8-Sep-16

Or Mt 1:18-23

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“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 people from 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.”
Reflection:

Throughout the ages, God has always worked through people.
Inspired by God, the prophet Isaiah (7:14) predicted that God would come into the world as a result of a virgin giving birth to a child. The child would be named Emmanuel which means "God is with us."
The Jewish nation waited hundreds of years for the appearance of such a child. The child would be the Messiah, the One anointed by God as the savior of the Jewish people.
This prophecy came to pass when the virgin, Mary, who becomes pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit, accepted what had been told her by an Angel.
However, Mary's husband, a devout Jew named Joseph, knew that he had not lain with Mary. He was understandably incredulous at the story of a woman becoming pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
Not knowing what to believe, Joseph didn't want to embarrass Mary, so decided he would quietly divorce her.
As Joseph lay sleeping, an angel spoke to him in a dream telling him to have no fear of taking Mary in his home and that the child in her womb had been conceived by the Holy Spirit.
The angel went on to say, "She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
We all know the ending: Joseph accepted the angel's message.
And, so, because of the faith, goodness and acceptance of Mary and Joseph, God was able to fulfill His plan to save mankind.
God continues to work His miracles through people.
Each day, through the Holy Spirit, God inspires and challange us, just as He did Mary and Joseph.
How do I respond when God nudges me with the sudden appearance of a beggar, or the knock on the door by someone I really don't want to see?
Do I, like Mary and Joseph, stop and listen to hear the whisper of God, or do I turn away?
"If only like God we could see souls instead of bodies how different our vision of beauty would be." - - Unknown