Readings: Isaiah
7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Mt. 1:18-24
Joseph Had His
Plans, But God Said ‘No’
Joseph’s dream, and indeed, the dream of the
men of his time, was to get married, raise a family and live happily ever
after. He was focused on that dream. He had a roof over his head, a good trade,
owning a carpentry business, was making money, I presume, and was sure to
provide for his family. Joseph, a devoted Jew, followed the traditional way of
getting a wife. He got engaged to Mary through a Jewish matchmaker. At this
stage, the couple must not necessarily know each other before the engagement. The
second stage was betrothal. This could last for about a year. It gave the
couple a chance to get to know each other. There could be occasional visits,
but nothing really more serious than that. Once the betrothal took place, the
couple were known as man and wife. Although they were not together as husband
and wife, betrothal was so solemn that it could only be terminated by divorce.
The third step was marriage proper. It was at the betrothal stage that Joseph
found out that Mary was pregnant. Joseph’s dream was unfulfilled, his plans,
shattered, and his world crumbled. Or did it? “For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are
above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your
thoughts.” (Is. 55:8-9). Yes, when God
enters your world, He turns it upside down and inside out.
On this fourth Sunday of Advent I want to
reflect briefly on the man Joseph. Who was he? This man never spoke a word in
the bible, yet his personality, his humanity and his humility can be rated as
high as any biblical character of his time. His role in salvation history
cannot be underrated or downplayed. In today’s Gospel, we heard that “He was a
righteous man.” Joseph is called
righteous because of his desire to observe the law. This righteousness was united
with an unwillingness to expose his wife. Joseph must have been set apart
for the glory of God. He was a God-fearing man who would do nothing to the
contrary, to jeopardize his relationship with God or his fellow men. He was compassionate.
He so empathized with Mary’s situation that he would do nothing to discredit her
openly. He was a man of honor and did all he could to protect Mary’s good name.
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that “A
person’s reputation is their most prized possession, and to destroy it is not
just unjust but robbery. Even if
what we say about other people is true, and they have done terrible things, it
is still deeply wrong to destroy their name, unless there is some compelling
necessity for the common good.” I wish we could learn from Joseph, not to
say a word that will destroy the good name of another child of God. “Do to no
one what you would not want done to you.” (Matt. 7:12).
Joseph was a man of faith. He trusted God
and was sure that God would find a way for him. And He did! Joseph was told to take his wife home because she was
pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. He was to be the foster father
of Jesus, he was therefore, allowed to name Jesus. He played a big role in
the life of Jesus. As his earthly father, Joseph was there for Jesus every step
of the way.
Joseph was a man of prayer. When he was
worried about his wife, he took it to the Lord in prayer. He did not report her
to people and sought what to do with her. God showed him the way and instructed
him on what to do. He never wavered from God’s plan but helped to bring it
about. He re-echoed Mary’s fiat in his
heart: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” How do you deal with
troubling situations in your life? Who do you talk to first? Can we learn from
this quiet man of the New Testament? God
will always meet you at the hour of you need and show you a way out. Just trust
and say yes to God like Mary and Joseph. But know that when you let God
into your life, your plans become God’s plans and your life becomes his life. You will be given responsibilities you
never bargain for but, be sure of this: He will always be there with you.
He will send his angels to assure you that He is Emmanuel, God with us. He will
provide you with what you need. In the midst of suffering and disappointments,
in pains and toil, in hardship and hunger, in temptation and danger, he will
always be with you because you said yes to him.
This brings us to the first reading. Ahaz would
not say yes to God like Joseph. In about 735 B.C. Ahaz, king of Judah, was
being pressured by two other kings (those of Israel and Damascus) to join an
alliance against the superpower, Assyria. Isaiah the prophet, met the king and
told him that he must not join any alliance but must put his faith absolutely
in the Lord. “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm.” (v.9). Then
when Ahaz hypocritically refuses a sign that God would be with him, “I will not
ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”, Isaiah gives him the sign: “The virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” This son would be a
sign that God was with his people. God was faithful to his word. Ahaz had a son
who succeeded him. His son was a good leader. Matthew saw the fulfillment of
Isaiah’s prophecy in Jesus, who was born of a virgin. Isaiah’s prophecy and its
fulfillment in Matthew’s Gospel point to the real continuity in history because
of the divine word. History is not a meaningless chain of events. It is,
rather, as Paul would put it, a mystery that is gradually unraveled for those
who believe. God’s Word in the past has an inherent power that releases itself
only in the time of perfect fulfillment. (The
Word Alive by Eugene H. Maly).
On this last week of Advent, as we
celebrate Christmas in a few days, let Joseph lead us to the presence of the
new born king. Let him show us how to surrender our plans to him and say yes to
God in all its ramifications. May we not hold on to our ways like Ahaz, who
could not bear it because he did not believe, and his plans, in the end, came
to nothing. For those who do have faith, who do trust in the Lord in total
surrender to him can live in the world, knowing that the fulfillment of God’s
promises will inevitably come. They know that what ‘Immanuel means is true. He
is with us always, even till the end of time.
Points to ponder:
·
How
easy is it for you to say yes to God?
·
When
you have problems, who do you talk to first?
·
If
you were Joseph, what would you have done?
·
Do
you spread rumors about someone, even when you are not sure if what you are
saying is true or false?
·
You
are almost there: you should be on the 22nd chapter of St. Luke
today. If not, what is stopping you? Have a Merry Christmas!
“Don’t
forget to pray today because God didn’t forget to wake you up this morning”
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