First Reading - Isaiah 7:10-14
Second Reading - Romans 1:1-7
Gospel - Matthew 1:18-24
God had promised (2 Sm 7:14) an unending dynasty to David. Hence the Israelites hung their hopes on a coming Messiah (anointed king) whose reign would restore the peace and prosperity for which they longed. But the undivided kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon was divided at Solomon’s death in the late eighth century BC, into a northern kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah. Assyria, the dominant power in the region controlled, among other lands, Israel and Syria. These two liege states were planning to rebel against Assyria. Their kings pressured Judah’s King Ahaz, the eleventh Jewish king of Judah in ten years (735 to 715 BC), to join them. When he refused, they began to plot to overthrow him by attacking Judah. Instead of trusting in God, Ahaz planned to ask from the pagan Assyrian king, help for holding his throne, a request which later led to the overthrow of the kingdom of Judah. Confident that his God, Yahweh, would protect Judah and its king, the prophet Isaiah told Ahaz to have Faith in Yahweh and not to ally himself with Assyria. The sign value for Ahaz would be more in the name given to that child: Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” That child would be a sign that God is on the house of Judah’s side, that we don’t have to act as if God has left us alone. But Ahaz wouldn’t listen. He was determined to go ahead with his alliance. (In order to appease the Assyrians, Ahaz had replaced the altar in the Temple with an Assyrian altar and had sacrificed his firstborn son to the Assyrian god Moloch). Isaiah told Ahaz that the Lord wanted him to ask God for a sign of the truth of what Isaiah was saying. Ahaz had already made up his mind to rely on Assyria. So, he refused to ask for a sign, using the excuse that it would be “tempting God” to do so. In frustration, Isaiah announced God’s sign anyway, the birth from a virgin of a son, whose very name, “Emmanuel” (“God is with us”), would assure everyone that God was really with His people.
In the second reading, we see Paul introduces himself to the Romans in this letter, and he asserts his authority as God’s Apostle. That was necessary because the Church in Rome did not know Paul personally, having heard only that he was a former persecutor turned Apostle. In the first sentence, Paul describes himself as “set apart to proclaim the Gospel …,” and later, “favored with Apostleship.” The rest of the introduction is a summary of the Gospel and of the Divine Plan Paul serves. Paul sees how Jesus’ coming and his own mission to non-Jews is prefigured in the Hebrew Scriptures. Paul does not use the name Emmanuel for Jesus, but he does provide a sweeping summary of God’s mighty acts in history through Jesus Christ.
As we move to the gospel, we find that while Mary is featured prominently in Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, Matthew brings Joseph to the forefront, because Jesus becomes part of David’s lineage through Joseph (1:1-17). Luke tells us of Mary’s obedience (Lk 1:38), and Matthew tells us of Joseph’s obedience. Luke tells the story of the angel’s appearance to Mary (Lk 1:26-38), but Matthew tells us only that the child was from the Holy Spirit. But why does the Church couple Ahaz with Joseph in today’s readings? Because of the stark contrast between the two men, each faced with a difficult situation. One of them, Ahaz, relied on his own wits and schemes. Joseph relied on God alone and trusted in Him absolutely. One of them sacrificed his own son to appease others and showed no mercy. The other spent his life in protecting his foster-son. And so we see Joseph, in sharp contrast to Ahaz in the background, as the just and righteous man that he is.
Jewish marriage started with an engagement arranged by parents, often between children. Just prior to marriage, couples began a year-long betrothal very much like marriage except for sexual rights. Betrothal was binding and could be terminated only by death or divorce. A person whose betrothed had died was considered to be a widow or widower. Joseph found that Mary was pregnant without his knowledge. Now, the law required that Mary be stoned to death, because she would have been considered an unfaithful wife, and the baby would have been stoned to death with her. In Dt 22:23-24, the penalty for adultery was death by stoning at the door of her father’s house as she had disgraced her father. Since Joseph was a just man of great mercy, he resolved to divorce Mary quietly so that he might not cause her unnecessary pain. In doing so, he shows us Christ-like compassion in the face of sin. He also demonstrates a Godly balance between the Law of Torah and the Law of Love. And then in a dream Joseph learned that the Child had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that he himself was to be the foster-father of the Christ, claiming the Child by naming Him, and then rearing Him. Joseph, through trust and Faith in God, accepted his mission as the foster-father of the Son of God.
The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehosua, which means ‘YHWH is salvation’. The first Joshua, the successor of Moses, saved the people from their enemies. The second Joshua (Jesus) will save the people from their sins. The people did not expect a Messiah who would save them from their sins, but one who would deliver them from their earthly oppressors. The fulfillment of prophecy is important to Matthew. He mentions fulfillment of prophecy eleven times (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:56; 27:9). In Hebrew, El is a short form of Elohim, a name for God. Immanu-El means “God with us.” Emmanuel describes Jesus’ role or vocation. Jesus’ calling is to save his people from their sins and to manifest God’s presence. Matthew thus begins his Gospel with the promise that Jesus is God-with-us. He will end the Gospel with the promise that Jesus will be with us “always, to the end of the age” (28:20). Matthew understands that in the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, God is with us, reconciling the world to Himself. He is the reassurance in the flesh that God has not given up on us, but will remain with us. The real event of Christmas is that God comes to change the world and each of us—not just through a historical, virginal conception and a baby lying in a manger, but through the God Who is with us today, shattering our self-righteous attitudes and seeking to move us beyond our fears, freeing us from our bondages.
Dear friends, we are here in this Church, one week before Christmas, because, like Joseph, we are faithful, and we trust in God, His power and His mercy. Although we may face financial problems, job insecurity, family problems, and health concerns let us try to be trusting and faithful like St. Joseph. Instead of relying on our own schemes to get us through life, let us trust in God and be strengthened by talking to Him in fervent prayer and by listening to Him speaking through the Bible. Let us remain faithful and prayerful, imitating Joseph and Mary, the humblest of the humble, the kindliest of the kindly, and the greatest-ever believers in God’s goodness and mercy, as we welcome Jesus into our hearts and lives this Christmas.
God who entered our world through Jesus some 2000 years ago is at work in the world. But the question is, if God has come to be present in our lives and our world, then why are there so many lives which are unhappy and beastly? Why are people so hostile, hating each other, and why do so many love-relationships turn sour? Why is there domestic violence? Why is there child abuse? Why is there war in at least a dozen countries of God’s good earth at any given time? Why are so many people homeless and hungry, even in rich countries? The Good News, the consoling message of Christmas, is that the child Jesus still waits today to step into our hearts—your heart and mine—and to change us and the world around us by the beauty of God’s love, kindness, mercy and compassion. Let us take some time to let the Christ Child enter our hearts and lives this week, so that He may change our world of miseries with the beauty of that love.
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