Paris (France), December 18, 2022, Sr. Anne-Claire Tessier.- "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid..."
Mt 1, 18-24
18 This was how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately.
20 While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived.
21 She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus—because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 Now all this happened in order to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, 23 “A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel” (which means, “God is with us”).
24 So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to.
22 Now all this happened in order to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, 23 “A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel” (which means, “God is with us”).
24 So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to.
"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid..."
It is from this verse that I wish to share my reflection today.
Joseph is a righteous man.
In Scripture, the term "righteous" embraces a much broader dimension than what we can find in the dictionary. It is not just a “concern for justice” and “respect for law and fairness”.[1]
Joseph is a righteous man in the sense that he is "adjusted" to God, he wants to conform as best as possible to God's expectations of him.
It is easy to imagine that Joseph's situation was extremely difficult for him to live with. He must have felt deceived, hurt. Because he is just and respects the Law, he decides to dismiss Marie, but he refuses to do so publicly, out of respect for his wife.
It is easy to imagine that Joseph's situation was extremely difficult for him to live with. He must have felt deceived, hurt. Because he is just and respects the Law, he decides to dismiss Marie, but he refuses to do so publicly, out of respect for his wife.
The angel who appears to him in a dream comes to reassure him and assure him that God is counting on him. Despite his fear, Joseph trusts God and takes Mary into his home.
This attitude of Joseph invites us to look at and reread our own attitudes. Are we attentive to the signs that we can perceive from God in our lives?
We sometimes find ourselves in difficult situations and we do not know how to act or react. Joseph invites us to put these situations in the hands of the Lord with confidence.
May we trust God and do our best to in turn try to adjust our lives to what he hopes for us.
[1] Larousse Dictionary