Readings:
Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Mt. 1:18-24
Another
Joseph and His Dreams
Joseph’s
dream was to get married and raise a family. He followed the traditional path
to finding a wife. He got engaged to Mary. The second stage was betrothal,
after which the couple was known as man and wife. Betrothal was so solemn that
it could be terminated only by divorce. The third step was to get married properly.
It was after the betrothal that Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant.
Joseph’s dream was unfulfilled, his plans were shattered, and his world
crumbled. Or did it? “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). When God enters our world,
He turns it upside down and inside out.
So,
who was Joseph? This man never spoke a word in the Bible, yet his personality,
his humanity, and his humility rank among the highest of any biblical
character. Yet he played a key role in our salvation history. Today’s Gospel
described Joseph as “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. Being a
God-fearing man, he would not do anything to jeopardize his relationship with
God or his fellow men. He was compassionate. He empathized with Mary’s
situation and did not 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.”
Like Joseph, may we not say a word that will destroy the good name of others. “Do
to no one what you would not want done to you.” (Matt. 7:12).
Joseph
was a man of faith who trusted that God knew what was best for him. And God 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; therefore, he was allowed to name him. He
played a significant role in Jesus’ life. As his earthly father, Joseph took
care of Jesus and raised him as his own.
Joseph
was a man of prayer. When he was worried, he took it to the Lord in prayer. 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? Who do you talk to first? Let us learn
from the quiet man of the New Testament? God
will always meet you at the hour of your need and show you a way out. Just
trust and say ‘Yes’ to God like Mary and Joseph. When you let God into your
life, your plans become God’s plans. You
will be given responsibilities you never bargained for, but He will always be
there with you. He will provide you with what you need. Amid suffering and
disappointments, in pain and toil, in hardship and hunger, in temptation and
danger, God will always be there to guide and direct you through it all.
In
today’s first reading. Ahaz would not say ‘Yes’ to God as Joseph did. 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 told the king that he must not join any coalition but must put his
faith in the Lord. “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm.”
(v.9). Ahaz refused a sign that God would be with him, saying, “I will
not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” Isaiah told him, “The virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” This Son
was 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.
In this last week of Advent, may Joseph lead us to the presence of the newborn king and teach us to surrender our plans to him and to say yes to God in everything. May we not hold on to our ways like Ahaz, who did not believe, and his plans, in the end, came to nothing. Those who have faith and trust in the Lord, in total surrender, know that the fulfillment of God’s promises will inevitably come. Immanuel is with us always, even till the end of time.
Points to ponder:
·
When
you have problems, who do you talk to first?
·
Do
you spread rumors even when you are not sure if what you are saying is true or
false?
· You should be on the 21st chapter of St. Luke today. Merry Christmas!
“Don’t forget to
pray today because God didn’t forget to wake you up this morning.”
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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