Fourth Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 10​

He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.

Nothing is more extraordinary than the birth of a baby. Nothing is more ordinary than the birth of a baby. It happens all the time, in good times and bad, when convenient and inconvenient, when expected and unexpected, welcome and unwelcome.

Where Saint Luke speaks of the Messiah's birth in a manger -- his mother's "firstborn son!" -- and glory-singing choirs of angels appearing in the heavens to scare the bejesus out of the shepherds, Saint Matthew simply says, "she bore a son." 

At that moment, the Evangelist seems more interested in Joseph's faithful obedience. He listened to the angel, set aside his hesitation, welcomed her into his home, and named the child as the angel had directed him.

Also, "he had no relations with her," though the angel had said nothing about that. The remark concerns the miraculous conception of the child, not their intimate life behind closed doors. (The ancients didn't need to sexualize every important relationship. It's just not that important.)

Both Saints Matthew and Luke, in their stories about Jesus' conception and birth, show how those who hear the word of God must keep it. That is, they must act according to God's specific directions even when there are no particular moral issues.

People often assess their standing before God as, "I've done nothing wrong." They observe the laws of the land and their particular denomination or religion. Their behavior on most occasions is civil. They might go further, like the Pharisee in the temple, to enumerate their virtues. But that happens, for the most part, only when they feel challenged by a religious authority. More often, they make a point of not wearing their religion on their sleeves.

Had Mary and Joseph acted like that, we would not be saved. Had the Apostles played it safe, avoiding controversy and disagreement, we would know nothing of Jesus. We might celebrate a Winter Holiday with festive lights, gift giving, sumptuous food and stimulating drink; we would sing seasonal songs about sleigh bells ringing and Frosty the Snowman. We would wear warm, festive clothing. We might even observe a moment of peace, a temporary ceasefire when we acknowledge that our differences pale before our similarities. We would live as the pagans live, without a substantial reason to hope or an assurance of God's mercy.

Saint Joseph and his Virgin Wife made a difference because they heard the word of God and kept it. That keeping was more than lip service and more than begrudging conformity. Loving the Lord, confident of God's mercy, believing in God's justice, they wanted what God wanted. They were hungry and thirsty for justice.

In today's gospel Saint Matthew tells us of Joseph's bewilderment and his decision. He didn't know what to make of Mary's pregnancy and he seriously considered calling off the marriage. Clearly, that was the tradition and the normal expectation. Whatever his feelings for her might have been, he was dedicated to God's will above all else. Things for her  and for himself could never go well if he simply followed his own impulses.

Joseph was named after the Patriarch Joseph and he had that spiritual master's gift of dreams. We might call it intuition; but it was a divine intuition, shaped and directed by the Spirit of God. Divine intuition must operate within the darkness of faith, the Cloud of Unknowing. It cannot claim scientific certainty or rational authority. It pays attention to every impulse -- both those within the individual and those of society. Its rationality is open to reason, fascination, beauty, necessity, and desire -- and waits in prayer as God's will appears.

Wisdom knows,

Unless the LORD build the house,

they labor in vain who build.

Unless the LORD guard the city,

in vain does the guard keep watch.

It is vain for you to rise early

and put off your rest at night,

To eat bread earned by hard toil—

All this God gives to his beloved in sleep.

        Psalm 127

There really is no point to doing something without the assurance of God's spirit. Whether it be a soap bubble or an Egyptian pyramid, it cannot last without God's go-ahead. And so the young man waited and watched until the Angel revealed the answer to his prayers.