As we approach the great feast of Christmas there are many opportunities to get distracted. Some of these seem like good reasons to sweep aside the true meaning of the season in favor of social convention.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
The word of the angel to Joseph is a word to each of us this morning. It is a word spoken to those who are flustered, anxious, and afraid. If we're honest, that is most of us at this time of year.
"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."
Let us welcome Mary into our homes as we prepare for Christmas. It is she who will bring Jesus to us. She can do this for us even if we feel too busy, even if we are afraid, even if we feel unworthy. She bridges the gap between heaven and earth in Bethlehem. She wants to do so in each of our lives as well.
Jesus is born to take the name Emmanuel. He is born to be close to us.
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."
Like Israel, we are scattered, seemingly defeated. But Mary brings us Jesus to unite us and set us on solid ground.
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.
Jesus is the righteous shoot to David. He is the king that shall reign and govern wisely, the king whose kingdom will never end. We can't allow ourselves to miss this because something else feels more pressing. Let us hear the angel again.
Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
Let us prepare to welcome the king who is Emmanuel. Even more than any earthly king, he desires to be near is people. He wants to set us free from fear and fill us with peace and life in abundance.
Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
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