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4th
Sunday of Advent, Cycle A
December
22, 2016
Terranova
Hermitage
Joseph,
a Model for Our Living
By (Rev.
Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
My Sleeping
on a Homily
Often enough, probably once a month, I find it
difficult to get the idea for my Sunday homily.
I work on the readings early in the week. I ask myself: what are these passages,
especially the gospel, saying to me and to us?
Sometimes it just doesn’t get clear to
me. 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.
I am suddenly clear on the theme and I start
forming the homily. 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 what happens to Joseph in today’s
gospel is something like this.
Joseph and Mary are betrothed. In that culture, this was much more than
engagement.
Betrothal meant that they were married but not
yet living together. In fact, 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 Mary to be publicly shamed and punished.
But Joseph doesn’t want to see this 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.
Joseph actually feels that God is calming him
and telling him to go ahead with the marriage.
And that is what he does.
Joseph Responds
Joseph is a great example for us here.
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 deals with the situation and does not avoid
it. He is decisive and not rash.
He is reflective, deliberative, and not
reactive. And, of course, the result is
wonderful.
Joseph cooperates in binging God’s Son into the
world. What a wonderful example Joseph
is for us in how he does this.
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 – think – 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 and his principles, but in a way that is not self-righteous and not
destructive of Mary.
Well again, what a good example Joseph is for
us! Sometimes, in the world of religion,
in Christianity, we think that we have to “stand up” for what we believe.
And sometimes, unfortunately, this “standing up”
means a “putting down.” Sometimes we
equate “standing up” for something we believe is right with “putting down”
others whom we think are wrong.
This is such an unfortunate approach. It is not the way of Joseph or of Jesus.
Conclusion
It is not the way that Pope Francis is modeling and
calling us to embrace. Joseph’s example
today, even in his original way of dealing with the situation, is a great example
of being able to “stand up” for something and of respecting the other person at
the same time.
This is a helpful example in dealing with situations
in our families. It is helpful for us as
persons or for our Church in dealing with issues in our society today.
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.
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