Gospel Lectio Divina for The Fourth Sunday of Advent - December 18, 2022
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
READ
Mt 1:18-24
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
MEDITATE
He was a righteous man
Words like “righteous” aren’t just placed in the Bible as crutch words. It’s not like Matthew was simply saying Joseph was a “good person” like we would use the term today. St. Joseph is the Noble Offspring of David, Light of the Patriarchs, Spouse of the Mother of God, to mention just a few of his titles. Sometimes Scripture condenses realities so much that it’s easy to gloss over them. St. Joseph was a righteous man, which means he was too wise, too virtuous, and too humble to bring Mary to shame. He was the ideal spouse for the Blessed Mother, as any other man would have disowned her while not believing the unbelievable story that she “was found with child through the Holy Spirit” and not through another man.
Do not be afraid.
It has been popularly stated that the phrase “do not be afraid” appears in the Bible 365 times, one time for every day of the year. That alludes to an interesting point. Many times I hesitate to do what I’m supposed to do, but I don’t admit that it’s fear that’s preventing me from doing it. Perhaps the same was true for Joseph. Was he afraid to bring Mary into his house? I’m not sure if he would have believed as much. He might have been confused, even frustrated and upset at the news that Mary was pregnant. But afraid? It doesn’t seem to be an accurate emotion to be feeling in such a situation. So, what was the angel talking about? Why did the angel say “do not be afraid to bring Mary into your house.” Was it because he feared partaking in a scandal, if the neighbors should find out that Mary was with child? But they probably would have just assumed that Joseph was the father. So why would Joseph have been afraid to bring Mary into her house?
I believe the reason would be jealousy. If Joseph thought some other man got Mary pregnant, Joseph would have been tempted to be jealous of that man. (This is not to say that he was jealous, but that the temptation was there, and he needed some reassurance for it to be quelled.) He might have been tempted to fear that Mary loved another man, perhaps even more than him. It is for this reason, I believe, that the angel came to him and said, “Do not be afraid” because if she truly conceived by the Holy Spirit, then it was no mere man who won Mary’s love, but God himself. Going back now to the term “righteous man”, it is clear to see that Joseph would have been not only relieved by this dream of his, but overjoyed to learn that the God of his fathers chose her spouse to be the mother of the Son of God.
It is also clear that this Gospel passage is about Joseph almost as much as it is about Jesus. It’s about Joseph’s part of the story. It fills in the gaps that readers may have been wondering concerning him. It is important to highlight Joseph’s role in the story, because he is the Head of the Holy Family.
He will save his people from their sins.
This line is so jam-packed with truth we have to break it down phrase by phrase.
“He will”: The angel prophecies, indicating that he knows at least a portion of God’s plan.
“Save”: God’s promise of salvation came shortly after the fall, when he said to the serpent “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed” (Genesis 3:15), the first gospel or “protoevangelium”. The coming of Jesus is the fulfillment of a prophecy given thousands of years ago in the Garden of Eden.
“His people”: The angel is not just referring to the Jews. Up to this point in the Bible, the Jews were God’s people, but with the coming of Christ “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven” are his people (Matthew 12:50). The Jews were awaiting their Messiah, but the Gospel is clear that Jesus offered salvation to all people. This is signified by the Wise Men coming from a foreign culture–a culture that hardly even knew the Hebrew Scriptures–to give homage to the newborn king.
“From their sins”: In order to truly value the gospel, we have to care about being saved from our sins. The gospel is not popular today because many people don’t think their sins are causing any problems in their lives, or they don’t believe sins are sins at all. As a result, the gospel is just another story to them and the Bible is just another book. But the one who has remorse for his sins, and sees the damage they do, wholeheartedly thanks God for the gift of salvation, and for the book through which its story is told.
PRAY
Lord,
The moment I acknowledge my sinfulness, I see the arrival of Jesus for what it is: a Godsend. I am doomed without the salvation your son offers. Thank you for leading me through this Advent to recognize the gravity of my sins and to seek reconciliation with you. Help me to finish this last week of Advent strong, focusing on Jesus coming into this world as a vulnerable, lovable infant in a stable. You are the greatest gift to us all this Christmas. Help me to cherish you above everything else. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
LISTEN
If we are quiet enough and if we quiet our hearts, we can picture Joseph receiving the dream that made him take Mary into his home. So many thoughts were probably swirling around in his head before the angel came to him. The angel brought the truth, and with it he also brought peace. We can learn a great deal from this. God and our own guardian angel can speak to us as well, if we simply quiet our own thoughts and pray instead. Let’s listen to God and his angels as Joseph did. Let’s never forget the listening part of prayer.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com.