The Forgotten Character

Fourth Sunday of Advent - A

Isaiah 11:1-6, 10 / Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 / Romans 1:1-7 / Matthew 1:18-24

The Forgotten Character

Joseph is perhaps the most forgotten character in the stories of Christ's conception, birth and childhood. We remember Mary his Mother, and the angel Gabriel who announced Christ's birth. We remember the shepherds and magi who came to offer him homage. But what about this man Joseph? The one who led the mule and the expectant mother to the city of his ancestor, David, and gave the child the name Jesus?

As we look at the story of today's gospel, it might seem that Joseph wouldn't mind being forgotten. Finding that his fiancé was pregnant by someone other than him, Joseph considers quietly, inconspicuously divorcing Mary. Being an upright man, he did not want to bear the shame his culture would heap on him as the husband of an unfaithful wife. Being a compassionate man, he did not want Mary to suffer the shame their culture would heap on her. Perhaps by divorcing her quietly, he figured she could settle somewhere else with relatives far away and people there might think she was an unfortunate widow whose husband had died soon after they married. In that way they would take pity on her rather than chastise her. Of course, in times before alimony and child support, divorce would still leave her and the child among the most disadvantaged of their society.

Yes, looking at the story from Joseph's perspective, it seems he might want to be a forgotten character in this tale. His plans for marriage were not turning out as he had hoped. So he would opt out of these plans and set off in a new direction, or so he thought until that dream.

God revealed to this just and upright man that what was going on with his fiancé was all according to plan. Joseph may have wanted out of this plan, but for God, Joseph was an integral part of it. For Matthew, Joseph taking the Mother and child into his home and treating them as his own was enough to place Jesus in the line of David, the one through whom the Messiah would come.

Joseph is an important example for us. How often have we made plans or gotten into situations that just haven't turned out the way we had hoped? We think to ourselves, what am I doing in this place and how do I get out of it? But do we really listen to God? Are we open to hearing God's angel in a dream or even a passing conversation, assuring us that what we want to abandon is really part of God's plan and we are integral to it? Are we open to praying for God's wisdom in situations that aren't quite what we want them to be? Do we realize that we are part of a larger whole, part of God's overall plan, and if we opt out of it, something will be missing, and we ourselves will be much the worse for it?

We all have times and experiences we would rather forget. There are stories that people tell, and sometimes we wish we weren't a character in those tales. But we must realize that God also has a story to tell and though we might rather be forgotten in that story, God has a special place for us in his plan, and without us something essential will be missing.

·        What is God's plan for you? Are you willing to dream God's dream?