A reflection on the lectionary readings for the fourth Sunday of Advent.
Here we are at the fourth Sunday of Advent. Christmas is only four days away. The anticipation continues. The excitement of the unknown being revealed is building. Or is the stress of too much to do weighing down on you? Is the sadness of a celebration without someone you miss so much your whole body hurts pressing in? Are you feeling more cynical than celebratory with all that is going on in our country and the world that is so anti-christmas? Are you a mix of all of this? I am.
And, I imagine, so were Mary and Joseph some two thousand years ago. Yes, I know that they didn’t have what we call Christmas. They weren’t preparing for a festive celebration on a specific day with all of the decorations and shopping and cooking and traveling that have come to define our 21st century western Christmas celebrations. But they did have a world in which those in power only wanted more and more power at the expense of the very people they were supposed to be “leading.” They did have the anticipation of something unknown becoming known. They were, I’m sure, experiencing the pain of someone who had died not being present for their upcoming marriage and birth of their baby.
I’m getting a little ahead of our gospel reading today, so let’s look at it. Matthew gives us insight into Joseph, one of the least known and most significant figures in the Good News Story of God’s Love. In the laws of their day, the engagement was as binding as the marriage. To break an engagement was on par with getting divorced. Mary had apparently told him of her pregnancy and Joseph had every legal right to undo their agreement. But he didn’t want to bring shame to Mary or her family even though he thinks he’s been betrayed by Mary (can we blame him for not believing her about the whole ‘I’m pregnant by God’ thing?). As he’s pondering how to do this very hard thing with everyone’s best interest at heart Joseph learns the rest of the story from an unexpected visitor.
The angel tells Joseph the truth of the situation and Joseph accepts it. The long awaited and prophesied Messiah is growing in Mary’s womb. God is coming to be among us, Emmanuel. And Jospeh takes on the role of God’s earthly father knowing many will assume the worst of Mary and him.
Joseph’s behavior and actions are the epitome of Love, our word for this fourth Sunday of Advent. Joseph, in a difficult relationship situation wants not to hurt or retaliate or get revenge. Joseph wants to do what’s best for everyone involved and when he learns the reality of the situation, he is willing to admit he didn’t have all the information and he pivots, continueing the course he’s been asked to journey.
Genuine Love, love as God loves us and as Jesus shows us in flesh and blood how to love isn’t some gushy Hallmark Christmas Movie template thing. Love makes the hard decision with the well-being of all involved. Love does what’s best for all even if some will say it makes us look weak. Love seeks the truth of the situation, seeks justice, seeks to follow Jesus. And when harm is done, love listens and sits with the suffering, seeing the image of God in all. Love holds those who cause harm accountable while balancing mercy and justice. Love levels the playing field instead of holding power over anyone else.
I wish we knew more about Joseph and how he navigated being a father to God as Jesus grew up. What an amazing thing to do. Parents want nothing more than for their children to grow up to be who God made them to be (and we have to navigate our own egos that try to force them into who we think they should be, but that’s another conversation). And all the while we, as parents, are continuously striving to be who God made us to be. Imagine how this journey must have been like for Joseph.
Give thanks to God for the example we have in Joseph. Let the brief encounter we have with Joseph open us all up to the continuous shaping of ourselves by the Holy Spirit to learn to love better and better each day. Each day we anticipate in what unknown and unexpected ways we may encounter the presence of God with us. As we ponder the challenges of this world and the hard relational situations we face, let Love as God loves be our guide.
Don’t fret about getting it ‘perfect’. I’m sure Joseph didn’t all the time, he was, after all just as human as we are. Remember that when God made each of us God knew where and how we’d trip up along this journey of love and gives us the stories of Jesus and our faith ancestors and each other as fellow Image Bearers to help keep us on course. An angel of God visited Joseph in a dream to help him correct his course, saying don’t be afraid to be who God made you to be. It is fear that gets us off course. And it is love that sets us back on the right path.
Whatever you are feeling in these days before Christmas, trust and know that God is with you, Emmanuel.
Mother Nancy's Coffee Thoughts 