December 14, 2022 at 6:01 p.m.
Be attentive to God’s plan
Be attentive to God’s plan
… We pray Almighty God,
that as the feast day of our salvation draws ever nearer,
so we may press forward all the more eagerly
to the worthy celebration of the mystery of your Son’s Nativity.
At Mass on the Fourth Sunday, our Gospel is always about one of the “annunciations” (announcements) made in preparation for the coming of the Messiah (yes, in a way, there is more than one annunciation Gospel!). As we are in Year A, we hear about the angel of the Lord appearing to St. Joseph in a dream and telling him to take Mary for his wife. Incidentally, in Year B of our three-year cycle, we would hear the most familiar annunciation: the message of the archangel Gabriel to Mary. For Year C, we have the Gospel of the Visitation, when Mary goes to meet her kinswoman Elizabeth. She recognizes the mother of her Lord and St. John the Baptist leaps for joy in his mother’s womb, both therefore announcing that the Messiah is near.
These wonderful annunciation Gospels are not only about the events that led up to the birth of Jesus at Christmas. They also invite us to think about our response to this annunciation of the good news of salvation. This year, the “annunciation” to St. Joseph gives us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on his role and how he can help and guide us.
The Gospel describes him as a “righteous man” or a “just man.” The word “justice” really means a right or proper relation with God and others. We see this sense of justice or righteousness, as Joseph wished to do the right thing when Mary is discovered to be with child. Instead of wanting to expose her to public shame or worse still, he wished to protect her. This then is our first lesson: We too are called to be just or righteous, and to be people of integrity … always to say or to do the right thing, especially when this may be a tough thing to do.
He is also a man of humility and faith. He did what the Lord asked him to do many, many times. He did this in taking Mary into his house as his wife, in escaping King Herod and going into exile in Egypt, and in naming the child “Jesus” as he had been told to, even though it was his right as head of the household to choose a name himself. He was therefore also a man of action and obedience in doing what he was asked to do. He faced up to tough decisions and choices, such as taking Mary into his home. The Gospel puts it so simply: “he awoke and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.” As St. John Chrysostom commented, “the best sort of obedience is not to start searching for reasons for doing what God asks us to do, but simply to do it.” This then is another lesson: To know and then to do what God asks us to do, even if it is difficult or upsets our plans.
At the same time, he was a man of prayer and contemplation. When faced with these tough choices and decisions he reflected and prayed. How else would he have listened and then heard what God wanted him to do with his life and with Mary and Jesus who had been placed in his care? In his inaugural homily at St. Peter’s, Pope Francis put all this beautifully: “How does Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plan, and not simply to his own.”
Finally, as the season of Christmas fast approaches, let us indeed give great thanks for the coming of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Let us remember that our celebrations are ultimately about what Jesus came and did for us: Christmas and Easter are closely bound together! The Opening Prayer for the Mass this Sunday puts it so well:
Pour forth we beseech you O Lord, your grace into our hearts;
that we to whom the incarnation of Christ, your Son
was made known by the message of an angel,
may by his Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of his Resurrection
250 X 250 AD
250 X 250 AD
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