I hope you are having a cozy December! We are having a busy December, yesterday at my oldest son’s winging ceremony for the Navy in Pensacola. Then we are off to ski with all the kids for a few days, sneaking in a trip before Matthew moves to Norfolk, Virginia, to begin life as a Naval Flight Officer. Are you ready for the readings today? Let’s get started!

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25

The first part of Matthew, which isn’t in today’s reading, opens with the genealogy of Joseph, tracing his lineage through Abraham and David, all the way through the Babylonian exile. If you go back and read, it’s pretty interesting to see Joseph descended from some of the greatest names of the Old Testament, like David, and also some more humble people, like Ruth, and even some pretty bad kings, like Manasseh. But today’s reading starts with a betrothed couple in Judea, Joseph and Mary. 

Not yet married, Joseph discovered that Mary is pregnant. He is obviously tender towards her and doesn’t want to humiliate her, so he is making plans to quietly break off the betrothal. A betrothal in these times was more formal and binding than an engagement as we know it, but it wasn’t yet a marriage where the couple lives together. 

I love that in a season that focuses, understandably, on Mary, Joseph gets his week to shine. It’s so easy to read past this passage—you’ve probably heard it a million times before. But look at exactly what the angel (Luke tells us it’s Gabriel) says:

• The baby is from the Holy Spirit. (Please take a moment to dwell on how utterly weird that must have been to hear.)
• It’s a boy!
• You will name him Jesus—in Hebrew, Yeshua, “Yahweh saves.”
• This baby will save people from their sins.

And Joseph says, “Okay.” He wakes from his dream and does exactly this.

I think it’s important to remember that Jesus was coming into the world whether or not Joseph had sent Mary away. But Joseph chose obedience and love. In doing so, he gave Mary and Jesus a stable home and a life inside the Jewish tradition. He gave Jesus a trade to learn, and he raised Jesus in the synagogue. Jesus would still have been the Savior of the world, but Joseph’s participation gave Jesus a home and a family. God didn’t force Joseph. He invited him. 

Old Testament: Isaiah 7:10-16

Part of this passage is quoted by the angel Gabriel in today’s Gospel passage. These words are from Isaiah to King Ahaz of Judah. God sends Isaiah to a very worried Ahaz—actually he’s scared out of his mind.  The Northern Kingdom of Israel has partnered with Syria to attack Judah, and Ahaz is not seeing a good exit for his kingdom. It’s particularly galling, this partnership, because Israel is taking sides against their brother kingdom of Judah. 

Isaiah tells Ahaz these words of comfort—the Lord sees you and help is coming. Trust in Him. 

Spoiler: in the short term, Ahaz doesn’t take Isaiah’s advice. He teams up with the Assyrians, which leads immediately to the destruction of Israel. The diaspora of the Israelites sets Judah up to be the surviving remnant of the Jewish people.

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

This Psalm is a plea for God’s mercy at a hard time. A couple of notes:

“Enthroned upon the cherubim” is a direct reference to God being seated on the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh are the three tribes descended from Jacob through his wife Rachel. Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s sons, and they were each elevated to status as Jacob’s sons at the end of the book of Genesis. Think of it as Jacob’s son Joseph getting a double portion of the inheritance.

New Testament: Romans 1:1-7

This is a short but very convoluted passage that is Paul’s greeting to the Romans. I think he is trying to establish WHO he is and WHY the recipients should want to read this letter in a short space. I’m going to do something a little different here. I’m going to map out the greeting, in hopes that it makes things a little clearer for you…and me!

I’ve never tried a diagram before, but it helped me untangle some of Paul’s clauses. Please let me know if it helped you at all, or if it was a distraction.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for the example Joseph set for us in faithful obedience. No matter the circumstance, help us to be faithful like that. Show us how we fit into the salvation of the world. Give us grace to hear Your invitation and give us tenacity to endure when the way seems hard. Prepare our hearts for Jesus’ arrival. Amen.

Have a great week!