THE WORD
Jer 23: 5–8 / Mt 1: 18–25
Now 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.18
IN OTHER WORDS
Years ago, after working for more than a year in our seminary in Melbourne, Australia, I was given a new missionary assignment in Sydney. I dreaded the day I had to drive alone for more than 10 hours from Melbourne to Sydney. It was not because of the distance, nor the solitude of driving alone, but it was the fact that I never drove in a big city like Sydney where roads can be complex. Upon reaching the first suburb in the outskirts of Sydney, I decided to stop on a secondary road to review the city map, verifying the number of intersections I had to watch and pass before I get to the right place to turn. It was raining, and dusk had fallen. I was nervous and worried, and the car windows and windshield were all foggy as it happens when car windows are closed and outside it is cold. And suddenly, I heard a knock from my car window. That gave me a fright! I opened the car window, and there stood a boy of probably twelve years of age. “You are lost, right?” he said. “Yes!” I replied. “Where are you going?” he continued. “Epping,” I replied. He stretched his arm to me and requested that I hand him my street map. He flipped it to the right, then turned the pages to the left, and in another blink of an eye he said to me, “We are here,” pointing at the page, and turning to the next he continued saying, “You are going there!” He handed back the map to me, and I had a quick look at his direction again. But in the next second as I turned my gaze toward him, he was gone! I didn’t see where he came from, I didn’t know where he went; and all I knew was he pointed to me the right direction.
Joseph, in our gospel today, met an angel in his dream. The angel showed him a way. Yes, he was lost because of the reality of a pregnant fiancé whose child he knew was not his. His decision was molded by the regulated norm of habit and tradition. But the angel’s direction pointed him to launch into the deep and venture with God. The gospel says, “Joseph was a righteous man.” His righteousness allowed him to open up to the God of Surprises that turned his confusion into joy, his shortsighted vision into seeing the horizon of eternity.
Angels are messengers. They allow us to find the right direction. They lead us to dream with God. And someone who dreams with God, makes the dream of many become real. Have you met angels in your life? Have you been an angel to someone whom you have met in life? May there be Advent angels on our journey to Christmas.
- Fr. Bernard Espiritu, SVD (New Zealand)
The Word in other words 2015
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
