Word to the Wise
Friday, December 18, 2015 -
[Jeremiah 23:5-8 and Matthew 1:18-25]"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. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his peoplefrom their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us." [Matthew]
After giving us Jesus' genealogy, showing that he was the descendant of David and therefore the subject of God's promises to David in the Old Testament, Matthew next deals with the very delicate subject of Jesus' birth. Joseph was confronted with Mary's pregnancy BEFORE he had his dream of an angel, giving him the message quoted above. This "annunciation" is very different from the one in Luke. In a collective society where privacy would be almost non-existent, Mary's pregnancy would not have gone unnoticed by other family members, thus giving rise to rumors that continued to circulate long after Jesus' death and resurrection. Adding to the scandal of the cross would be the scandal of illegitimacy. Matthew quotes from Isaiah as showing that even this question was answered in God's plan of salvation.
The beautiful and peaceful ("all is calm, all is bright") nativity scene is the product not just of artistic imagination but of human suffering and effort. The people involved in that scene represent God's love for us. We owe them all a great debt. AMEN