REFLECTIONS TODAY
Today’s Gospel shows the unraveling of the mystery of Mary’s pregnancy and the lifting of the burden from Joseph’s heart. In a dream, the angel informs Joseph that Mary’s child has been conceived through the Holy Spirit. He will be the Messiah and he will save people from their sins, as the name Jesus/Yehoshua (“God saves”) indicates. Moreover, Joseph is given the charge of protecting Mary and her child, publicly owning the Child, and shielding both mother and son from shame.
The annunciation is a true epiphany for Joseph. He realizes that, like Mary, he is being called by God to play a role in the coming of the Messiah. His love for Mary deepens, and so does his protectiveness.
In the months of the pandemic, Pope Francis declared the Year of Saint Joseph, whom he describes as an extraordinary figure so close to our human experience. Amid the crisis, our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people, people often overlooked. In each of them we can discover a Joseph—“the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence—an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation” (Patris Corde).
First Reading • Jer 23:5-8
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; As king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: “The Lord our justice.”
Therefore, the days will come, says the Lord, when they shall no longer say, “As the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”; but rather, “As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north”— and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own land.
Gospel • Mt 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.
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2023,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.