18th December >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 1:18-24 for 18th December (Tuesday, Third Week of Advent): ‘You must name him Jesus’. (2024)

18th December >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 1:18-24 for 18th December (Tuesday, Third Week of Advent): ‘You must name him Jesus’.

18th December (Tuesday, Third Week of Advent.

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Matthew 1:18-24

How Jesus Christ came to be born

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son

and they will call him Emmanuel,

a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.

Reflections (6)

(i) 18th December (Tuesday, Third Week of Advent)

When we hear the term ‘annunciation’, we think of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus by the angel Gabriel to Mary, which is to be found in Luke’s gospel. There is another story of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel. Once again, an angel of the Lord announces the birth of Jesus, but, in Matthew’s version, the announcement is made to Joseph, not to Mary. Indeed, whereas it is Mary who is prominent in the various stories relating to the birth of Jesus in Luke’s gospel, in Matthew’s gospel, it is Joseph who is the more prominent one in the stories relating to the birth of Jesus. It is just one example of how the particular perspective of each gospel complements and enriches the perspectives of the other gospels. In our gospel reading, the angel announces the birth of Jesus to Joseph after he discovers that Mary is pregnant. Joseph was betrothed to Mary but they hadn’t come to live together as husband and wife. What was Joseph to think? His solution was to divorce her quietly, being sensitive to her situation, while being realistic about what had happened. The annunciation to Joseph was with a view to enlightening him as to what had really happened, ‘she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit’. Joseph was floundering until that moment. He speaks to our own experience as people of faith. We too can flounder when it comes to knowing what the best and decent thing to do is, what the Lord is asking of us. Our initial decision, well intentioned as it may be, is not always the best one. Like Joseph, we sometimes need the Lord’s guidance to take the path which is best for all. We can be sure of receiving it, if we ask for it in prayer.

And/Or

(ii) 18th December

When we hear the term the ‘Annunciation’ we probably think of the story of the angel Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary in the gospel of Luke. This is the scene that has captured the imagination of artists all through the centuries. In Matthew’s gospel, however, there is no annunciation to Mary, but there is an annunciation to Joseph. That is the gospel reading we have just heard. In Luke’s gospel, the angel Gabriel says to Mary, ‘Do not be afraid’. In Matthew, the nameless angel says to Joseph, ‘Do not be afraid’. God was doing something new, something extraordinary, in the life of Mary and of Joseph, indeed, in the life of the human race. The unprecedented nature of what God was doing led to understandable fear and anxiety in the lives of those most directly affected, Mary and Joseph. Both of them needed a word of reassurance, ‘Do not be afraid’ at the beginning of this new phase of what God was doing. In times of transition when disturbing events are occurring around us, we all need to hear those words, ‘Do not be afraid’. They are words which assure us of God’s presence, God-with-us, Emmanuel, at the heart of all that is happening, even at the heart of Calvary.

And/Or

(iii) 18th December

Joseph features very prominently in Matthew’s telling of the story of the birth and childhood of Jesus. In this morning’s gospel reading, Joseph finds himself in a dilemma. Although betrothed to Mary and, therefore, legally husband and wife, they had not yet lived as husband and wife together and, yet, Mary was pregnant with child. This was a less than ideal situation for Joseph and he tried to do the decent thing by intending to divorce Mary quietly and informally. It was only subsequently that it was revealed to Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy was miraculous, the work of the Holy Spirit. Her child would be legally his but would be God’s child in a unique way. We often find ourselves, like Joseph, in situations that are not ideal. Things turn out in a way that we had not intended and had not wanted. We can be thrown by the unexpected course of events and we wonder what we should be doing. Sometimes what is asked of us is to do the decent thing, the good thing, the generous and noble thing. In doing that much, we open ourselves up to the Lord’s presence and to his life-giving work. In time he can reveal to us the good in the situation that we did not originally see.

And/Or

(iv) 18th December

In Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus it is Joseph who features prominently, rather than Mary as is the case in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus. In the history of art, Joseph tends to be depicted as an older man. In reality, he must have been a young, vibrant man, not much older than his young betrothed, Mary. He is described in this morning’s gospel reading as a ‘man of honour’. A more literal translation would be a ‘just man’. However, his was a justice that was tempered by mercy. Having discovered that Mary, his legal wife at the time, was pregnant with child before they had come to live together, the justice of the Jewish Law would have permitted Joseph to expose Mary publicly, and the consequences for Mary would have been very serious. Instead, Joseph decided to divorce her informally and quietly. He showed that quality of mercy that would characterize Jesus’ interpretation of the Jewish Law. It was subsequently announced to Joseph, by an angel, that Mary had conceived her child through the Holy Spirit and that she had not been unfaithful to Joseph. In obedience to the word of the angel, Joseph immediately took Mary to his home as his wife. Joseph is someone we can identify with in many ways. We resonate with his struggle to do the right thing, the decent thing, the good thing in the complex circ*mstances that life often throws up. In this struggle he was clearly open to God’s guidance and that openness ensured that, in the end, he did what God wanted of him. We can all learn from this good and decent man.

And/Or

(v) 18th December

Joseph features very prominently in the story of Jesus’ birth that we find in Matthew’s gospel. Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth places more of a focus on Mary. In this morning’s gospel reading from Matthew, Joseph is portrayed as finding himself in a very confusing and awkward situation. Although betrothed to Mary, they have not yet come to live together as husband and wife, and, yet, he discovers that Mary is with child. He can only conclude that Mary has broken the sixth commandment. In this situation his basic decency shows itself in his desire to divorce her in a way that protected Mary and spared her publicity. In those few verses, Matthew gives us a sense of Joseph as a decent man, a good man who seeks to do the very best in a difficult situation that was not of his making. A messenger from the Lord, that allowed Joseph to understand the real reason for Mary’s pregnancy. She conceived what was in her by the Holy Spirit. Once again, Joseph shows his decency, his fundamental goodness, his deep faith, in going on to do what the angel has instructed him to do, take Mary home as his wife. Reading that gospel story, we sense that Jesus was very fortunate to have such a special man for his father throughout his formative years. Joseph’s deeply rooted faith which shaped his character must have had a hugely formative impact on the child Jesus, enabling him to grow in wisdom and in favour before God and others. Joseph can be an inspiration to us all. He reminds us that we are all called to help the Lord to grow in each other. Our own goodness, decency and faith can be a very significant force for good in the lives of others. As we grow in our own relationship with the Lord, we are helping others to do the same, without us always realizing it.

And/Or

(vi) 18th December

In today’s gospel reading we find Joseph struggling to do the right thing, what he believed God wanted of him. Mary’s unexplained pregnancy left him in a very difficult situation. Presuming that her pregnancy indicated she had been unfaithful to him, Joseph found himself torn between what he understood God’s law required him to do, viz. divorce Mary, and his own affectionate feelings for her. In this confusing situation, the gospel reading tells us that Joseph received guidance from the Lord, - guidance he promptly followed. The complex situation in which Joseph found himself is not unlike the kind of situations in which many of us find ourselves from time to time. In so many of life’s situations the best way forward is not always immediately clear. Like Joseph in the gospel reading, we can find ourselves torn between what our head is telling us and what our heart is saying to us. The gospel reading today invites us to have something of the openness of Joseph to the Lord’s guidance. Joseph received the Lord’s guidance through an angel. The Lord’s guidance will come to us through more ordinary means, such as through those in whom we confide. Their perspective on the situation we are struggling with can often bring a new and a fresh light. We can also experience the Lord’s guidance through prayer. In prayer we allow the Lord to enlighten our minds and hearts so that we can move forward in the light that he provides.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: sjtbclontarf@eircom.net or frmartinhogan@gmail.com

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