Daring to trust in God

On this last Sunday of Advent, we might have expected the familiar story of the annunciation to Mary, so often associated with this season. In this year of the Sunday Gospel cycle, however, we follow the Gospel of Matthew who provides the account of Joseph, the soon-to-be husband of Mary. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Joseph faced a crisis that made him fearful but also required that he make a decision so he could play an important role in the coming of Christ. As if to credential Joseph as worthy of this vocation, Matthew precedes Joseph’s story with a lengthy recitation of those in the line of King David, Israel’s greatest ruler and an ancestor of Joseph. A careful examination of that list of forebearers ought to give one pause, however. Many in that ancestral line were hardly worthy of praise or of being counted as veterans of virtue. Even David himself had many shortcomings that one has to look past in order to describe him as the “greatest” king of Israel.  

King Ahaz, for example, named in that genealogy, is the ruler whom the prophet Isaiah addresses in this Sunday’s first reading. King Ahaz was faced with a difficult political situation. Like Joseph, he was confronted with a crisis, was riddled with fear and had to make a decision that would impact his life and the life of his people. In the face of foreign conflict he faced two options. He could ally himself with a small group of threatening nations or he could have turned for help to the powerful and equally threatening Assyrian Empire. 

Instead of doing either, the prophet Isaiah urges Ahaz to trust God and even to ask God for a sign. The king refuses, thinking that such a request would be a dangerous insult to the Lord. The prophet assures him that the sign already has been given and it is this: “The virgin is with child and will give birth to one called Emmanuel, and that is a name that means God saves.” Isaiah was assuring the king that his own offspring, the next one in line to ascend the throne, was already conceived and soon to be born. It was a sign that with trust in God, Israel would be saved. 

Ahaz, however, thought it more expedient to trust in a superpower that he could see – Assyria – rather than a spiritual power – the God of Israel – whom he could not see. As a result, Israel and its people came under Assyria’s harsh rule. There are others of Joseph’s ancestors that we don’t hear about in this Sunday’s readings who also did not choose to trust in God. Joseph’s ancestry, which leads ultimately to Jesus, demonstrates that our God remains ever eager to include all, even those who fail to measure up or who often make the wrong decisions. 

And what about Joseph? He does get it right even though he too felt fear when faced with what could have been a most embarrassing situation. Mary, his betrothed, was found to be with child before they had begun to live together. Instead of describing Joseph as a man who was now betrayed, insulted, or even personally humiliated by these circumstances, Matthew gives us our first glance of the man’s character. Matthew describes Joseph as “a righteous man” and illustrates that righteousness by sharing Joseph’s initial response and plan. He would “dismiss Mary quietly” from the betrothal agreement so she would not face disgrace. We hear nothing about Joseph’s concern for himself or any worry for the public or personal affront this situation might mean for him. His plan suggests only a concern for preserving the integrity of this woman Mary, whom he could easily have judged as betraying him. 

And not unlike Ahaz, who is urged by a divine messenger, a prophet, to trust in God, an angel of the Lord urges Joseph in a dream to trust in God. The angel tells Joseph to name the infant Jesus and that this child will be a savior for his people. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, from which this Sunday’s second reading comes, Paul makes clear who are the “people” whom Jesus came to save. With Matthew, he defines them as “all those who belong to Christ,” Jews and Gentiles alike.  

It is fitting that the Gospel writer concludes this story of Joseph by reminding us again of the prophet Isaiah. The promise of a sign once made to a king named Ahaz echoes again in the circumstances of a man named Joseph. “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel.” Despite the shortcomings of David’s descendants and Joseph’s ancestors, despite the wrong decision of Ahaz, despite the difficult decision facing Joseph and even despite some of the most difficult challenges we face, this God whom Jesus reveals to us is completely and unconditionally with us always. Prophets, messengers, dreams, angels, good friends, and even strangers often are divine envoys of Emmanuel, of “God with us.” We need only learn to recognize them and heed their message. Their guidance is clear. Trust in Jesus, Emmanuel, whose birth we celebrate this week.