4th Sunday Advent, Year A
Fr. Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
Finally! Now the Church is ready to talk about Christmas and the baby Jesus! In just seven days, we will officially begin the Christmas season and rejoice that our God, infinite, omniscient, and eternal, chose to become a tiny child, born in a manger. The one who could not be killed or harmed chose to place himself at risk of infant mortality, poverty, and even Herod’s murderous obsession with preserving his kingship. This loving God left his own protection up to the poor carpenter Joseph and his young wife, Mary, who didn’t even have the means to give him a decent place to be born. And it is to Joseph that the Church draws our attention now. Though silent in the Scriptures, his role is unequalled. So what do we learn from this great and humble saint? How does he teach us to prepare for the Coming of Christ, both at Christmas and at the end of time?
The first thing we learn is that he is betrothed to Mary. Here is a man unafraid of commitments. In a Jewish context, betrothal is not like engagement; it meant you were already married. It was an initial period of time given for the husband to find or build a suitable home so that he could then receive his new wife into that home. Joseph’s initial preparation to receive the savior wasn’t even supernatural. He was committed to preparing a place for Mary and to the life-long duty of providing for her. So, if we want to prepare for our Lord’s coming, we should begin with a serious commitment to ordinary human obligations and commitments. It is within that context of ordinariness that God often choose to work.
“Before they lived together, [Mary] was found with child through the Holy Spirit.” This evidently alarms Joseph. We do not know what Mary told him or exactly what he believed. He may have assumed she was adulterous. He may have believed her story and been afraid to be a part of something so strange. Either way, we are told that he is both righteous and unwilling to expose Mary to shame. For Joseph, fidelity to God is primary, but he also shows love of neighbor. If he actually suspected her of adultery, he could have and was maybe even supposed to have her stoned. But his righteousness toward God extended to his love of neighbor, so he was set on preventing her from coming to harm – he saw no contradiction between love of God and love of neighbor; don’t be fooled by the word “yet” because that word in Greek is usually translated “and.” He was righteous and unwilling to expose her to shame. Likewise, we ought to strive for righteousness and fidelity to the law of God. But, we must not be devoid of compassion and use the law as a weapon for our pride against others. Thus, we do our best to interpret and follow laws in the way that most benefits and protects the genuine good of others.
But, Joseph’s plan was not to be. Though our translation says “such was his intention,” the Greek makes it clear that we was still thinking about the whole situation. He was meditating upon it and trying to understand it. In the midst of this difficult reflection, he eventually grew weary and fell asleep with these things still on his heart. Then comes the angel to reveal to him, like a lightning bolt, the plan of God and his place in it. Thus, Joseph progresses from a human and rational point of view to an even more rational and supernatural point of view, but only by the gift of God. This, for us, is a model of what it means to pray and discern God’s will in our life. It is an example of the ancient practice of lectio divina, which means “divine reading.” It is a method of praying with God’s word, with the Scriptures. It follows four steps: reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation. Like Joseph, we should attentively read and strive to understand the word of God. Having read closely, we must reflect deeply upon it and use our minds, our rational capacity, to try to understand it. This is the Christian meaning of mediation – to fill your mind with the things of God, not to empty it. Our meditation should then move us to pray and to use what we’ve discovered in making our decisions through life.
The last step, contemplation, is actually something a human being cannot simply choose to do. As with Joseph, contemplation comes suddenly from God while we are praying and meditating on his word. It is a sudden glimpse of God or a powerful moment of union with him. It is a rare occurrence, but not as rare as we might think. So learn from Joseph the practice of lectio divina, study the method and practice it so you can not only make right decisions, but dispose yourself to receive God’s loving gaze and to enter more deeply into his will. If you remember nothing else from this homily, remember that you should practice lectio divina.
“When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.” Again we see Joseph’s righteousness through obedience to God. Our world hates the idea of obedience and even saying the word can be considered offensive. But, as St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, Jesus Christ gave grace to his apostles so they could bring about the “Obedience of Faith.” Joseph is told to name this child Jesus, which means “God saves”. In obeying the angel, Joseph becomes the first evangelist, the first one to identify who Jesus is and proclaim his mission, which is to “save his people from their sins.” Salvation comes through obedience to him and, through him, to the Father. Just as Joseph was obedient to the angel sent by God, we are called to be obedient to the apostles and their successors, the bishops, who were sent by Jesus. This means learning who Jesus is from authentic Church teaching and a proper interpretation of Scripture. It means coming to know Jesus personally through prayer and especially through Mass and the other sacraments. It doesn’t mean mindless following, but a genuine fidelity and loyalty to the Church despite the shortcomings of her human members.
Finally, Joseph took Mary into his home. By accepting her, he brought the Christ child into his home. What began as an ordinary commitment to life and family has become an embrace of God himself and his own salvation. So we too should bring Mary into our homes. Not because she saves us herself, but because to embrace Mary is, by definition, to embrace Jesus who came into the world through her, making her the first tabernacle. Men, especially you fathers, pray the Rosary. The family rosary is an immensely powerful way to bring the fullness of Christ right into the heart of your ordinary lives. Through Mary, it allows us to meditate on the whole life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and to receive him more fully.
Learn from St. Joseph the value of loving human commitment, the connection between love of God and love of neighbor, the value of practicing lectio divina, the necessity of obedience, and the treasure of a genuine devotion to Mary. St. Joseph custodian of the Incarnation, pray for us.