Advent – December 21, 2023

December 21, 2023

The Nineteenth Day of Advent

Today was pretty much scattered with varying things to do.  It was the last day of school, and an excited grandson expected household participation in the production, so we were up early and ready to attend.  It was also a busy day for others with business meetings filling schedules, while the day-to-day routine, even in its repetitious nature, felt overcrowded.  Finally, as darkness settled in, I closed the door to my little apartment and prepared to light the candles on the Advent wreath.  There it was, that precious robe of peace.  I did not have to lift an arm to slip it on.  I was embraced with calm and peace before the second candle was even lit.  I sat in candlelight, whispering the prayers, softly singing the songs.  This simple act was the entrance to another thought of times long, long ago, to a man, we have come to know as Joseph.  He was a carpenter, a worker.  There must have been many days when he entered his home weary, seeking peace.  We do not seem to spend much time talking about Joseph, even at this time of year, yet he did so much.  And, just as Mary, and Elizabeth, he listened to the words of angels.  He pushed aside the worries, about what others might think, to follow the calling of God.  His was not a small decision, yet he followed the words of an angel to him in a dream and rose up to stand beside Mary.  What a journey we are having.  What a miraculous way to spend the last days of Advent, together, recalling the faith of a man named Joseph. 

          On this nineteenth day of Advent, 2023, the reading I have chosen is from Matthew 1:18-24.

The Reading

December 21, 2023

“¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about^[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet^[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[d] (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”  Matthew 1:18-24