Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent, Dec. 22, 2019. Gospel of St. Matthew 2:18-24. Theme: Joseph’s Angel Dream
Many people find today’s passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel a bit confusing. Since it clearly states that Mary is Joseph’s wife they wonder why her pregnancy would be an issue with the townsfolk of Nazareth? Why would Josep[h have to divorce her quietly so that she avoids shame? To really grasp what’s really going on here we need to know a bit about Jewish marriage customs of the time.
Ancient Hebrew marriage had two parts: Betrothal and Wedding. A couple became "betrothed" (a much different and stronger bond than our engagement) and the marriage contract was signed. They were committed to one another with no way out except for a few very serious exceptions. But they did not live together until the groom completed the necessary preparations to bring his wife into his home. And so the actual Wedding proper was also called the "Home-Taking".
Between betrothal and wedding they were morally obligated to not engage in sexual relations. So, when Mary was discovered to be pregnant, she was in a very precarious situation. And so, of course, was Joseph. For a woman to become pregnant before the actual “Home-Taking” meant one of two things for her: at best, she would be shunned by family and villagers and at worst, she could be stoned to death.
And thus, we arrive at poor Joseph’s dilemma. For him, it meant trusting Mary’s word and believing the unbelievable. For the people, it meant that Mary was unfaithful and should be publicly rejected by Joseph to preserve his own dignity and reputation. But Joseph knew Mary better than anyone. He knew her virtue, her integrity, her goodness and obedience to God’s Law. It just could not be possible that she had either been unfaithful or that she had lied to him. There had to be another answer. We can imagine the tossing and turning, the sweating and kicking of blankets that accompanied his fits of sleep that night!
But then God, through the angel dream, came to the rescue and showed Joseph a third way. A way that saved Mary from gossip or death, but would instead cast a dark shadow upon his own goodness, virtue and reputation. But not only is he to take Mary as his wife, but he is to publicly declare himself to be the legal father of her Child, the Messiah, the Savior. You see, in ancient Hebrew culture, if an adoptive father was the one to ceremonially name the child then he was publicly declaring that child to legally be his own son.
However, if he did this without public explanation, then people would assume that he, Joseph, was the one at fault, and not Mary. They would assume that he was the one who could not wait until the “Home Taking”, but had jumped the gun with Mary, so to speak, with disregard for Jewish custom. They would assume him to be the father of the child. And Mary would remain innocent, and would even be pitied instead of shunned, for the villagers would see her as simply one more espoused girl who had been coerced into pre-marital intimacy.
It was Joseph’s perfect solution. Or rather, it was God’s perfect solution! Joseph awoke with a new way of thinking, a new way of embracing the situation as God’s will for his life, ready and eager to take Mary into his home as his wife and be father to her holy Child. This message from God was indeed, as one of our popular Christmas carols puts it, tidings of comfort and joy for St. Joseph!
This Gospel shows us that Joseph was a man who lived for others more than himself. He sacrificed himself for Mary and Jesus right from the beginning. He is such an example of a love so unselfish, so great and deep, that it is willing and able to take the fall for the sake of the one he loves. This is why I think the story of Joseph’s Angel Dream gives us the best example of how we should live, not just now in Advent as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Mary’s Child, but every day as Christians.
No comments:
Post a Comment