Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

“God is with us.”

 

Gospel Reading Matthew 1:18-25

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

 

In today’s Gospel reading, we hear the commitment of Joseph to the Angel of God. Joseph answers the call to take care of Mary even though she is with child.  Therefore, today’s Gospel is all about God calling us to do special things. Joseph just found out that Mary is pregnant and being a just man and not wanting to shame Mary, he resolves to divorce her quietly. But an angel appeared to Joseph and tells him not to be afraid for it is through the Holy Spirit that this child was conceived.  When he woke up he did as he was commanded by the angel. This story has two great messages. The first message is the willingness of Joseph to obey the will of God. His fiancé is pregnant and they are not married. How embarrassing that would be for his future wife to be pregnant and they are not married. Yet Joseph listened and obeyed the angel of God. The second message, which is more subtle in this Gospel reading, is the faith and trust of Mary. Mary also has to trust in God and have faith that he will take care of her and provide for her. In the time of Christ, Mary would likely have been stoned or cast out of the community. She would have been put to the street to live with the vagrants and undesirables.  This was a huge commitment by both. Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit, was able to go to Joseph and trust that he would be there to take care of her.  Joseph was able to keep Mary even though he might be shamed and embarrassed.

 

We too are called to be obedient to the will of God no matter what he asks us to do, no matter how embarrassing, and no matter how uncertain the outcome. The Holy Spirit comes down upon us and gives us many gifts wrapped in strange packaging. We are called to use those gifts to spread the word of God, to make way for the Kingdom of God. We are also called to have great trust and faith in God. We need to trust that he knows what he is doing. In our daily lives, it is so easy to get caught up in the materialistic aspects of “All I want is…” when I should be saying yes to the angel of God when he calls. We should be willing to take the time to reflect on the gifts which God has given us and give him thanks and praise for these gifts are given to us freely without any expectations of return. We should reflect on our talents which were given to us by God. We should decide whether we are using our gifts how God intended us to us them. We must be willing to sacrifice the material gifts that we receive for the spiritual gifts which are wrapped up in the paper of the Holy Spirit. We should celebrate the family that we have and blessing that we were given. We should celebrate the gift of Christ in our lives. Once we accept these gifts from God, we can truly appreciate the other material gifts which we receive. 

 

This Advent season, who do you carry inside you.  It is not long before we will celebrate our greatest gift’s birth.  Take this time to renew your commitment to the gifts and graces which have been provided to you by our Father in heaven.  Let us not focus on our weaknesses or the things that might embarrass us, but focus on the glory of the new life which has been conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Say yes to our Father as we complete the final days of Advent.

 

A Simple Prayer

 

God, you give me more graces than I deserve.

Give me the strength to use those gifts to your satisfaction.

May I have the obedience of Joseph and the faith of Mary to use the gifts which you have given me.

Your son was the greatest gift of all for he came to forgive us our sins;

May I also forgive those who sinned against me.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon