph, we will listen to Him and then act.

Lord Jesus Christ,
speak to us in accents bold today,
that we may hear and obey Your word
as Joseph did.
When we turn our backs on You
and shut out Your words
help us to change our mind
and embrace Your help this Advent.
Amen.