4th
Sunday of Advent
Cycle A
December 18, 2016
4pm at Saint Mary, Pylesville
11am at Saint Matthew, Baltimore
My Sleeping on a Homily
Sometimes
I find it difficult to get the idea for my Sunday homily.
I reflect
on the readings early in the week. I ask
myself: what are these passages, especially the gospel, saying to me and to us
today?
Sometimes
it just doesn’t get clear very quickly.
And then what I do is re-read the Scripture passages and some commentaries
before going to bed, maybe on Wednesday evening.
I just
sleep on it, and then, almost always, I wake up in the morning and it’s clear. Sleeping on it has a way of helping me to see
it as I had not seen it before.
Joseph Sleeping on His Dilemma
I
wonder if something like this is what happens to Joseph in today’s gospel.
Joseph
and Mary are betrothed. In that culture,
this was much more than being engaged.
Betrothal
meant that they were married but not yet living together. So, betrothal could only be ended by divorce.
Joseph
comes to know that Mary is bearing a child and he knows that the child is not
his. The law calls for Joseph to divorce
Mary and for Mary to be publicly shamed and punished, but Joseph doesn’t want this
to happen.
So, he
decides to divorce Mary quietly, without any accusation against her. Still something tells Joseph to take time
with his decision.
So he
decides to sleep on it and see what he thinks in the morning. He wakes up and now things look different and
clear to him.
Something
within him tells him to trust Mary. In
fact, Joseph feels that God through an angel has calmed him and told him to go
ahead with the marriage.
Joseph Responds
In all of this, Joseph
is a great example.
He doesn’t just
react out of anger or hurt or pride. He
doesn’t react hastily.
Instead, Joseph
takes time to be with the situation and take it inside himself. He gets in touch with what God is saying
within him.
He is decisive and
not rash, reflective and not reactive. And,
of course, the result is wonderful.
Joseph cooperates
in bringing God’s Son into the world. So,
what a wonderful example he is!
I have to ask: how
much more of God’s presence and peace can enter our world if we respond to
situations as Joseph does? Step back – reflect
– pray – sleep on it – get in touch with what God wants – what a helpful,
positive process this is!
Joseph Respects
Joseph shows one more trait that I don’t want us to miss.
Joseph is a religious man and respects the religious law. That law tells him to divorce Mary.
But, he decides to do this quietly.
Why?
Because he doesn’t want to expose Mary to shame and disgrace. So, he is going to live up to his faith, but
in a way that is not self-righteous and not destructive of Mary.
Well again, what a good example Joseph is! Sometimes, in our world and in our religion,
we think that we have to “stand up” for what we believe.
And sometimes, unfortunately, this “standing up” becomes a “putting
down.” Sometimes we think that “standing
up” for something we believe is right means “putting down” others whom we believe
are wrong.
This is an unfortunate approach. It
is not the way of Joseph or of Jesus.
It is not the way that Pope Francis is modeling and calling us to
embrace. Joseph’s example today is a
great example of being able to “stand up” for something and still respect the
other person at the same time – a both/and approach.
It is a helpful example in dealing with situations in our families. It is a helpful for all of us and for us as a
Church in dealing with issues in our society.
It is, I believe, the way to bring God’s presence and peace much more
effectively into our world. That is the
lesson of Joseph.
