The simple story of the prelude to Jesus’ birth told in
Matthew 1 puts the emphasis on Mary and Joseph, and especially Joseph.
This is a simple story of a man who had a huge dilemma, and
how God sent an angel to speak to him in a dream, calming his fears and making
his path forward clear to him.
That’s what God does. He calms our fears, if we let him. If
we don’t insist on drowning him out with hand-wringing and thoughts of doom and
gloom, we will hear God speak to our spirit and lead us forward. Not usually in
a dream, although that is entirely possible, but somehow – through a person, a
song, a thought, a memory, a prayer – God will get through the clutter and we
will recognize his small, still voice, if we are open to it.
Twice already today, I have heard God’s voice speak words of
comfort and peace for my soul through two very different people; through the
priest at mass during his homily, and through my thoughts of Lily on her 10th
birthday.
In his homily, Father John Peter began by reminding us that
the Gospel of Matthew begins and ends with the same message of encouragement
and comfort. Matthew 1:23 says “Behold,
the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him
Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” Then, in the very last sentence of the Gospel
of Matthew, as Jesus is ascending into Heaven, He says, “And behold, I am
with you always, until the end of the age.”
As I think of and pray for Liliana who turns 10 years old
today, I am aware that she is a part of my life only through the grace of
God. Whenever I start to waver even a
little bit in my faith, she is always there to start a conversation that—no
matter what the subject matter starts out to be—seems to lead to a conversation
of faith, hope, or charity for others. I
know she is in my life to remind me daily to be thankful for all of God’s trust
in me to help me guide her and the rest of my family to Him.
We often look at saints like Joseph and think we could never
be like them. On one level, this may be true. Joseph played a key role in
salvation history, and he did it heroically. But if you boil it down, all
Joseph really did was act on what he understood God wanted from him. It wasn’t
always easy, but Joseph tried his best to push through.
Like Joseph, if we really have faith, we can see that we CAN
trust God. That He WILL be there when we need Him. That he IS at work all
around us; quietly, but steadily. And we can let go of our worries and thank
God that all is well.
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