When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph discovered that Mary was with child through the Holy Spirit. He was already betrothed to her but since they did not yet live together he knew that this child did not come about through the normal means. Yet he certainly knew her well enough that it would be unlikely for he who was "a righteous man" to be suspicious of one with as impeccable a character as that of Mary. Even the context of his discovery was described as "through the Holy Spirit". No, it was not shenanigans that Joseph suspected. His response to the discovery was most like not a matter of him doing what he felt he had to do in response to a betrayal, albeit in the most merciful way possible, as we might suppose (and as less righteous men might have done).
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Joseph was righteous, but because of this he was able to recognize the still greater holiness of what the Holy Spirit was doing in Mary. Most likely he did not feel qualified to be a part of this plan. His righteousness was not a self-righteousness that made him blind to God's action in his midst because of a need for external conformity with the law. It was rather a true righteousness which made him see that it was in fact God who was acting, and which made him respond with humility. He didn't want to expose Mary to shame, not by his implicit accusation, but rather by his being involved at all in this plan that was, as we might say, above his pay grade. It seemed from the way the angel spoke to him that he was afraid to take Mary his wife into his home. This fear could not have been fear about her character or protectiveness about his own reputation. It must have been fear that he could not take on the role of the father figure in a family like this. Though he probably couldn't have said it explicitly, how was he to be the father of the one whose true Father was no human but God the Father himself?
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.
The words of comfort that the angel offered were therefore not so much an explanation to ease Joseph's suspicions as to how Mary was with child. It probably rather that the angel was emphasizing that what was happening was the plan of God being realized through the Holy Spirit. Providence was at work and the involvement of Joseph was no accident. He was a "son of David" through whom Jesus himself would receive his royal lineage. He himself was the one called upon to name Jesus, as a representative of that lineage and all of humanity, giving him the name means "God saves". Joseph's deepest fear was that he ought not have a place in this story. But the angel helped Joseph to see that there was a part in the story he was specially intended by God to play. We can see the he got the message by the way he responded immediately upon waking.
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
God sometimes asks us to play a part that seems like too much for us. He invites us to ask for a sign but we are afraid of how such a sign might shake things up as Ahaz was, and so make a pretense of humility and not ask. But not asking for a sign when God tells us to ask is probably worse than demanding one when he hasn't asked. God's plan will continue unhindered if we are obstinate in our refusal but we may miss out on many ways in which that plan was intended to bless us. Sometimes we are like Joseph, genuinely humble because we have become in some measure righteous by the Lord's work in our hearts. But we must not use our humility, much less our fear or suspicion of God's work, as an excuse to absent ourselves of our duty to play our part. This being struck by God's holiness and our human unworthiness is the pattern of so many who were called by God in biblical times, and it continued in the lives of the Saints through history. It is right to say with Isaiah, "I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" (see Isaiah 6:5), or with Peter, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (see Luke 5:8). But we ought then to be receptive when the Lord insists and tells us not to be afraid. It is the Holy Spirit at work, and we need not depend on our own weakness. If he did not call we would not dare to approach. But by becoming Emmanuel, God with us, he has made his invitation clear.
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us."
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