18 December 2014
Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
While yesterday’s gospel presented the family history, today’s Gospel presents the more concrete relational dynamics that occurred leading up to the birth of Jesus. As many couples get married, one of the common questions they get asked is how the couple met. Today, we hear the untold story from Joseph’s view. We find out that Joseph as a righteous man did not wish for Mary to undergo the typical shame that would go with having a child out of wedlock (Matthew 1:19). Yet, the intervening power of the angel changed his mind and he became the earthly father of Jesus (Matthew 1:20-25). The only other time we hear from Joseph is again through an angelic message when Joseph is told to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15) and return from Egypt (2:19-23).
Another question couples get asked as soon as a couple is with child is what will be the name of the child. Some parents reveal the name of their child to family or friends months before the child is born others wait till much closer, but today’s Gospel speaks about Jesus’ name being picked out from the beginning (Matthew 1:21). As we wait in eager anticipation for Christ’s birth, we pray that this time of getting to know Jesus’ family allows for us to better get to know our Savior.